Harbouring offender who has escaped from custody or whose apprehension has been ordered
Section 253 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 deals with harbouring offender who has escaped from custody or whose apprehension has been ordered. Whenever any person convicted of or charged with an offence, being in lawful custody for that offence, escapes from such custody, or whenever a public servant, in the exercise of the lawful powers of such public servant, orders a certain person to be apprehended for an offence, whoever, knowing of s The Act came into force on 01 Jul 2024.
Whenever any person convicted of or charged with an offence, being in lawful custody for that offence, escapes from such custody, or whenever a public servant, in the exercise of the lawful powers of such public servant, orders a certain person to be apprehended for an offence, whoever, knowing of such escape or order for apprehension, harbours or conceals that person with the intention of preventing him from being apprehended, shall be punished in the manner following, namely:—
(a) if the offence for which the person was in custody or is ordered to be apprehended is punishable with death, he shall 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 imprisonment for ten years, he shall be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to three years, with or without fine;
(c) if the offence is punishable with imprisonment which may extend to one year and not to ten years, he shall 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 the imprisonment provided for such offence, or with fine, or with both.
Explanation.—"Offence" in this section includes also any act or omission of which a person is alleged to have been guilty out of India, which, if he had been guilty of it in India, would have been punishable as an offence, and for which he is, under any law relating to extradition, or otherwise, liable to be apprehended or detained in custody in India, and every such act or omission 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.—The provisions of this section do not extend to the case in which the harbour or concealment is by the spouse of the person to be apprehended.
Section 253, The Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 (Act 45 of 2023).
Replaces a provision of the Indian Penal Code
IPC 216 Harbouring offender who has escaped from custody or whose apprehension has been ordered-if a capital offence; if punishable with imprisonment for life, or with imprisonment Text carried over almost unchanged 89%
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.
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 who has escaped from custody, or whose apprehension has been ordered, if the offence is punishable with death. | Imprisonment for 7 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, with or without 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 provided for the offence, or fine, or both. | Cognizable. | Bailable. | Magistrate of the first class. |
Related judgements & precedents
These are some judgments that construed this section, and hold precedence value. They hold authority on how to read, interpret and use this section.
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Ashish Kumar Singh @ Ashiqi vs The Sate of Bihar
Decided under Indian Penal Code 216, which this section replaces. The court did not have this Act before it.
Court's Decision & Legal Precedent
When an accused has been in custody for a substantial period and the primary evidence sought by the investigating agency (looted articles) has not been recovered from the accused's possession, bail should be granted, particularly when the only recovery is of a firearm unrelated to the primary charge of dacoity. The court must balance the right to liberty against the severity of charges and the strength of evidence.
On this section: Harbouring offender - charge against the petitioner
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Vavilala Janardhan vs The State of Telangana
Decided under Indian Penal Code 216, which this section replaces. The court did not have this Act before it.
Court's Decision & Legal Precedent
An accused who fails to report to jail after parole extension cannot be granted bail merely on the ground of suffering from a chronic illness that requires only outpatient medical treatment. The fact that medical treatment is available on an outpatient basis demonstrates that the condition does not prevent the accused from complying with court-ordered jail reporting. Such non-compliance, coupled with the accused's ability to remain outside jail for an extended period, demonstrates a lack of credibility and trustworthiness, making the accused ineligible for bail. Medical certificates showing only outpatient treatment do not constitute sufficient justification for violating court orders.
On this section: Offence charged against Accused-2 for harbouring the petitioner
The holding above is the ratio decidendi as extracted from the judgment by eCourts India, reproduced unaltered — it is a rendering of the court's reasoning, not a substitute for its words. Read the order itself before relying on it.
Questions about Section 253
What have the courts held on Section 253 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita?
Ashish Kumar Singh @ Ashiqi vs The Sate of Bihar (06 Aug 2019) is the leading judgment on this section among those set out below, though it was decided under IPC 216, which this section replaced -- the court never mentioned this Act: Harbouring offender - charge against the petitioner. Another 1 judgment on this section is set out below. They run from 2017 to 2019.
Is Section 253 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita bailable?
Bailable, under the First Schedule to the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023.
Is Section 253 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 253 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 253, section 253 BNS, section 253 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita. People searching for it also type bns 253 2 and 253 bns in ipc. Each opens the full list of orders on eCourtsIndia, where it can be narrowed by court, year and outcome. 2 reported judgments on this section are set out on this page, beginning with Ashish Kumar Singh @ Ashiqi vs The Sate of Bihar (06 Aug 2019).
What should I read with Section 253 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, and has it changed?
1 other provision in this corpus refers back to it. It carries forward IPC 216 (Harbouring offender who has escaped from custody or whose apprehension has been ordered-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 253 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita come into force?
Section 253 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, cited as BNS 253, 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.
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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.