Punishment for lurking house-trespass or house-breaking by night
Section 456 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860 deals with punishment for lurking house-trespass or house-breaking by night. Whoever commits lurking house-trespass by night, or house- breaking by night, shall be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to three 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 Repealed by section 358 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 (45 of 2023) with effect from 1 July 2024, but conduct before that date is still charged, tried and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 commits lurking house-trespass by night, or house- breaking by night, shall be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to three years, and shall also be liable to fine.
Section 456, The Indian Penal Code, 1860 (Act 45 of 1860).
Now in the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita
BNS 331 Punishment for house-trespass or house-breaking 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 The repealed enactment still governs what happened while it was in force.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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Chandra Prakash vs State of Rajasthan
Court's Decision & Legal Precedent
In cases of criminal conspiracy, the prosecution need not prove express agreement between conspirators; the agreement may be proved by necessary implication from circumstances. When assessing approver evidence, courts must first apply a reliability test to determine if the approver is a trustworthy witness on the evidence itself, independent of corroboration. Only if the approver passes the reliability test does the second test apply, requiring corroboration in material particulars that connects the accused with the offense. Such corroboration must come from independent sources and may be direct or circumstantial in nature. Under Section 27 of the Indian Evidence Act, discovery of facts in consequence of information from an accused in custody is admissible if the information is credible and material discovery is effected; formal arrest is not necessary, only that the person be accused of an offense and in custody of a police officer. The broad definition of 'explosive substance' under the Explosive Substances Act, 1908 and 'explosive' under the Explosive Act, 1884 encompasses materials for making explosives; when such materials are possessed in conjunction with other explosive articles and components in large quantities, possession constitutes a criminal offense even without direct evidence of criminal intent if the circumstances demonstrate conscious possession for use in explosions. Sanction under Section 7 of the Explosive Substances Act, 1908 requires only 'consent' for subjective appreciation and can be granted by District Magistrate pursuant to delegation from Central Government; the sanctioning authority need not be examined as a witness if the sanction document is properly proven and shows application of mind.
On this section: Wrongfully breaking into house or part of house with criminal intent
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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… and Order of Sentence dated 18.11.2024 and 19.11.2024 respectively, passed by the learned Additional Sessions Judge, Khowai Judicial District, Khowai, in Sessions Trial(T-II) 4 of 2021, whereby the learned Additional Sessions Judge, Khowai, convicted the appellants for committing offences, punishable under Sections 323, 456 and 326 of Indian Penal Code, and sentenced them to suffer Rigorous Imprisonment for 6(six) months with a fine of Rs.500/-, in default of payment of fine they shall suffer Simple Imprisonment for 1(one) month for committing offence, punishable under Section 323 of IPC; and they were further sentenced to suffer …
Questions about Section 456
What have the courts held on Section 456 of the Indian Penal Code?
Chandra Prakash vs State of Rajasthan (09 May 2014) is the leading judgment on this section among those set out below: Wrongfully breaking into house or part of house with criminal intent.
How do I find court cases under Section 456 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 456, section 456 IPC, section 456 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 Chandra Prakash vs State of Rajasthan (09 May 2014).
What should I read with Section 456 of the Indian Penal Code, and has it changed?
4 other provisions in this corpus refer back to it. For anything done on or after 1 July 2024 the provision to read is BNS 331 (Punishment for house-trespass or house-breaking), which replaced it; conduct before that date is still charged, tried and appealed under this section.
When did Section 456 of the Indian Penal Code come into force?
Section 456 of the Indian Penal Code, cited as IPC 456, came into force on 01 Jan 1862, having been enacted on 06 Oct 1860. It is no longer in force.
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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.