Section 187 IPC - Omission to Assist Public Servant When Bound by Law
Section 187 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860 punished intentional failure to render or furnish assistance to a public servant where a person was legally bound to provide that assistance. A higher punishment applied where assistance was lawfully demanded for specified public purposes.
Section 187 IPC - Statutory Provision
Omission to assist public servant when bound by law to give assistance.
Whoever, being bound by law to render or furnish assistance to any public servant in the execution of his public duty, intentionally omits to give such assistance, shall be punished with simple imprisonment for a term which may extend to one month, or with fine which may extend to two hundred rupees, or with both;
and if such assistance be demanded of him by a public servant legally competent to make such demand for the purposes of executing any process lawfully issued by a Court of Justice, or of preventing the commission of an offence, or suppressing a riot, or affray, or of apprehending a person charged with or guilty of an offence, or of having escaped from lawful custody, shall be punished with simple imprisonment for a term which may extend to six months, or with fine which may extend to five hundred rupees, or with both.
Meaning of Section 187 IPC
Section 187 applied only where the person was bound by law to render or furnish assistance to a public servant in execution of a public duty. The section did not create a general criminal obligation on every person to assist every public servant in every circumstance. A legal duty to assist, followed by an intentional omission, was central to the offence.
Essential Ingredients of Section 187 IPC
- Legal duty to assist: the accused must be bound by law to render or furnish assistance.
- Public servant: the assistance must be due to a public servant in execution of public duty.
- Omission to assist: the required assistance must not have been given.
- Intentional omission: the failure must be intentional, as expressly required by the section.
- Enhanced form: for the higher punishment, assistance must be demanded by a public servant legally competent to make the demand and the demand must be for one of the purposes specified in the second part of Section 187.
When Did the Enhanced Punishment Apply?
The second part of Section 187 applied where a legally competent public servant demanded assistance for any of the following specified purposes:
- executing process lawfully issued by a Court of Justice;
- preventing the commission of an offence;
- suppressing a riot;
- suppressing an affray;
- apprehending a person charged with an offence;
- apprehending a person guilty of an offence; or
- apprehending a person who had escaped from lawful custody.
Punishment Under Section 187 IPC
| Situation | Imprisonment | Fine |
|---|---|---|
| General intentional omission to give assistance when legally bound | Simple imprisonment up to one month | Up to Rs. 200, or both |
| Omission after a lawful demand for the specified purposes in the second part of Section 187 | Simple imprisonment up to six months | Up to Rs. 500, or both |
Meaning of "Public Servant"
For the IPC regime, the expression "public servant" was defined in Section 21 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860. Section 187 additionally required that the assistance be connected with the public servant's execution of public duty.
Cognizance Under Section 195 CrPC
Section 187 IPC was one of the offences 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 procedural condition was separate from proof that a legal duty to assist existed and that the omission was intentional.
Section 187 Compared With Sections 186 and 188 IPC
Section 186 IPC punished voluntary obstruction of a public servant in discharge of public functions. Section 187 dealt with intentional omission to provide assistance where the person was legally bound to do so. Section 188 IPC dealt with disobedience to an order duly promulgated by a public servant.
Pre-BNS Legal Position
Section 187 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 conduct or proceedings span the transition to the new criminal laws, the relevant saving and transitional provisions require separate consideration.
Legal information: This article provides general statutory information and does not substitute for legal advice concerning a particular duty, demand for assistance or proceeding.