IPC · Chapter XI · Of false evidence and offences against public justice
IPC section 202, “Intentional omission to give information of offence by person bound to inform”, is now BNS section 239 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023, in force from 1 July 2024.
Now BNS section 239. The fine now has a ceiling of ₹5,000; imprisonment stays at up to six months.
Indian Penal Code, 1860
Whoever, knowing or having reason to believe that an offence has been committed, intentionally omits to give any information respecting that offence which he is legally bound to give, shall be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to six months, or with fine, or with both.
Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023
Whoever, knowing or having reason to believe that an offence has been committed, intentionally omits to give any information respecting that offence which he is legally bound to give, shall be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to six months, or with fine which may extend to five thousand rupees, or with both.
The texts are India Code’s. The amendment markers and footnotes of the official print are left out, so the old section reads as it stood when it was repealed; State amendments are not shown. The PDFs linked below carry the full history.
The BNS repealed the IPC from 1 July 2024 (section 358(1)). The repeal does not reach back: under section 358(2), penalties and punishments incurred for offences committed against the IPC still stand, and proceedings for them may be started, continued and enforced as if the IPC had not been repealed. An act done before 1 July 2024 is therefore dealt with under the IPC section; an act done on or after that date, under the BNS.
