Indian Penal Code, 1860 · Chapter XVII: Of Offences against Property · Of extortion
Section 385: Putting person in fear of injury in order to commit extortion
The Indian Penal Code, 1860 was repealed and replaced by the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 from 1 July 2024. It still applies to offences and proceedings from before that date.
In plain words
Putting or trying to put a person in fear of injury in order to commit extortion is punishable with imprisonment of either description for up to two years, or fine, or both.
A simplified explanation, prepared with AI assistance from the official text below and checked automatically against it for numbers and cross-references. The official text is the law and prevails over this summary. Not legal advice.
Official text
Whoever, in order to the committing of extortion, puts any person in fear, or attempts to put any person in fear, of any injury, shall be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to two years, or with fine, or with both.
Corresponding sections were matched by comparing the wording of both official texts, and for the IPC and BNS, also against a published correspondence table. Wording, punishments and structure often changed, so read both sections before relying on the match.
Source: India Code (Legislative Department), the text of the Act as it stood before its repeal. Words in square brackets [ ] were inserted or substituted by later amending Acts, and *** marks words omitted by an amendment. The amendment footnotes are not reproduced here.
Supreme Court judgments citing the section 385
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M/s Balaji Traders v. The State of U.P. & Anr.
Whether the High Court was justified in observing that since no offence of extortion u/s.383 IPC is made out, consequently, no offence u/s.387 IPC would be made out.
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Gurdev Singh Bhalla v. State of Punjab & Ors
Whether the High Court was justified in dismissing the Revision filed by the appellant against the order of the Special Judge allowing the application u/s. 319 CrPC summoning the appellant along with three other…
- Mukeshbhai Vallabhbhai Abhangi v. State of
- Jitul Jentilal Kotecha v. State of Gujarat and Ors. Etc
- Sri Suresh Kumar Goyal and Others v. State of Uttar Pradesh and Another
- In Re: Gang Rape on Orders of Community Panchayat v. In Re: Gang Rape on Orders of Community Panchayat
- Baijnath Jha v. Sita Ram and Anr.
- Smt. Laxmi v. Om Prakash and Ors.
- Sunil Batra v. Delhi Administration
- R. M. Malkani v. State of Maharashtra
- State of Punjab v. Bri.J Lal Palta
- M. L. Sethi v. R. P. Kapur & Anr.
- R. P. Kapur v. Pratap Singh Kairon & Others
- Abdul Rehman Mahomed Yusuf v. Mahomed Haji Ahmad Agbotwala and Another