Offering gift or restoration of property in consideration of screening offender

Q: When did Section 251 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita come into force?

Section 251 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, cited as BNS 251, 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.

In force From 01 Jul 2024 Act 45 of 2023 As on 15 Oct 2026

Act 45 of 2023 Ministry Home Affairs Enacted 25 Dec 2023 In force 01 Jul 2024 Cited by 1 provision

Section 251 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 deals with offering gift or restoration of property in consideration of screening offender. Whoever gives or causes, or offers or agrees to give or cause, any gratification to any person, or restores or causes the restoration of any property to any person, in consideration of that person’s concealing an offence, or of his screening any person from legal punishment for any offence, or of hi The Act came into force on 01 Jul 2024.

Whoever gives or causes, or offers or agrees to give or cause, any gratification to any person, or restores or causes the restoration of any property to any person, in consideration of that person’s concealing an offence, or of his screening any person from legal punishment for any offence, or of his not proceeding against any person for the purpose of bringing him to 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 seven 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 not extending 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.
Exception.—The provisions of this section and section 250 do not extend to any case in which the offence may lawfully be compounded.
Section 251, The Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 (Act 45 of 2023).

Replaces a provision of the Indian Penal Code

IPC 214 Offering gift or restoration of property in consideration of screening offender-if a capital offence; if punishable with imprisonment for life, or with imprisonment Close, with changes 79%

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. 250 Taking gift, etc., to screen an offender from punishment

Referred to by 1

s. 2 Definitions

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
Offering gift or restoration of property in consideration of screening offender if the offence is punishable with death.	Imprisonment for 7 years and fine.	Non-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.	Non-cognizable.	Bailable.	Magistrate of the first class.
If punishable with imprisonment for less than 10 years.	Imprisonment for one-fourth of the longest term, provided for the offence, or fine, or both.	Non-cognizable.	Bailable.	Magistrate of the first class.

The Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023

Questions about Section 251

What does Section 251 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita deal with?

Section 251 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita is headed "Offering gift or restoration of property in consideration of screening offender". Whoever gives or causes, or offers or agrees to give or cause, any gratification to any person, or restores or causes the restoration of any property to any person, in consideration of that person’s concealing an offence, or of his screening any person from legal punishment for any offence, or of hi

Is Section 251 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita bailable?

Bailable, under the First Schedule to the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023.

Is Section 251 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita cognizable?

Non-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 251 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 251, section 251 BNS, section 251 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita. People searching for it also type bns 251 2 in hindi and bns 251 3 in hindi. 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 251 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, and has it changed?

Its own text turns on section 250 (Taking gift, etc., to screen an offender from punishment), 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 214 (Offering gift or restoration of property in consideration of screening 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 251 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita come into force?

Section 251 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, cited as BNS 251, 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

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.