Section 459 IPC: Grievous Hurt Caused While Committing Lurking House-Trespass or House-Breaking

Section 459 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860 prescribed enhanced punishment where a person, while committing lurking house-trespass or house-breaking, caused grievous hurt to any person or attempted to cause death or grievous hurt.

Section 459 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860

Punishment and classification under Section 459 IPC

Essential ingredients of Section 459 IPC

For the provision to apply, the prosecution had to establish the statutory elements of the aggravated offence. In substance:

• the accused was committing lurking house-trespass or house-breaking;
• during that commission, grievous hurt was caused to a person; or
• during that commission, there was an attempt to cause death or grievous hurt to a person.

The provision therefore goes beyond the underlying property-related trespass. Its enhanced punishment is linked to grievous hurt actually caused or to an attempt to cause death or grievous hurt while the lurking house-trespass or house-breaking is being committed.

Meaning of grievous hurt - Section 320 IPC

For the pre-BNS IPC framework, the expression grievous hurt was defined by Section 320 IPC. It identified specified categories of hurt as grievous, including emasculation; permanent privation of sight or hearing; privation of a member or joint; destruction or permanent impairment of the powers of a member or joint; permanent disfiguration of the head or face; fracture or dislocation of a bone or tooth; and hurt that endangers life or causes the statutorily specified severe bodily pain or inability to follow ordinary pursuits.

Whether an injury amounts to grievous hurt must therefore be examined against the statutory categories in Section 320 rather than merely by describing an injury as serious.

Connected definitions for house-trespass and house-breaking

Section 441 IPC - Criminal trespass

Section 441 contained the foundational definition of criminal trespass, dealing with entry into property in another person's possession with the prescribed unlawful intent, or unlawfully remaining there after lawful entry with such intent.

Section 442 IPC - House-trespass

Section 442 treated criminal trespass as house-trespass when committed by entering into or remaining in a building, tent or vessel used as a human dwelling, a building used as a place of worship, or a place for the custody of property. Its explanation provided that introduction of any part of the trespasser's body was sufficient entry.

Section 443 IPC - Lurking house-trespass

Under Section 443, house-trespass became lurking house-trespass where the offender took precautions to conceal the trespass from a person who had a right to exclude or eject the trespasser.

Section 445 IPC - House-breaking

Section 445 defined house-breaking through six specified modes by which a person committing house-trespass effected entrance into, or departure from, a house or part of a house. The precise statutory mode of entry or exit is relevant when determining whether house-trespass amounts to house-breaking.

Section 459 compared with Sections 458 and 460 IPC

Section 458 dealt with lurking house-trespass or house-breaking by night after preparation for hurt, assault, wrongful restraint, or putting a person in fear of such conduct. Section 459 instead focused on grievous hurt actually caused, or an attempt to cause death or grievous hurt, while committing lurking house-trespass or house-breaking. Section 460 addressed joint participation in lurking house-trespass by night or house-breaking by night where one of the persons jointly concerned voluntarily caused or attempted to cause death or grievous hurt.

1955 amendment to Section 459 IPC

The expression imprisonment for life in Section 459 was substituted for the former expression transportation for life by Section 117 and the Schedule to Act 26 of 1955, with effect from 1 January 1956. This amendment note formed part of the statutory history of the provision and has been retained from the original page.

Position after commencement of the BNS

The Central Government appointed 1 July 2024 as the date on which the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 came into force, except for the specifically excluded provision mentioned in the commencement notification. This page is intentionally focused on the IPC law immediately before that change and should be read in that historical and transitional context.

This article provides general information on the pre-BNS statutory framework. Application of a criminal provision to a particular matter depends on the allegations, evidence, relevant dates and governing law.