Public servant concealing design to commit offence which it is his duty to prevent
Section 59 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 deals with public servant concealing design to commit offence which it is his duty to prevent. Whoever, being a public servant, intending to facilitate or knowing it to be likely that he will thereby 33 facilitate the commission of an offence which it is his duty as such public servant to prevent, voluntarily conceals, by any act or omission or by the use of encryption or any other informatio The Act came into force on 01 Jul 2024.
Whoever, being a public servant, intending to facilitate or knowing it to be likely that he will thereby 33 facilitate the commission of an offence which it is his duty as such public servant to prevent, voluntarily conceals, by any act or omission or by the use of encryption or any other information hiding tool, the existence of a design to commit such offence, or makes any representation which he knows to be false respecting such design shall,—
(a) if the offence be coommitted, be punished with imprisonment of any description provided for the offence, for a term which may extend to one-half of the longest term of such imprisonment, or with such fine as is provided for that offence, or with both; or
(b) if the offence be punishable with death or imprisonment for life, with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to ten years; or
(c) if the offence be not committed, shall be punished with imprisonment of any description provided for the offence for a term which may extend to one-fourth part of the longest term of such imprisonment or with such fine as is provided for the offence, or with both.
Illustration.
A, an officer of police, being legally bound to give information of all designs to commit robbery which may come to his knowledge, and knowing that B designs to commit robbery, omits to give such information, with intent to so facilitate the commission of that offence. Here A has by an illegal omission concealed the existence of B’s design, and is liable to punishment according to the provision of this section.
Section 59, The Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 (Act 45 of 2023).
Replaces a provision of the Indian Penal Code
IPC 119 Public servant concealing design to commit offence which it is his duty to prevent Text carried over almost unchanged 95%
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| A public servant concealing a design to commit an offence which it is his duty to prevent, if the offence be committed. | Imprisonment extending to one-half of the longest term provided for the offence, or fine, or both. | According as offence abetted is cognizable or non-cognizable. | According as offence abetted is bailable or non-bailable. | Court by which offence abetted is triable. |
| If the offence be punishable with death or imprisonment for life. | Imprisonment for 10 years. | According as offence abetted is cognizable or non-cognizable. | Non-bailable. | Court by which offence abetted is triable. |
| If the offence be not committed. | Imprisonment extending to one-fourth of the longest term provided for the offence, or fine, or both. | According as offence abetted is cognizable or non-cognizable. | Bailable. | Court by which offence abetted is triable. |
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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Tarun Mahanta vs The State of Assam
Decided under Indian Penal Code 119, which this section replaces. The court did not have this Act before it.
Court's Decision & Legal Precedent
When a petitioner seeking anticipatory bail has not misused the liberty granted through interim protection, has cooperated fully with the investigation, and has appeared before the investigating officer as directed, the court should convert the interim protection into absolute bail on the same terms and conditions, with the condition that the petitioner continues to appear before the investigating officer as and when called for.
On this section: Punishment for public servant disobeying law - applicable to the charges against petitioner
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Tapeswar Deka vs The State of Assam
Decided under Indian Penal Code 119, which this section replaces. The court did not have this Act before it.
Court's Decision & Legal Precedent
When the materials in the case diary do not indicate necessity for custodial interrogation of the accused, and the accused has already been interrogated during interim bail period, it is a fit case for granting absolute pre-arrest bail under Section 438 Cr.P.C., maintaining the same terms and conditions as the interim bail.
On this section: Section 119 IPC is the substantive criminal provision under which the case was registered at Jorhat Police Station. The nature of the offense under this section was considered in assessing the necessity of custodial interrogation.
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 59
What have the courts held on Section 59 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita?
Tarun Mahanta vs The State of Assam (16 Sep 2024) is the leading judgment on this section among those set out below, though it was decided under IPC 119, which this section replaced -- the court never mentioned this Act: Punishment for public servant disobeying law - applicable to the charges against petitioner. Another 1 judgment on this section is set out below. They run from 2019 to 2024.
Is Section 59 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita bailable?
According as offence abetted is bailable or non-bailable, on a first conviction, under the First Schedule to the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023. This section is classified 3 ways; all of them are set out on this page.
Is Section 59 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita cognizable?
According as offence abetted is cognizable or 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 Court by which offence abetted is triable.
How do I find court cases under Section 59 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 59, section 59 BNS, section 59 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita. People searching for it also type 59 bns act. 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 Tarun Mahanta vs The State of Assam (16 Sep 2024).
What should I read with Section 59 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, and has it changed?
1 other provision in this corpus refers back to it. It carries forward IPC 119 (Public servant concealing design to commit offence which it is his duty to prevent), so the judgments decided under that provision are the case law on this one.
When did Section 59 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita come into force?
Section 59 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, cited as BNS 59, 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.