Fraudulent removal or concealment of property to prevent its seizure as forfeited or in execution
Section 206 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860 deals with fraudulent removal or concealment of property to prevent its seizure as forfeited or in execution. Whoever fraudulently removes, conceals, transfers or delivers to any person any property or any interest therein, intending thereby to prevent that property or interest therein from being taken as a forfeiture or in satisfaction of a fine, under a sentence which has been pronounced, or which he know 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 Repealed by section 358 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 (45 of 2023) with effect from 1 July 2024, but conduct before that date is still charged, tried and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 fraudulently removes, conceals, transfers or delivers to any person any property or any interest therein, intending thereby to prevent that property or interest therein from being taken as a forfeiture or in satisfaction of a fine, under a sentence which has been pronounced, or which he knows to be likely to be pronounced, by a Court of Justice or other competent authority, or from being taken in execution of a decree or order which has been made, or which he knows to be likely to be made by a Court of Justice in a civil suit, shall be punished with
imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to two years, or with fine, or with both.
Section 206, The Indian Penal Code, 1860 (Act 45 of 1860).
Now in the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita
BNS 243 Fraudulent removal or concealment of property to prevent its seizure as forfeited or in execution Text carried over almost unchanged 96%
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 The repealed enactment still governs what happened while it was in force.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 6
- BENGAL PUBLIC DEMANDS RECOVERY ACT, 1913 Bengal Act 3 of 1913 as amended in its application to Arunachal Pradesh s. 58 Penalties
- Manipur Public Demand Recovery Act s. 55
- Odisha Public Demands Recovery Act s. 66
- Odisha Public Demands Recovery Act s. 67
- Rajasthan Public Demands Recovery Act s. 28 Penalties
- West Bengal Sales Tax Act s. 108
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.
-
B.s. Guraya vs Ut
Court's Decision & Legal Precedent
An accused person cannot alienate property that has been validly attached by a court order merely on the ground that the property is ancestral or that there is no revenue entry regarding the attachment. The proper procedure is to file a review application seeking release of the property. Alienation of attached property without obtaining court's permission constitutes disobedience of court orders and potential contempt of court under Section 206 IPC. The status and education of the accused (in this case, a Colonel in the Army) is relevant in determining whether the alienation was done under bonafide mistake or with malafide intention.
On this section: Contempt of court through disobedience of court orders; prosecution alleged petitioner committed this offence by selling attached agricultural land
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 206
What have the courts held on Section 206 of the Indian Penal Code?
B.s. Guraya vs Ut (16 May 2011) is the leading judgment on this section among those set out below: Contempt of court through disobedience of court orders; prosecution alleged petitioner committed this offence by selling attached agricultural land.
How do I find court cases under Section 206 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 206, section 206 IPC, section 206 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 B.s. Guraya vs Ut (16 May 2011).
What should I read with Section 206 of the Indian Penal Code, and has it changed?
6 other provisions in this corpus refer back to it. For anything done on or after 1 July 2024 the provision to read is BNS 243 (Fraudulent removal or concealment of property to prevent its seizure as forfeited or in execution), which replaced it; conduct before that date is still charged, tried and appealed under this section.
When did Section 206 of the Indian Penal Code come into force?
Section 206 of the Indian Penal Code, cited as IPC 206, 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.