Prison-offences
Section 45 of the Prisons Act, 1894 deals with prison-offences. The following acts are declared to be prison-offences when committed by a prisoner :— (1) such wilful disobedience to any regulation of the prison as shall have been declared by rules made under section 59 to be a prison-offence ; The Act came into force on 07 Jan 1894.
The following acts are declared to be prison-offences when committed by a prisoner :—
(1) such wilful disobedience to any regulation of the prison as shall have been declared by rules made under section 59 to be a prison-offence ;
(2) any assault or use of criminal force ;
(3) the use of insulting or threatening language ;
(4) immoral or indecent or disorderly behaviour ;
(5) wilfully disabling himself from labour ;
(6) contumaciously refusing to work ;
(7) filling, cutting, altering or removing handcuffs, fetters or bars without due authority ;
(8) wilful idleness or negligence at work by any prisoner sentenced to rigorous imprisonment ;
(9) wilful mismanagement of work by any prisoner sentenced to rigorous imprisonment ;
(10) wilful damage to prison-property ;
(11) tampering with or defacing history-tickets, records or documents ;
(12) receiving, possessing or transferring any prohibited article ;
(13) feigning illness ;
(14) wilfully bringing a false accusation against any officer or prisoner ;
(15) omitting or refusing to report, as soon as it comes to his knowledge, the occurrence of any fire, any plot or conspiracy, any escape, attempt or preparation to escape, and any attack or preparation for attack upon any prisoner or prison-official ; and
(16) conspiring to escape, or to assist in escaping, or to commit any other of the offences aforesaid.
Section 45, The Prisons Act, 1894 (Act 9 of 1894).
Cross-references
Extracted from the operative text of the enactments themselves. Every destination below exists in our corpus.
This section refers to
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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Jasbir Singh @ Jassa vs State of Punjab
Court's Decision & Legal Precedent
Inordinate delay in execution of death sentence, though a significant factor, cannot by itself be the sole ground for commutation of death sentence. The delay must be considered along with the nature and gravity of the crime. Time spent in judicial proceedings and review petitions at the instance of the convict should not be counted as delay. Only undue and long delay in disposing of mercy petitions or delay at the instance of the executive is material. In the present case, there is no such inordinate delay, and the heinous nature of the crime (cold-blooded murder of a 16-year-old child for ransom) precludes commutation of death sentence to life imprisonment.
On this section: Prison offences
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Dinesh vs State of Haryana
Court's Decision & Legal Precedent
When a High Court has already passed appropriate directions for the protection of a prisoner's life and liberty through video conferencing arrangements and standard jail security protocols, and no further incidents of threat have occurred despite the passage of considerable time, a subsequent petition seeking identical or similar relief on the same grounds constitutes an abuse of process and should be dismissed as no additional orders are required beyond what has already been directed.
On this section: Charges related to breach of prison discipline in FIR No. 124
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 45
What have the courts held on Section 45 of the Prisons Act?
Jasbir Singh @ Jassa vs State of Punjab (26 Jul 2019) is the leading judgment on this section among those set out below: Prison offences. Another 1 judgment on this section is set out below. They run from 2019 to 2025.
How do I find court cases under Section 45 of the Prisons 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: Prisons Act 1894 45, section 45 Prisons Act 1894, section 45 of the Prisons Act. People searching for it also type prison act 45. Each opens the full list of orders on eCourtsIndia, where it can be narrowed by court, year and outcome. 2 reported judgments on this section are set out on this page, beginning with Jasbir Singh @ Jassa vs State of Punjab (26 Jul 2019).
What should I read with Section 45 of the Prisons Act, and has it changed?
Its own text turns on section 59 (Power to make rules), so none of them can safely be read on its own.
When did Section 45 of the Prisons Act come into force?
Section 45 of the Prisons Act, cited as Prisons Act 1894 45, came into force on 07 Jan 1894, having been enacted on 22 Mar 1894. It is in force as at the date shown on this page.
Other sections of this Act
- 46. Punishment of such offences729 words
- 59. Power to make rules665 words
- 3. Definitions538 words
- 48. Award of punishments under sections 46 and 47353 words
- 47. Plurality of punishments under section 46332 words
- 6. Officers of prisons213 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 16 Oct 2026. This page is not a substitute for legal advice.