Assembling for purpose of committing dacoity
Section 402 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860 deals with assembling for purpose of committing dacoity. Whoever, at any time after the passing of this Act, shall be one of five or more persons assembled for the purpose of committing dacoity, shall be punished with rigorous imprisonment for a term which may extend to seven 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 Repealed by section 358 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 (45 of 2023) with effect from 1 July 2024, but conduct before that date is still charged, tried and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 be one of five or more persons assembled for the purpose of committing dacoity, shall be punished with rigorous imprisonment for a term which may extend to seven years, and shall also be liable to fine.
Of criminal misappropriation of property
Section 402, The Indian Penal Code, 1860 (Act 45 of 1860).
Now in the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita
BNS 310 Dacoity Distant match 54%
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 The repealed enactment still governs what happened while it was in force.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
- Bihar Co-operative Societies Act s. 44BQ
- 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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Bhola Nath vs State of N.c.t. of Delhi
Court's Decision & Legal Precedent
Where an appellant has already undergone substantial incarceration during investigation, trial, and appeal pendency, and there are no prior criminal antecedents or subsequent criminal activity, the period of incarceration already undergone may be treated as the punishment meted out, and the sentence may be modified accordingly to meet the ends of justice, particularly when significant time has elapsed since the commission of the offence.
On this section: Criminal Intimidation by Dacoits - applied to convict appellant for criminal intimidation in furtherance of dacoity; conviction confirmed on appeal
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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… Dated this the 5th day of January, 2017 J U D G M E N T Accused Nos.2 and 3 in S.C.No.510/2005 on the files of the Additional Sessions Judge (Adhoc II), Thalassery is before this Court in appeal seeking to set aside the finding of guilt against them by that court under Section 402 of the Indian Penal Code (for short 'the IPC.') and the conviction and sentence passed against them by judgment, dated 29.04.2009. The accused have been chargesheeted by the Sub Inspector of Police, Thalassery for the offence punishable under Section 402 IPC by the final report filed in Crime No.831/2004. 2. The …
Questions about Section 402
What have the courts held on Section 402 of the Indian Penal Code?
Bhola Nath vs State of N.c.t. of Delhi (08 Feb 2019) is the leading judgment on this section among those set out below: Criminal Intimidation by Dacoits - applied to convict appellant for criminal intimidation in furtherance of dacoity; conviction confirmed on appeal.
How do I find court cases under Section 402 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 402, section 402 IPC, section 402 of the Indian Penal Code. People searching for it also type ipc 402 in bns and ipc 402 punishment in hindi. 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 Bhola Nath vs State of N.c.t. of Delhi (08 Feb 2019).
What should I read with Section 402 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 310 (Dacoity), which replaced it; conduct before that date is still charged, tried and appealed under this section.
When did Section 402 of the Indian Penal Code come into force?
Section 402 of the Indian Penal Code, cited as IPC 402, 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.