Offering gift or restoration of property in consideration of screening offender-if a capital offence; if punishable with imprisonment for life, or with imprisonment
Section 214 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860 deals with offering gift or restoration of property in consideration of screening offender-if a capital offence; if punishable with imprisonment for life, or with imprisonment. 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 off 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 Repealed by section 358 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 (45 of 2023) with effect from 1 July 2024, but conduct before that date is still charged, tried and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.
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 his not proceeding against any person for the purpose of bringing him to legal punishment,
if a capital offence;
if a capital offence;-shall, 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;
if punishable with imprisonment for life, or with imprisonment.
if punishable with imprisonment for life, or with imprisonment.- and if the offence is punishable with [imprisonment for life] or with imprisonment which may extend to ten years, shall be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to three years, and shall also be liable to fine;
1. Ins. by Act 3 of 1894, s. 7.
2. Subs. by Act 3 of 1951, s. 3 and Sch., for "the States".
3. Subs. by Act 26 of 1955, s. 117 and Sch., for "transportation for life".
4. Subs. by Act 42 of 1953, s. 4 and the Third Sch., for "to restore or cause the restoration of".
and if the offence is punishable with imprisonment not extending to ten years, 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 imprisonment provided for the offence, or with fine, or with both.
[Exception.-The provisions of sections 213 and 214 do not extend to any case in which the offence may lawfully be compounded.]
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Section 214, The Indian Penal Code, 1860 (Act 45 of 1860).
Now in the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita
BNS 251 Offering gift or restoration of property in consideration of screening offender 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.
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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R.c.sharma vs C.b.i.
Court's Decision & Legal Precedent
Where the allegations in a complaint disclose only a non-cognizable offence, the police cannot investigate such offence without obtaining prior written permission from a competent Magistrate as mandated by Section 155(2) of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973. This is a mandatory provision, and any investigation conducted in violation thereof is illegal and invalid. Consequently, all proceedings arising from such illegal investigation, including charges framed and trial conducted, must be quashed and the accused discharged. The nature of the offence must be determined from the facts available at the time of registration, and police cannot circumvent this requirement by initially registering an FIR under a cognizable offence when the facts disclose only a non-cognizable offence.
On this section: Offering gift or restoration of property in consideration of screening offender - final charge; court held this is non-cognizable offence requiring Magistrate's permission for investigation
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Fr.george Panackal vs State of Kerala
Court's Decision & Legal Precedent
The High Court should not quash criminal proceedings based solely on a preliminary examination of one witness's statement recorded under Section 164 CrPC. Instead, the appropriate remedy is to permit the accused to file a discharge petition before the trial court, which can then comprehensively evaluate all evidence and determine whether the charges are substantiated. The discharge petition procedure provides a fair, expeditious, and procedurally sound mechanism for testing the viability of criminal charges without requiring the accused's continuous presence in court.
On this section: Offering gift or restoration of property in consideration of screening offender - the core offense alleged against the petitioner. The court examined whether the essential elements of this section are satisfied by the evidence.
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 214
What have the courts held on Section 214 of the Indian Penal Code?
R.c.sharma vs C.b.i. (27 Jul 2010) is the leading judgment on this section among those set out below: Offering gift or restoration of property in consideration of screening offender - final charge; court held this is non-cognizable offence requiring Magistrate's permission for investigation. Another 1 judgment on this section is set out below. They run from 2010 to 2024.
How do I find court cases under Section 214 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 214, section 214 IPC, section 214 of the Indian Penal Code. 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 R.c.sharma vs C.b.i. (27 Jul 2010).
What should I read with Section 214 of the Indian Penal Code, and has it changed?
Its own text turns on section 213 (Taking gift, etc., to screen an offender from punishment-if a capital offence; if punishable with imprisonment for life, or with imprisonment), so none of them can safely be read on its own. 1 other provision in this corpus refers back to it. For anything done on or after 1 July 2024 the provision to read is BNS 251 (Offering gift or restoration of property in consideration of screening offender), which replaced it; conduct before that date is still charged, tried and appealed under this section.
When did Section 214 of the Indian Penal Code come into force?
Section 214 of the Indian Penal Code, cited as IPC 214, 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.