BNS Section 260 — Intentional omission to apprehend on part of public servant bound to apprehend person under sentence or lawfully committed

Summary

This section deals with a public servant who is legally required to apprehend or keep in confinement a person who has been sentenced by a court or lawfully committed to custody. If that public servant intentionally fails to apprehend such a person, or intentionally allows the person to escape, or intentionally helps the person escape or attempt to escape from confinement, the public servant is punishable as described below.

Under clause (a), the punishment is imprisonment for life, or imprisonment of either description for a term up to fourteen years, with or without fine, if the person who is in confinement or who should have been apprehended is under a sentence of death.

Under clause (b), the punishment is imprisonment of either description for a term up to seven years, with or without fine, if the person in confinement or who should have been apprehended is subject, by a court sentence or by commutation of such a sentence, to imprisonment for life or to imprisonment for a term of ten years or more.

Under clause (c), the punishment is imprisonment of either description for a term up to three years, or a fine, or both, if the person in confinement or who should have been apprehended is subject by a court sentence to imprisonment for a term of less than ten years, or if the person was lawfully committed to custody.

Official Text

Whoever, being a public servant, legally bound as such public servant to apprehend or to keep in confinement any person under sentence of a Court for any offence or lawfully committed to custody, intentionally omits to apprehend such person, or intentionally suffers such person to escape or intentionally aids such person in escaping or attempting to escape from such confinement, shall be punished,—

(a) with imprisonment for life or with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to fourteen years, with or without fine, if the person in confinement, or who ought to have been apprehended, is under sentence of death; or

(b) with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to seven years, with or without fine, if the person in confinement or who ought to have been apprehended, is subject, by a sentence of a Court, or by virtue of a commutation of such sentence, to imprisonment for life or imprisonment for a term of ten years, or upwards; or

(c) with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to three years, or with fine, or with both, if the person in confinement or who ought to have been apprehended, is subject by a sentence of a Court to imprisonment for a term not extending to ten years or if the person was lawfully committed to custody.

Related Judgments

• SC (2025) Vol.3 p.1309 — Supreme Court of India (2025)
• SC (2025) Vol.11 p.291 — Supreme Court of India (2025)
• SC (2025) Vol.2 p.80 — Supreme Court of India (2025)
• SC (2025) Vol.3 p.1531 — Supreme Court of India (2025)
• SC (2025) Vol.6 p.280 — Supreme Court of India (2025)
• SC (2025) Vol.9 p.283 — Supreme Court of India (2025)
• SC (2024) Vol.10 p.930 — Supreme Court of India (2024)
• SC (2024) Vol.8 p.670 — Supreme Court of India (2024)

Old <-> New Code Mapping

• IPC §222 — Intentional omission to apprehend on part of public servant bound to apprehend person under sentence or lawfully committed