Penalty for harbouring spies
Section 10 of the Official Secrets Act, 1923 deals with penalty for harbouring spies. If any person knowingly harbours any person whom he knows or has reasonable grounds for supposing to be a person who is about to commit or who has committed an offence under section 3 or under section 3 read with section 9 or knowingly permits to meet or assemble in any premises in his occupation or The Act came into force on 02 Apr 1923.
(1) If any person knowingly harbours any person whom he knows or has reasonable grounds for supposing to be a person who is about to commit or who has committed an offence under section 3 or under section 3 read with section 9 or knowingly permits to meet or assemble in any premises in his occupation or under his control any such persons, he shall be guilty of an offence under this section.
(2) It shall be the duty of every person having harboured any such person as aforesaid, or permitted to meet or assemble in any premises in his occupation or under his control any such persons as aforesaid, to give on demand to a Superintendent of Police or other police officer not below the rank of Inspector empowered by an Inspector-General or Commissioner of Police in this behalf, any information in his power relating to any such person or persons, and if any person fails to give any such information, he shall be guilty of an offence under this section.
(3) A person guilty of an offence under this section shall be punishable with imprisonment for a term which may extend to 1 [three years], or with fine, or with both.
Section 10, The Official Secrets Act, 1923 (Act 19 of 1923).
Cross-references
Extracted from the operative text of the enactments themselves. Every destination below exists in our corpus.
This section refers to
Questions about Section 10
What does Section 10 of the Official Secrets Act deal with?
Section 10 of the Official Secrets Act is headed "Penalty for harbouring spies". If any person knowingly harbours any person whom he knows or has reasonable grounds for supposing to be a person who is about to commit or who has committed an offence under section 3 or under section 3 read with section 9 or knowingly permits to meet or assemble in any premises in his occupation or
How do I find court cases under Section 10 of the Official Secrets Act?
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: Official Secrets Act 1923 10, section 10 Official Secrets Act 1923, section 10 of the Official Secrets Act. People searching for it also type section 10 of official secrets act 1923. Each opens the full list of orders on eCourtsIndia, where it can be narrowed by court, year and outcome.
What should I read with Section 10 of the Official Secrets Act, and has it changed?
Its own text turns on section 3 (Penalties for spying), section 9 (Attempts, incitements, etc), so none of them can safely be read on its own.
When did Section 10 of the Official Secrets Act come into force?
Section 10 of the Official Secrets Act, cited as Official Secrets Act 1923 10, came into force on 02 Apr 1923, having been enacted on 02 Apr 1923. It is in force as at the date shown on this page.
Other sections of this Act
- 6. Unauthorised use of uniforms; falsification of reports, forgery, personation, and falsedocuments694 words
- 2. Definitions683 words
- 5. Wrongful communication, etc., of information517 words
- 3. Penalties for spying432 words
- 4. Communications with foreign agents to be evidence of commission of certain offences359 words
- 11. Search-warrants278 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. Text as in force on 20 Oct 2026. This page is not a substitute for legal advice.