Mischief by injury to public road, bridge, river or channel
Section 431 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860 deals with mischief by injury to public road, bridge, river or channel. Whoever commits mischief by doing any act which renders or which he knows to be likely to render any public road, bridge, navigable river or navigable channel, natural or artificial, impassable or less safe for travelling or conveying property, 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 Repealed by section 358 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 (45 of 2023) with effect from 1 July 2024, but conduct before that date is still charged, tried and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 commits mischief by doing any act which renders or which he knows to be likely to render any public road, bridge, navigable river or navigable channel, natural or artificial, impassable or less safe for travelling or conveying property, shall be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to five years, or with fine, or with both.
Section 431, The Indian Penal Code, 1860 (Act 45 of 1860).
Now in the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita
BNS 326 Mischief by injury, inundation, fire or explosive substance, etc Close, with changes 74%
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 The repealed enactment still governs what happened while it was in force.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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Sanjeev Khera vs Govt. of N.c.t. of Delhi
Court's Decision & Legal Precedent
A criminal charge must be proportionate to the nature of the alleged conduct and must fall within the legislative scope of the criminal provision invoked. When the alleged conduct of parking vehicles causing road obstruction is charged under Section 431 IPC (prescribing five years imprisonment) instead of the appropriate Sections 283 and 290 IPC (prescribing a fine of Rs. 200), the charge is unsustainable in law and the High Court should exercise its inherent powers under Section 482 CrPC to quash such an inappropriate order.
On this section: Court held that Section 431 IPC (which prescribes five years imprisonment) is not the appropriate provision for parking obstruction conduct; the case does not fit within the legislative intent of this section
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Vinod Kumar vs State
Court's Decision & Legal Precedent
Where specific statutory provisions exist in municipal law for dealing with encroachments on public roads, such encroachments should be prosecuted under those specific provisions rather than under general criminal law provisions like Sections 425 and 431 IPC. The proper legal framework for prosecuting municipal road encroachments is Section 321 of the Delhi Municipal Corporation Act, 1957, which empowers the Commissioner of MCD to remove unauthorized items from streets. Criminal law provisions are not meant to be applied to such offences when specific municipal statutes provide for them.
On this section: Mischief by Injury to Public Road - Court held this section should not be applied to encroachments when specific municipal law provisions exist
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 431
What have the courts held on Section 431 of the Indian Penal Code?
Sanjeev Khera vs Govt. of N.c.t. of Delhi (16 May 2006) is the leading judgment on this section among those set out below: Court held that Section 431 IPC (which prescribes five years imprisonment) is not the appropriate provision for parking obstruction conduct; the case does not fit within the legislative intent of this section. Another 1 judgment on this section is set out below.
How do I find court cases under Section 431 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 431, section 431 IPC, section 431 of the Indian Penal Code. People searching for it also type ipc 431 in bns and ipc 431 punishment. Each opens the full list of orders on eCourtsIndia, where it can be narrowed by court, year and outcome. 2 reported judgments on this section are set out on this page, beginning with Sanjeev Khera vs Govt. of N.c.t. of Delhi (16 May 2006).
What should I read with Section 431 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 326 (Mischief by injury, inundation, fire or explosive substance, etc), which replaced it; conduct before that date is still charged, tried and appealed under this section.
When did Section 431 of the Indian Penal Code come into force?
Section 431 of the Indian Penal Code, cited as IPC 431, 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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- 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.