Lurking house-trespass or house-breaking after preparation for hurt, assault or wrongful restraint
Section 455 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860 deals with lurking house-trespass or house-breaking after preparation for hurt, assault or wrongful restraint. Whoever commits lurking house-trespass, or house-breaking, having made preparation for causing hurt to any person, or for assaulting any person, or for wrongfully restraining any person, or for putting any person in fear of hurt or of assault or of wrongful restraint, shall be punished with imprison 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 Repealed by section 358 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 (45 of 2023) with effect from 1 July 2024, but conduct before that date is still charged, tried and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 lurking house-trespass, or house-breaking, having made preparation for causing hurt to any person, or for assaulting any person, or for wrongfully restraining any person, or for putting any person in fear of hurt or of assault or of wrongful restraint, shall be punished with imprisonment of either description or a term which may extend to ten years, and shall also be liable to fine.
Section 455, The Indian Penal Code, 1860 (Act 45 of 1860).
Now in the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita
BNS 333 House-trespass after preparation for hurt, assault or wrongful restraint Text carried over almost unchanged 91%
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 The repealed enactment still governs what happened while it was in force.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.
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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Raju @ Rajendra Kumar vs State of Rajasthan through Pp
Court's Decision & Legal Precedent
A person's status as a habitual offender with involvement in multiple criminal cases constitutes a significant ground for denying anticipatory bail, particularly when the charges involve serious offences such as rioting, wrongful confinement, theft, and criminal intimidation. The court's discretion in bail matters must be exercised with due regard to the criminal antecedents of the applicant and the need to maintain public order and safety.
On this section: Lurking house-trespass or house-breaking - cited as one of the charges
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 455
What have the courts held on Section 455 of the Indian Penal Code?
Raju @ Rajendra Kumar vs State of Rajasthan through Pp (02 Mar 2017) is the leading judgment on this section among those set out below: Lurking house-trespass or house-breaking - cited as one of the charges.
How do I find court cases under Section 455 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 455, section 455 IPC, section 455 of the Indian Penal Code. 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 Raju @ Rajendra Kumar vs State of Rajasthan through Pp (02 Mar 2017).
What should I read with Section 455 of the Indian Penal Code, and has it changed?
For anything done on or after 1 July 2024 the provision to read is BNS 333 (House-trespass after preparation for hurt, assault or wrongful restraint), which replaced it; conduct before that date is still charged, tried and appealed under this section.
When did Section 455 of the Indian Penal Code come into force?
Section 455 of the Indian Penal Code, cited as IPC 455, 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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- 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.