Section 185 IPC - Illegal Purchase or Bid for Property at Sale by Public Authority
Section 185 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860 dealt with improper purchasing or bidding at a sale of property held by the lawful authority of a public servant. It covered both bidding or purchasing for a person known to be legally incapable of purchasing at that sale and bidding without intending to perform the obligations created by the bid.
Section 185 IPC - Statutory Provision
Illegal purchase or bid for property offered for sale by authority of public servant.
Whoever, at any sale of property held by the lawful authority of a public servant, as such, purchases or bids for any property on account of any person, whether himself or any other, whom he knows to be under a legal incapacity to purchase that property at that sale, or bids for such property not intending to perform the obligations under which he lays himself by such bidding, shall be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to one month, or with fine which may extend to two hundred rupees, or with both.
Meaning of Section 185 IPC
The section protected the integrity of sales held under lawful public authority. It addressed two different forms of prohibited conduct. First, it covered a purchase or bid made for a person whom the bidder or purchaser knew was legally incapable of buying the property at that sale. Second, it covered a bid made without an intention to perform the obligations arising from the bid.
Essential Ingredients of Section 185 IPC
- Sale under lawful public authority: there must be a sale of property held by the lawful authority of a public servant acting as such.
- Purchase or bid: the person must purchase or bid for property at that sale.
- Legal incapacity route: the purchase or bid may be on account of the bidder or another person who is under a legal incapacity to purchase that property at the sale.
- Knowledge of incapacity: where liability is based on legal incapacity, the person purchasing or bidding must know of that incapacity.
- Non-performance route: alternatively, liability may arise where a person bids without intending to perform the obligations undertaken by making the bid.
What Is "Legal Incapacity to Purchase"?
Section 185 did not itself create every disqualification from purchasing property. Instead, it operated where some applicable legal rule made the person incapable of purchasing the property at the particular sale and the bidder or purchaser knew of that incapacity. The source and scope of any such incapacity therefore depend on the law governing the sale.
Bidding Without Intention to Perform
The second limb of Section 185 addressed a bidder who did not intend to perform the obligations assumed by bidding. The statutory focus is on the bidder's intention at the time of the bid. A later failure to complete a purchase does not, merely by itself, reproduce the statutory requirement that the bid was made without an intention to perform the obligations arising from it.
Punishment Under Section 185 IPC
| Offence | Illegal purchase or bid for property at a sale held by lawful authority of a public servant. |
|---|---|
| Maximum imprisonment | One month, of either description. |
| Fine | Up to Rs. 200 under the IPC text applicable before BNS. |
| Alternative punishment | Imprisonment, fine, or both. |
Cognizance Under Section 195 CrPC
Section 185 IPC fell within IPC Sections 172 to 188. Under Section 195(1)(a) of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973, a court could not take cognizance of an offence punishable under those sections except upon a written complaint of the public servant concerned or of another public servant to whom that public servant was administratively subordinate.
This special procedural restriction was separate from the requirement to establish the substantive ingredients of Section 185 IPC.
Section 185 Compared With Sections 183, 184 and 186 IPC
Section 183 IPC concerned resistance to the taking of property by lawful public authority. Section 184 IPC dealt with intentional obstruction of an authorised sale. Section 185 focused on prohibited purchasing or bidding at such a sale. Section 186 IPC more generally dealt with voluntary obstruction of a public servant in the discharge of public functions.
Pre-BNS Legal Position
Section 185 formed part of Chapter X of the Indian Penal Code, concerning contempts of the lawful authority of public servants. This page describes the IPC and CrPC position before commencement of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023. Where the relevant conduct or proceedings span the transition to the new criminal laws, the applicable saving and transitional provisions require separate consideration.
Legal information: This article provides general statutory information and does not substitute for legal advice on the facts of a particular sale, bid or proceeding.