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Section70
The Indian Penal Code, 1860

Fine leviable within six years, or during imprisonment. Death not to discharge property from liability

Repealed From 01 Jan 1862 Act 45 of 1860 As on 17 Oct 2026

Act 45 of 1860 Ministry Home Affairs Enacted 06 Oct 1860 In force 01 Jan 1862 Cited by 20 provisions

This provision is repealed. Repealed by section 358 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 (45 of 2023) with effect from 1 July 2024. It is reproduced because conduct before that date is still charged, tried and appealed under it.

Section 70 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860 deals with fine leviable within six years, or during imprisonment. Death not to discharge property from liability. The fine, or any part thereof which remains unpaid, may be levied at any time within six years after the passing of the sentence, and if, under the sentence, the offender be liable to imprisonment for a longer period than six years, then at any time previous to the expiration of that period; 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 Repealed by section 358 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 (45 of 2023) with effect from 1 July 2024, but conduct before that date is still charged, tried and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.

The fine, or any part thereof which remains unpaid, may be levied at any time within six years after the passing of the sentence, and if, under the sentence, the offender be liable to imprisonment for a longer period than six years, then at any time previous to the expiration of that period; and the death of the offender does not discharge from the liability any property which would, after his death, be legally liable for his debts.

Section 70, The Indian Penal Code, 1860 (Act 45 of 1860).

Now in the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita

BNS 8 Amount of fine, liability in default of payment of fine, etc Close, with changes 75%

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 The repealed enactment still governs what happened while it was in force.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 20

  1. Assam General Clauses Act s. 32
  2. Assam Police Act s. 104
  3. Assam Police Act, 2007 (Single Document) s. 105
  4. Bihar Police Act s. 15 Technology and the assistance Services
  5. General Clauses Act s. 25 Recovery of fines
  6. Himachal Pradesh General Clauses Act s. 24 Recovery of fines
  7. Himachal Pradesh Police Act s. 127 Recovery of penalties and fines
  8. Karnataka General Clauses Act s. 32 Application of Act to Ordinances
  9. Madhya Pradesh General Clauses Act 1957 s. 26
  10. Meghalaya Interpretation and General Clauses Act , 1970 Act No.7 of 1970 s. 42 Recovery of fines
  11. Meghalaya Interpretation and General Clauses Act No. 7 of 1972 s. 42 Recovery of fines
  12. Meghalaya Police Act, 2010 (Act No. 7 of 2011) s. 115 Recovery of penalties and fines imposed by Magistrates

and 8 more

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.

  1. Kumaran vs State of Kerala

    Supreme Court of India 05 May 2017 Binding (SC) Reportable

    Court's Decision & Legal Precedent

    When compensation is ordered under Section 357(3) of the Criminal Procedure Code, the deeming fiction contained in Section 431 Cr.P.C. extends the application of Section 421(1) and Section 70 IPC to such compensation. Consequently, compensation remains recoverable even after the accused has undergone the default imprisonment sentence prescribed for non-payment, without the necessity for recording special reasons in writing. This is because the proviso to Section 421(1), as amended following the 41st Law Commission Report, creates a disjunctive category for compensation orders that operates independently of the requirement for special reasons.

    On this section: Provides that fine remains recoverable for six years after sentence; death does not discharge property from liability; critical to determining compensation recoverability

    Read the full order on eCourts India

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 70

What have the courts held on Section 70 of the Indian Penal Code?

Kumaran vs State of Kerala (05 May 2017) is the leading judgment on this section among those set out below: Provides that fine remains recoverable for six years after sentence; death does not discharge property from liability; critical to determining compensation recoverability.

How do I find court cases under Section 70 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 70, section 70 IPC, section 70 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 Kumaran vs State of Kerala (05 May 2017).

What should I read with Section 70 of the Indian Penal Code, and has it changed?

20 other provisions in this corpus refer back to it. For anything done on or after 1 July 2024 the provision to read is BNS 8 (Amount of fine, liability in default of payment of fine, etc), which replaced it; conduct before that date is still charged, tried and appealed under this section.

When did Section 70 of the Indian Penal Code come into force?

Section 70 of the Indian Penal Code, cited as IPC 70, 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

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.