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Section216A
The Indian Penal Code, 1860

Penalty for harbouring robbers or dacoits

Repealed From 01 Jan 1862 Act 45 of 1860 As on 16 Oct 2026

Act 45 of 1860 Ministry Home Affairs Enacted 06 Oct 1860 In force 01 Jan 1862 Cited by 2 provisions

This provision is repealed. Repealed by section 358 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 (45 of 2023) with effect from 1 July 2024. It is reproduced because conduct before that date is still charged, tried and appealed under it.

Section 216A of the Indian Penal Code, 1860 deals with penalty for harbouring robbers or dacoits. Whoever, knowing or having reason to believe that any persons are about to commit or have recently committed robbery or dacoity, harbours them or any of them, with the intention of facilitating the commission of such robbery or dacoity or of screening them or any of them from punishment, shall be pu 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 Repealed by section 358 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 (45 of 2023) with effect from 1 July 2024, but conduct before that date is still charged, tried and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, knowing or having reason to believe that any persons are about to commit or have recently committed robbery or dacoity,

harbours them or any of them, with the intention of facilitating the commission of such robbery or dacoity or of screening them or any of them from punishment, shall be punished with rigorous imprisonment for

a term which may extend to seven years, and shall also be liable to fine.

Explanation.-For the purposes of this section it is immaterial whether the robbery or dacoity is intended to be committed, or has been committed, within or without [India].

Exception.-This provision does not extend to the case in which the harbour is by the husband or wife of the offender.]

Section 216A, The Indian Penal Code, 1860 (Act 45 of 1860).

Now in the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita

BNS 254 Penalty for harbouring robbers or dacoits 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 The repealed enactment still governs what happened while it was in force.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 2

  1. s. 216B Repealed
  2. Uttar Pradesh Dacoity Affected Areas Act s. 30

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.

  1. Rahul Kumar& ANR. vs The State of Bihar

    High Court 19 Aug 2017 Persuasive (Other High Court)

    Court's Decision & Legal Precedent

    Recovery of illegal firearms and ammunition from the possession of accused persons constitutes sufficient grounds to reject bail applications, as such recovery demonstrates the serious nature of the charges and the potential danger posed by the accused, notwithstanding claims of false implication.

    On this section: Charge against petitioners for alleged criminal conduct related to firearms possession

    Read the full order on eCourts India

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 216A

What have the courts held on Section 216A of the Indian Penal Code?

Rahul Kumar& ANR. vs The State of Bihar (19 Aug 2017) is the leading judgment on this section among those set out below: Charge against petitioners for alleged criminal conduct related to firearms possession.

How do I find court cases under Section 216A 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 216A, section 216A IPC, section 216A 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 Rahul Kumar& ANR. vs The State of Bihar (19 Aug 2017).

What should I read with Section 216A of the Indian Penal Code, and has it changed?

2 other provisions in this corpus refer back to it. For anything done on or after 1 July 2024 the provision to read is BNS 254 (Penalty for harbouring robbers or dacoits), which replaced it; conduct before that date is still charged, tried and appealed under this section.

When did Section 216A of the Indian Penal Code come into force?

Section 216A of the Indian Penal Code, cited as IPC 216A, 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

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.