IPC Sections 216A to 229: Offences Against Public Justice

IPC Sections 216A to 229 formed the concluding group of provisions in Chapter XI of the Indian Penal Code, 1860. They dealt with harbouring robbers or dacoits, misconduct by public servants affecting justice, unlawful escape and rescue, violation of remission conditions, interruption of judicial proceedings, protection of the identity of victims of specified sexual offences, and personation of jurors or assessors.

Legal period covered: This article states the central IPC and CrPC position immediately before 1 July 2024, when the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 and the new criminal procedure framework came into force. It is intended for IPC-era offences and proceedings for which the earlier law remains relevant. State amendments and case-specific procedural provisions should also be checked.

What do IPC Sections 216A to 229 cover?

These provisions protected the administration of criminal and judicial justice at several stages. They addressed harbouring persons connected with robbery or dacoity, abuse of official duties to shield offenders, failures to apprehend or confine persons, resistance to lawful arrest and rescue from custody, breaches of remission conditions, courtroom disruption, prohibited disclosure of victim identity, and false personation in the jury or assessor system.

IPC Sections 216A to 229: punishment, cognizability, bail and trial court

IPC Section	Offence	Maximum punishment	Cognizability	Bail	Court
216A	Harbouring robbers or dacoits	Rigorous imprisonment up to 7 years and fine	Cognizable	Bailable	Magistrate of the First Class
217	Public servant disobeying direction of law intending to save person from punishment or property from forfeiture	Up to 2 years, or fine, or both	Non-cognizable	Bailable	Any Magistrate
218	Public servant framing incorrect record or writing intending to save person from punishment or property from forfeiture	Up to 3 years, or fine, or both	Cognizable	Bailable	Magistrate of the First Class
219	Public servant in judicial proceeding corruptly making report, order, verdict or decision known to be contrary to law	Up to 7 years, or fine, or both	Non-cognizable	Bailable	Magistrate of the First Class
220	Person having authority to commit for trial or confinement knowingly acting contrary to law	Up to 7 years, or fine, or both	Non-cognizable	Bailable	Magistrate of the First Class
221	Public servant intentionally omitting to apprehend person liable to apprehension - underlying offence punishable with death	Up to 7 years, with or without fine	As underlying offence	Bailable	Magistrate of the First Class
221	Underlying offence punishable with imprisonment for life or imprisonment up to 10 years	Up to 3 years, with or without fine	As underlying offence	Bailable	Magistrate of the First Class
221	Other cases covered by the section	Up to 2 years, with or without fine	As underlying offence	Bailable	Magistrate of the First Class
222	Public servant intentionally omitting to apprehend or suffering escape of person under sentence of death	Imprisonment for life or up to 14 years, with or without fine	Cognizable	Non-bailable	Court of Session
222	Person under sentence of imprisonment for life or imprisonment of 10 years or more	Up to 7 years, with or without fine	Cognizable	Bailable	Magistrate of the First Class
222	Person under sentence below 10 years or lawfully committed to custody	Up to 3 years, or fine, or both	Cognizable	Bailable	Magistrate of the First Class
223	Public servant negligently suffering escape from confinement	Simple imprisonment up to 2 years, or fine, or both	Non-cognizable	Bailable	Any Magistrate
224	Resistance or obstruction by person to own lawful apprehension, or escape/attempted escape from lawful custody	Up to 2 years, or fine, or both, in addition to punishment for underlying offence	Cognizable	Bailable	Magistrate of the First Class
225	Resistance or obstruction to lawful apprehension of another, or rescue from lawful custody - general case	Up to 2 years, or fine, or both	Cognizable	Bailable	Magistrate of the First Class
225	Person apprehended/liable to apprehension for offence punishable with imprisonment for life or 10 years	Up to 3 years and fine	Cognizable	Non-bailable	Magistrate of the First Class
225	Person apprehended/liable to apprehension for offence punishable with death	Up to 7 years and fine	Cognizable	Bailable	Magistrate of the First Class
225	Rescue/obstruction involving person sentenced to imprisonment for life or imprisonment for 10 years or more	Up to 7 years and fine	Cognizable	Bailable	Magistrate of the First Class
225	Rescue/obstruction involving person under sentence of death	Imprisonment for life or up to 10 years and fine	Cognizable	Bailable	Court of Session
225A	Public servant intentionally omitting apprehension or suffering escape in residual cases	Up to 3 years, or fine, or both	Non-cognizable	Bailable	Magistrate of the First Class
225A	Public servant negligently omitting apprehension or suffering escape in residual cases	Simple imprisonment up to 2 years, or fine, or both	Non-cognizable	Bailable	Any Magistrate
225B	Residual resistance or obstruction to lawful apprehension, escape or rescue	Up to 6 months, or fine, or both	Cognizable	Bailable	Any Magistrate
227	Violation of condition of remission of punishment	Original sentence, or residue if part already undergone	Cognizable	Non-bailable	Court by which original offence was triable
228	Intentional insult or interruption to public servant sitting in judicial proceeding	Simple imprisonment up to 6 months, or fine up to Rs. 1,000, or both	Non-cognizable	Bailable	Court in which offence committed, subject to CrPC Chapter XXVI
228A	Disclosure of identity of victim of specified sexual offences	Up to 2 years and fine	Cognizable	Bailable	Any Magistrate
228A	Printing or publishing matter relating to specified court proceeding without previous permission of Court	Up to 2 years and fine	Non-cognizable	Bailable	Any Magistrate
229	Personation of juror or assessor	Up to 2 years, or fine, or both	Non-cognizable	Bailable	Magistrate of the First Class

This table summarizes the central IPC/CrPC position immediately before the BNS/BNSS transition. Several provisions have multiple limbs depending on the underlying offence, sentence or circumstances. The exact statutory limb and applicable First Schedule entry should therefore be checked for the facts of a case.

IPC Section 216A - Harbouring robbers or dacoits

Section 216A punished a person who knew or had reason to believe that persons were about to commit, or had recently committed, robbery or dacoity and harboured them with the intention of facilitating the commission of the offence or screening them or any of them from punishment. The statutory spouse exception applied.

IPC Section 217 - Public servant disobeying direction of law to save person or property

Section 217 applied where a public servant knowingly disobeyed a direction of law governing the manner in which he was to conduct himself as a public servant, intending thereby, or knowing it likely, to save a person from legal punishment or subject that person to a lesser punishment, or to save property from forfeiture or a legal charge.

IPC Section 218 - Public servant framing incorrect record or writing

Section 218 dealt with a public servant charged with preparing a record or other writing who framed it in a manner known to be incorrect, intending thereby, or knowing it likely, to cause loss or injury to the public or any person, or to save a person from legal punishment or property from forfeiture or other legal charge.

IPC Section 219 - Corrupt or malicious judicial act contrary to law

Section 219 punished a public servant who, in a stage of a judicial proceeding, corruptly or maliciously made or pronounced a report, order, verdict or decision that he knew to be contrary to law.

IPC Section 220 - Commitment or confinement contrary to law

Section 220 applied to a person having legal authority to commit another for trial or to confinement who corruptly or maliciously committed that person for trial or confinement while knowing that, in doing so, he was acting contrary to law.

IPC Section 221 - Intentional omission to apprehend by public servant

Section 221 addressed a public servant legally bound to apprehend or keep in confinement a person charged with or liable to apprehension for an offence, who intentionally omitted to apprehend that person or intentionally suffered escape. Punishment varied with the gravity of the underlying offence.

IPC Section 222 - Intentional omission to apprehend person under sentence or lawfully committed

Section 222 dealt with intentional omission or sufferance of escape by a public servant legally bound to apprehend or keep in confinement a person under sentence of a Court of Justice or lawfully committed to custody. The maximum punishment depended on the sentence or custody involved.

IPC Section 223 - Negligent escape from confinement

Section 223 applied where a public servant legally bound to keep a person in confinement negligently suffered that person to escape.

IPC Section 224 - Resistance to own lawful apprehension

Section 224 punished intentional resistance or illegal obstruction to one's own lawful apprehension, or escape or attempted escape from custody in which the person was lawfully detained. The statutory punishment was in addition to punishment for the offence for which the person was apprehended or detained.

IPC Section 225 - Resistance to apprehension of another or rescue

Section 225 punished intentional resistance or illegal obstruction to the lawful apprehension of another person, or rescue or attempted rescue from lawful custody. Enhanced punishment depended on the seriousness of the offence or sentence connected with the person apprehended or rescued.

IPC Section 225A - Omission to apprehend or sufferance of escape in residual cases

Section 225A covered a public servant legally bound to apprehend or keep a person confined in cases not otherwise provided for by Sections 221, 222 or 223 or another law. Intentional omission or sufferance and negligent omission or sufferance carried different maximum punishments.

IPC Section 225B - Residual resistance, obstruction, escape or rescue

Section 225B was a residual provision for intentional resistance or illegal obstruction to lawful apprehension, escape or attempted escape from lawful custody, or rescue or attempted rescue, where the case was not otherwise provided for by Sections 224 or 225 or another law.

IPC Section 227 - Violation of condition of remission

Section 227 applied where a person accepted a conditional remission of punishment and knowingly violated a condition on which the remission was granted. The consequence was punishment with the original sentence, or the residue of it where part had already been undergone.

IPC Section 228 - Intentional insult or interruption in judicial proceeding

Section 228 punished intentional insult or interruption to a public servant while that public servant was sitting in any stage of a judicial proceeding.

IPC Section 228A - Disclosure of identity of victim of certain offences

Section 228A protected the identity of victims of specified sexual offences. It prohibited unauthorized printing or publication of names or other matter capable of making the victim's identity known, subject to statutory exceptions. It also regulated printing or publication of matter relating to specified court proceedings, subject to the permission and publication exceptions stated in the section.

IPC Section 229 - Personation of juror or assessor

Section 229 punished personation of another person, or knowingly allowing oneself to be returned, empanelled or sworn as a juryman or assessor under another person's name or in circumstances in which the person knew he was not entitled by law to be so returned, empanelled or sworn.

Important procedural provisions under the CrPC

Section 195 CrPC: Section 195 imposed special restrictions on cognizance of specified offences against public justice. IPC Section 228 was expressly included in Section 195(1)(b), so the prescribed complaint mechanism had to be considered rather than treating it as an ordinary private prosecution.

Section 228 IPC and summary procedure: Because Section 228 concerned intentional insult or interruption to a public servant sitting in a judicial proceeding, the CrPC provisions dealing with offences affecting administration of justice, including the relevant provisions of Chapter XXVI, could be directly material.

Section 228A IPC: This provision contained statutory exceptions concerning authorized disclosure of a victim's identity and publication of judgments of the High Court or Supreme Court. The precise text and facts should be checked before concluding that a publication amounts to an offence.

Position after commencement of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita

The Central Government appointed 1 July 2024 for commencement of the BNS, except Section 106(2) under the commencement notification. This page deliberately explains the IPC and CrPC position immediately before that transition. For conduct governed by the new criminal laws, the corresponding BNS and BNSS provisions should be checked rather than applying the old IPC numbering automatically.

Practical checklist for IPC-era cases

Identify the exact IPC section and limb; determine the underlying offence or sentence where the punishment depends on it; establish whether the alleged conduct was intentional, knowing, corrupt, malicious or negligent as required by the particular section; check cognizability, bail and forum under the applicable First Schedule; examine statutory exceptions; and verify whether the CrPC imposes a special complaint or cognizance procedure.