Criminal trespass
Section 441 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860 deals with criminal trespass. Whoever enters into or upon property in the possession of another with intent to commit an offence or to intimidate, insult or annoy any person in possession of such property, or having lawfully entered into or upon such property, unlawfully remains there with intent thereby to intimidate, insult or 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 Repealed by section 358 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 (45 of 2023) with effect from 1 July 2024, but conduct before that date is still charged, tried and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 enters into or upon property in the possession of another with intent to commit an offence or to intimidate, insult or annoy any person in possession of such property,
or having lawfully entered into or upon such property, unlawfully remains there with intent thereby to intimidate, insult or annoy any such person, or with intent to commit an offence,
is said to commit "criminal trespass".
Section 441, The Indian Penal Code, 1860 (Act 45 of 1860).
Now in the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita
BNS 329 Criminal trespass and house-trespass Text carried over almost unchanged 87%
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 The repealed enactment still governs what happened while it was in force.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 2
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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S. D. Bandi vs Divisional Traffic Officer, Ksrtc
Court's Decision & Legal Precedent
Government accommodation is a scarce public resource and unauthorized occupation beyond the prescribed retention period by employees of any branch of government (legislature, executive, or judiciary) is unjustifiable. While the Public Premises (Eviction of Unauthorised Occupants) Act, 1971 provides the statutory framework for addressing such unauthorized occupation, the Act's effectiveness is limited by lengthy procedures and inadequate deterrents. Therefore, in addition to statutory provisions, comprehensive administrative guidelines with clear timelines for notice, show cause, eviction orders, and recovery mechanisms must be implemented uniformly across all States and Union Territories. These guidelines must provide for: (a) advance notice three months before retirement/transfer, (b) seven-day show cause periods, (c) expedited eviction orders within 15 days, (d) recovery of arrears as land revenue, (e) compound interest provisions, (f) stringent appeal disposal timelines, and (g) special procedures for legislative and judicial officers to prevent breach of privileges. Self-realization among unauthorized occupants regarding their violation of others' rights is essential, but this must be supported by effective enforcement mechanisms and guidelines.
On this section: Noted amendments made by Orissa and Uttar Pradesh to include unauthorized use of property and failure to withdraw when directed; discussed as potential model for other states
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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… No. 156 of 2007 under section 302/149 IPC is set-aside. 22. Next, the learned counsels for the appellants have contended that conviction of the appellants under section 460 of the Indian Penal Code is unsustainable. 23. Section 441 IPC provides that whoever enters into or upon property in the possession of another with intent to commit an offence or to intimidate, insult or annoy any person in possession of such property, or having lawfully entered into or upon such property, unlawfully remains there with intent thereby to intimidate, insult …
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… No. 156 of 2007 under section 302/149 IPC is set-aside. 22. Next, the learned counsels for the appellants have contended that conviction of the appellants under section 460 of the Indian Penal Code is unsustainable. 23. Section 441 IPC provides that whoever enters into or upon property in the possession of another with intent to commit an offence or to intimidate, insult or annoy any person in possession of such property, or having lawfully entered into or upon such property, unlawfully remains there with intent thereby to intimidate, insult …
Questions about Section 441
What have the courts held on Section 441 of the Indian Penal Code?
S. D. Bandi vs Divisional Traffic Officer, Ksrtc (05 Jul 2013) is the leading judgment on this section among those set out below: Noted amendments made by Orissa and Uttar Pradesh to include unauthorized use of property and failure to withdraw when directed; discussed as potential model for other states.
How do I find court cases under Section 441 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 441, section 441 IPC, section 441 of the Indian Penal Code. People searching for it also type ipc 441 and 449 and ipc 441 in bns. 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 S. D. Bandi vs Divisional Traffic Officer, Ksrtc (05 Jul 2013).
What should I read with Section 441 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 329 (Criminal trespass and house-trespass), which replaced it; conduct before that date is still charged, tried and appealed under this section.
When did Section 441 of the Indian Penal Code come into force?
Section 441 of the Indian Penal Code, cited as IPC 441, 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.