IPC · Chapter XI · Of false evidence and offences against public justice

IPC section 229A in the BNS

IPC 229ABNS 269

IPC section 229A, “Failure by person released on bail or bond to appear in court”, is now BNS section 269 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023, in force from 1 July 2024.

What changed

From IPC 229A to BNS 269

Now BNS section 269, with the same offence and punishment. It speaks of release on “bail bond or bond” (IPC: “bail or bond without sureties”).

The official text

Old and new, side by side

Indian Penal Code, 1860

Section 229A Failure by person released on bail or bond to appear in court

Whoever, having been charged with an offence and released on bail or on bond without sureties, fails without sufficient cause (the burden of proving which shall lie upon him), to appear in court in accordance with the terms of the bail or bond, shall be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to one year, or with fine, or with both.

Explanation.—The punishment under this section is—

(a) in addition to the punishment to which the offender would be liable on a conviction for the offence with which he has been charged; and

(b) without prejudice to the power of the court to order forfeiture of the bond.

Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023

Section 269 Failure by person released on bail bond or bond to appear in Court

Whoever, having been charged with an offence and released on bail bond or on bond, fails without sufficient cause (the burden of proving which shall lie upon him), to appear in Court in accordance with the terms of the bail or bond, shall be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to one year, or with fine, or with both.

Explanation.—The punishment under this section is—

(a) in addition to the punishment to which the offender would be liable on a conviction for the offence with which he has been charged; and

(b) without prejudice to the power of the Court to order forfeiture of the bond.

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amendment markers and footnotes of the official print are left out, so the old section reads as it stood when it was repealed; State amendments are not shown.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.

Old law or new?

Which one applies to a case

The BNS repealed the IPC from 1 July 2024 (section 358(1)).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.