Aiding escape of, rescuing or harbouring such prisoner
Section 130 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860 deals with aiding escape of, rescuing or harbouring such prisoner. Whoever knowingly aids or assists any State prisoner or prisoner of war in escaping from lawful custody, or rescues or attempts to rescue any such prisoner, or harbours or conceals any such prisoner who has escaped from lawful custody, or offers or attempts to offer any resistance to the recapture o The Act came into force on 01 Jan 1862. Repealed by section 358 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 (45 of 2023) with effect from 1 July 2024, but conduct before that date is still charged, tried and appealed under it.
Whoever knowingly aids or assists any State prisoner or prisoner of war in escaping from lawful custody, or rescues or attempts to rescue any such prisoner, or harbours or conceals any such prisoner who has escaped from lawful custody, or offers or attempts to offer any resistance to the recapture of such prisoner shall be punished with [imprisonment for life], or with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to ten years, and shall also be liable to fine.
Explanation.-A State prisoner or prisoner of war, who is permitted to be at large on his parole within certain limits in [India], is said to escape from lawful custody if he goes beyond the limits within which he is allowed to be at large.
CHAPTER VII
OF OFFENCES RELATING TO THE ARMY, [NAVY AND AIR FORCE]
CHAPTER VII
OF OFFENCES RELATING TO THE ARMY, [NAVY AND AIR FORCE]
Section 130, The Indian Penal Code, 1860 (Act 45 of 1860).
Now in the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita
BNS 158 Aiding escape of, rescuing or harbouring such prisoner 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 The repealed enactment still governs what happened while it was in force.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.
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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Balwant Singh Khera vs Uoi
Court's Decision & Legal Precedent
When a petitioner alleges that criminal offences have been committed, the proper procedure is to file a First Information Report before the concerned Police Station. A Criminal Writ Petition is not the appropriate forum for raising such allegations, even if the matter involves public interest considerations. The High Court will not entertain criminal writ petitions that should properly be addressed through the regular criminal procedure mechanism.
On this section: Aiding and abetting waging of war against the Government - cited as alleged offence
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 130
What have the courts held on Section 130 of the Indian Penal Code?
Balwant Singh Khera vs Uoi (23 May 2003) is the leading judgment on this section among those set out below: Aiding and abetting waging of war against the Government - cited as alleged offence.
How do I find court cases under Section 130 of the Indian Penal Code?
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: IPC 130, section 130 IPC, section 130 of the Indian Penal Code. Each opens the full list of orders on eCourtsIndia, where it can be narrowed by court, year and outcome. 1 reported judgment on this section is set out on this page, beginning with Balwant Singh Khera vs Uoi (23 May 2003).
What should I read with Section 130 of the Indian Penal Code, and has it changed?
3 other provisions in this corpus refer back to it. For anything done on or after 1 July 2024 the provision to read is BNS 158 (Aiding escape of, rescuing or harbouring such prisoner), which replaced it; conduct before that date is still charged, tried and appealed under this section.
When did Section 130 of the Indian Penal Code come into force?
Section 130 of the Indian Penal Code, cited as IPC 130, came into force on 01 Jan 1862, having been enacted on 06 Oct 1860. It is no longer in force.
Other sections of this Act
- 499. Defamation1512 words
- 464. Making a false document1223 words
- 300. Murder1172 words
- 378. Theft980 words
- 108. Abettor745 words
- 403. Dishonest misappropriation of property727 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. Recovered from the consolidated text published by India Code (item 7b7d4fe6-206b-4e33-81f1-b98b018acaf6). This page is not a substitute for legal advice.