Section 203 BNS: Public Servant Unlawfully Buying or Bidding for Property

Section 203 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 applies where a public servant is legally prohibited, by reason of public office, from purchasing or bidding for certain property but nevertheless purchases or bids for that property, directly or indirectly.

Current law: Section 203 forms part of Chapter XII of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023, dealing with offences by or relating to public servants.

Text of Section 203 BNS

203. Public servant unlawfully buying or bidding for property.

Whoever, being a public servant, and being legally bound as such public servant, not to purchase or bid for certain property, purchases or bids for that property, either in his own name or in the name of another, or jointly, or in shares with others, shall be punished with simple imprisonment for a term which may extend to two years, or with fine, or with both; and the property, if purchased, shall be confiscated.

Essential Ingredients of Section 203

The accused must be a public servant.
The public servant must be legally bound not to purchase or bid for certain property.
The public servant must nevertheless purchase or bid for that property.
The prohibited transaction may be in the public servant's own name, in another person's name, jointly, or in shares with others.

The source of the prohibition matters: Section 203 requires a legal restriction applicable to the public servant. The relevant statute, rule, service condition or other legally enforceable prohibition should therefore be identified in any prosecution.

Direct and Indirect Purchase or Bidding

Section 203 is drafted broadly enough to cover both direct and indirect participation in the prohibited transaction. It expressly includes purchase or bidding in the public servant's own name, in the name of another person, jointly with another, or in shares with others.

The provision is therefore designed to prevent circumvention of the legal restriction through nominees, co-purchasers or shared interests.

Confiscation of Property if Purchased

Section 203 expressly provides that where the prohibited property is actually purchased, that property shall be confiscated. Confiscation is therefore an additional statutory consequence beyond imprisonment or fine.

The confiscation language applies to property that has been purchased. A mere bid, without purchase, may still attract the penal provision, but the statutory confiscation consequence is tied to an actual purchase.

Punishment, Cognizability, Bail and Court

The First Schedule to the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 classifies Section 203 as follows:

Provision	Punishment	Cognizable	Bailable	Triable by
Section 203 BNS	Simple imprisonment up to 2 years, or fine, or both; property confiscated if purchased	No - non-cognizable	Yes	Magistrate of the First Class

Official Resources

This page is intended as general legal information. Application of Section 203 BNS depends on the public servant's status, the source and scope of the legal prohibition, the property concerned, the manner of bidding or purchase and the evidence.