Harbouring offender
Section 249 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 deals with harbouring offender. Whenever an offence has been committed, whoever harbours or conceals a person whom he knows or has reason to believe to be the offender, with the intention of screening him from legal punishment shall,— (a) if the offence is punishable with death, be punished with imprisonment of either description The Act came into force on 01 Jul 2024.
Whenever an offence has been committed, whoever harbours or conceals a person whom he knows or has reason to believe to be the offender, with the intention of screening him from legal punishment shall,—
(a) if the offence is punishable with death, be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to five years, and shall also be liable to fine;
(b) if the offence is punishable with imprisonment for life, or with imprisonment which may extend to ten years, be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to three years, and shall also be liable to fine;
(c) if the offence is punishable with imprisonment which may extend to one year, and not to ten years, be punished with imprisonment of the description provided for the offence for a term which may extend to one-fourth part of the longest term of imprisonment provided for the offence, or with fine, or with both.
Explanation.— "Offence" in this section includes any act committed at any place out of India, which, if committed in India, would be punishable under any of the following sections, namely, 103, 105, 307, sub-sections (2), (3) and (4) of section 309, sub-sections (2), (3), (4) and (5) of section 310, 311, 312, clauses (f) and (g) of section 326, sub-sections (4), (6), (7) and (8) of section 331, clauses (a) and (b) of section 332 and every such act shall, for the purposes of this section, be deemed to be punishable as if the accused person had been guilty of it in India.
Exception.—This section shall not extend to any case in which the harbour or concealment is by the spouse of the offender.
Illustration.
A, knowing that B has committed dacoity, knowingly conceals B in order to screen him from legal punishment. Here, as B is liable to imprisonment for life, A is liable to imprisonment of either description for a term not exceeding three years, and is also liable to fine.
Section 249, The Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 (Act 45 of 2023).
Replaces a provision of the Indian Penal Code
IPC 212 Harbouring offender-if a capital offence, if punishable with imprisonment for life, or with imprisonment Close, with changes 78%
Measured by comparing the text of the two provisions, not taken from an official correspondence table — there is no machine-readable one. See both texts side by side before relying on it.
Both regimes are live. The repealed enactment still governs what happened while it was in force. We never redirect one to the other.
Cross-references
Extracted from the operative text of the enactments themselves. Every destination below exists in our corpus.
This section refers to
- s. 309 Robbery
- s. 310 Dacoity
- s. 311 Robbery, or dacoity, with attempt to cause death or grievous hurt
- s. 312 Attempt to commit robbery or dacoity when armed with deadly weapon
- s. 326 Mischief by injury, inundation, fire or explosive substance, etc
- s. 331 Punishment for house-trespass or house-breaking
- s. 332 House-trespass in order to commit offence
Referred to by 1
How this offence is classified
From the First Schedule to the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023, which classifies every offence under the Sanhita. Cognizable means a police officer may arrest without warrant; bailable means bail is a matter of right rather than of the court's discretion. This section is classified 3 ways.
| Offence | Punishment | Cognizable | Bailable | Triable by |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Harbouring an offender, if the offence is punishable with death. | Imprisonment for 5 years and fine. | Cognizable. | Bailable. | Magistrate of the first class. |
| If punishable with imprisonment for life or with imprisonment for 10 years. | Imprisonment for 3 years and fine. | Cognizable. | Bailable. | Magistrate of the first class. |
| If punishable with imprisonment for 1 year and not for 10 years. | Imprisonment for one-fourth of the longest term, and of the descriptions, provided for the offence, or fine, or both. | Cognizable. | Bailable. | Magistrate of the first class. |
Questions about Section 249
What does Section 249 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita deal with?
Section 249 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita is headed "Harbouring offender". Whenever an offence has been committed, whoever harbours or conceals a person whom he knows or has reason to believe to be the offender, with the intention of screening him from legal punishment shall,— (a) if the offence is punishable with death, be punished with imprisonment of either description
Is Section 249 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita bailable?
Bailable, under the First Schedule to the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023.
Is Section 249 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita cognizable?
Cognizable. "Cognizable" means a police officer may arrest without warrant; "non-cognizable" that they may not. An offence under this section is triable by Magistrate of the first class.
How do I find court cases under Section 249 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita?
In judgments and charge sheets this section is written several ways, and each form finds a different set of orders. These search the full text of every order eCourtsIndia holds, best matches first: BNS 249, section 249 BNS, section 249 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita. People searching for it also type bns 249 b and bns 249 c. Each opens the full list of orders on eCourtsIndia, where it can be narrowed by court, year and outcome.
What should I read with Section 249 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, and has it changed?
Its own text turns on section 309 (Robbery), section 310 (Dacoity), section 311 (Robbery, or dacoity, with attempt to cause death or grievous hurt), section 312 (Attempt to commit robbery or dacoity when armed with deadly weapon), and on 3 further provisions, so none of them can safely be read on its own. 1 other provision in this corpus refers back to it. It carries forward IPC 212 (Harbouring offender-if a capital offence, if punishable with imprisonment for life, or with imprisonment), so the judgments decided under that provision are the case law on this one.
When did Section 249 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita come into force?
Section 249 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, cited as BNS 249, came into force on 01 Jul 2024, having been enacted on 25 Dec 2023. It is in force as at the date shown on this page.
Other sections of this Act
- 2. Definitions2199 words
- 356. Defamation1543 words
- 335. Making a false document1318 words
- 101. Murder1177 words
- 303. Theft1104 words
- 3. General explanations858 words
Source and method. Compiled from the enactments of Parliament and of the State legislatures as published on India Code, and republished together with commentary and other original matter under section 52(1)(q)(ii) of the Copyright Act, 1957. Structured, cross-referenced and maintained by eCourtsIndia. Text as in force on 15 Oct 2026. This page is not a substitute for legal advice.