Punishment for belonging to gang of dacoits
Section 400 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860 deals with punishment for belonging to gang of dacoits. Whoever, at any time after the passing of this Act, shall belong to a gang of persons associated for the purpose of habitually committing dacoity, shall be punished with [imprisonment for life], or with rigorous imprisonment for a term which may extend to ten years, and shall also be liable to fine. 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 Repealed by section 358 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 (45 of 2023) with effect from 1 July 2024, but conduct before that date is still charged, tried and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, at any time after the passing of this Act, shall belong to a gang of persons associated for the purpose of habitually committing dacoity, shall be punished with [imprisonment for life], or with rigorous imprisonment for a term which may extend to ten years, and shall also be liable to fine.
Section 400, The Indian Penal Code, 1860 (Act 45 of 1860).
Now in the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita
BNS 313 Punishment for belonging to gang of robbers, etc Distant match 60%
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 The repealed enactment still governs what happened while it was in force.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
- Andhra Pradesh Prevention of Dangerous Activities of Boot-Leggers, Dacoits, Goondas, Immoral Traffic Offenders and Land-Grabbers Act s. 2 Definitions
- Code of Criminal Procedure Act s. 82 Proclamation for person absconding
- Code of Criminal Procedure (Amendment) Act s. 12 Amendment of section 82
- Crpc 1973 s. 82 Proclamation for person absconding
- Telangana Prevention of Dangerous Activities of Boot-leggers, Dacoits, Drug-Offenders, Goondas, Immoral Traffic Offenders Land-Grabbers, Spurious Seed Offenders, Insecticide Offenders, Fertiliser Offenders, Food Adulteration Offenders, Fake Document Offenders, Scheduled Commodities Offenders, Forest Offenders, Gaming Offenders, Sexual Offenders, Explosive Substances Offenders, Arms Offenders, Cyber Crime Offenders and White Collar or Financial Offenders Act s. 17
- 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.
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Ashish Kumar Singh @ Ashiqi vs The Sate of Bihar
Court's Decision & Legal Precedent
When an accused has been in custody for a substantial period and the primary evidence sought by the investigating agency (looted articles) has not been recovered from the accused's possession, bail should be granted, particularly when the only recovery is of a firearm unrelated to the primary charge of dacoity. The court must balance the right to liberty against the severity of charges and the strength of evidence.
On this section: Dacoity - charge against the petitioner for alleged involvement in robbery
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Pramveer @ Sonu vs State of Rajasthan through Pp
Court's Decision & Legal Precedent
When an accused has been in custody for an extended period (over two years), the prosecution's investigation has resulted in an initial untraced report, and the accused has been acquitted in other criminal cases, it is just and expedient to grant regular bail subject to trial court satisfaction, without prejudging the merits of the case.
On this section: Offence of belonging to gang of dacoits; charge against petitioner
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Birju Kumar vs State of Bihar& ANR.
Court's Decision & Legal Precedent
When a lower court takes cognizance of a criminal case as a whole, the High Court should not interfere merely because cognizance was taken under one specific section of the IPC instead of multiple sections. The determination of specific offences applicable to the facts is best made at the charge stage, not at the cognizance stage. Therefore, a petition seeking quashing of cognizance on the ground that additional sections should have been included in the cognizance is not maintainable.
On this section: Criminal breach of trust by public servant - section which petitioner contended should also be included in cognizance
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Jitendra Nat @ Din Dayal Nat @ Dayal Nat vs The State of Bihar
Court's Decision & Legal Precedent
When an accused is charged with serious offences including dacoity and illegal firearm possession arising from the same occurrence, and has already been granted bail in a related case, the High Court may grant bail in the present case with appropriate sureties and conditions, balancing the principles of individual liberty, presumption of innocence, and public interest, provided that the bail conditions are stringent enough to ensure the accused's appearance in court and compliance with legal obligations.
On this section: Dacoity—cited as the primary charge in the present case (Criminal Miscellaneous No. 42173 of 2011)
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.
Judgments citing this section
These may be obiter dicta or a precedent, for you to study. These are the judgments where this section is quoted.
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… Per Contra, learned State Counsel opposed the submissions and submitted that the trial Court has rightly convicted the appellants and awarded sentence. Hence, no case is made out for interference. 6. Heard learned counsel for the rival parties and perused the record. 7. Section 400 of Indian Penal Code runs as under : "400. Punishment for belonging to gang of dacoits .-- Whoever, at any time after the passing of this Act, shall belong to a gang of persons associated for the purpose of habitually committing dacoity, shall be punished with imprisonment for life, or with rigorous …
Questions about Section 400
What have the courts held on Section 400 of the Indian Penal Code?
Ashish Kumar Singh @ Ashiqi vs The Sate of Bihar (06 Aug 2019) is the leading judgment on this section among those set out below: Dacoity - charge against the petitioner for alleged involvement in robbery. Another 3 judgments on this section are set out below. They run from 2011 to 2019.
How do I find court cases under Section 400 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 400, section 400 IPC, section 400 of the Indian Penal Code. People searching for it also type ipc 400a and ipc 400 bc. Each opens the full list of orders on eCourtsIndia, where it can be narrowed by court, year and outcome. 4 reported judgments on this section are set out on this page, beginning with Ashish Kumar Singh @ Ashiqi vs The Sate of Bihar (06 Aug 2019).
What should I read with Section 400 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 313 (Punishment for belonging to gang of robbers, etc), which replaced it; conduct before that date is still charged, tried and appealed under this section.
When did Section 400 of the Indian Penal Code come into force?
Section 400 of the Indian Penal Code, cited as IPC 400, 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
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- 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.