Negligent conduct with respect to pulling down or repairing buildings
Section 288 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860 deals with negligent conduct with respect to pulling down or repairing buildings. Whoever, in pulling down or repairing any building, knowingly or negligently omits to take such order with that building as is sufficient to guard against any probable danger to human life from the fall of that building, or of any part thereof, shall be punished with imprisonment of either descripti 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 Repealed by section 358 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 (45 of 2023) with effect from 1 July 2024, but conduct before that date is still charged, tried and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, in pulling down or repairing any building, knowingly or negligently omits to take such order with that building as is sufficient to guard against any probable danger to human life from the fall of that building, or of any part thereof, shall be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to six months, or with fine which may extend to one thousand rupees, or with both.
Section 288, The Indian Penal Code, 1860 (Act 45 of 1860).
Now in the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita
BNS 290 Negligent conduct with respect to pulling down, repairing or constructing buildings, etc Text carried over almost unchanged 90%
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 The repealed enactment still governs what happened while it was in force.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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Raj Kumar Tomar vs State of Nct of Delhi
Court's Decision & Legal Precedent
When parties to a criminal case involving negligence and death have amicably settled their disputes through mediation, paid full compensation, and all parties consent to quashing of FIR without any coercion, the High Court has inherent power under Section 482 CrPC to quash the criminal proceedings in the interest of justice, particularly when the matter is essentially a family matter and no useful purpose would be served in continuing the proceedings.
On this section: Negligent act with respect to machinery - charge for negligent placement of construction material on road
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 288
What have the courts held on Section 288 of the Indian Penal Code?
Raj Kumar Tomar vs State of Nct of Delhi (16 Jul 2024) is the leading judgment on this section among those set out below: Negligent act with respect to machinery - charge for negligent placement of construction material on road.
How do I find court cases under Section 288 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 288, section 288 IPC, section 288 of the Indian Penal Code. People searching for it also type ipc 288 in bns and 288 ipc punishment. 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 Raj Kumar Tomar vs State of Nct of Delhi (16 Jul 2024).
What should I read with Section 288 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 290 (Negligent conduct with respect to pulling down, repairing or constructing buildings, etc), which replaced it; conduct before that date is still charged, tried and appealed under this section.
When did Section 288 of the Indian Penal Code come into force?
Section 288 of the Indian Penal Code, cited as IPC 288, came into force on 01 Jan 1862, having been enacted on 06 Oct 1860. It is no longer in force.
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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.