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IndiaCode Laws
Section277
The Indian Penal Code, 1860

Fouling water of public spring or reservoir

Repealed From 01 Jan 1862 Act 45 of 1860 As on 17 Oct 2026

Act 45 of 1860 Ministry Home Affairs Enacted 06 Oct 1860 In force 01 Jan 1862 Cited by 6 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This provision is repealed. Repealed by section 358 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 (45 of 2023) with effect from 1 July 2024.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 277 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860 deals with fouling water of public spring or reservoir. Whoever voluntarily corrupts or fouls the water of any public spring or reservoir, so as to render it less fit for the purpose for which it is ordinarily used, shall be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to three months, or with fine which may extend to five 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 Repealed by section 358 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 (45 of 2023) with effect from 1 July 2024, but conduct before that date is still charged, tried and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 voluntarily corrupts or fouls the water of any public spring or reservoir, so as to render it less fit for the purpose for which it is ordinarily used, shall be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to three months, or with fine which may extend to five hundred rupees, or with both.

Section 277, The Indian Penal Code, 1860 (Act 45 of 1860).

Now in the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita

BNS 279 Fouling water of public spring or reservoir 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 The repealed enactment still governs what happened while it was in force.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

  1. Daman and Diu Municipalities Regulation 1994 s. 334
  2. Goa Municipalities Act s. 210 Prohibition of certain acts affecting the municipal water works
  3. Karnataka Krishna Basin Development Authority Act s. 46 Amendment of Karnataka Act 34 of 1987
  4. Punjab Gram Panchayat Act s. 43
  5. Punjab Panchayati Raj Act s. 47 Cognizance of criminal cases
  6. Telangana Transplantation of Human Organs Act s. 25

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. Manjeet Dhaka vs State

    High Court 02 Aug 2022 Persuasive (Other HC)

    Court's Decision & Legal Precedent

    An inordinate and unexplained delay in filing an FIR, coupled with a lack of corroborating evidence for negligence, justifies the quashing of charges to prevent the abuse of the legal process.

    On this section: Fouling water of public spring or reservoir.

    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 277

What have the courts held on Section 277 of the Indian Penal Code?

Manjeet Dhaka vs State (02 Aug 2022) is the leading judgment on this section among those set out below: Fouling water of public spring or reservoir.

How do I find court cases under Section 277 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 277, section 277 IPC, section 277 of the Indian Penal Code. People searching for it also type ipc 277 in bns and ipc 277e. 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 Manjeet Dhaka vs State (02 Aug 2022).

What should I read with Section 277 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 279 (Fouling water of public spring or reservoir), which replaced it; conduct before that date is still charged, tried and appealed under this section.

When did Section 277 of the Indian Penal Code come into force?

Section 277 of the Indian Penal Code, cited as IPC 277, 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.