Section 60 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), 2023
Section 60 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), 2023, addresses the offence of concealing the design to commit an offence punishable with imprisonment. This provision criminalizes the act of knowingly or intentionally hiding information about a planned crime, thereby facilitating its commission.()
π Text of Section 60
Section 60: Concealing design to commit offence punishable with imprisonment(aaptaxlaw.com)
Whoever, intending to facilitate or knowing it to be likely that he will thereby facilitate the commission of an offence punishable with imprisonment, voluntarily conceals, by any act or illegal omission, the existence of a design to commit such offence, or makes any representation which he knows to be false respecting such design shallβ
(a) if the offence be committed, be punished with imprisonment of the description provided for the offence, for a term which may extend to one-fourth; and
(b) if the offence be not committed, to one-eighth of the longest term of such imprisonment, or with such fine as is provided for the offence, or with both.
βοΈ Legal Context
Section 60 is part of Chapter IV of the BNS, 2023, which deals with Abetment, Criminal Conspiracy, and Attempt of Abetment. This section is similar to Section 120 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), 1860, which also addresses concealing the design to commit an offence punishable with imprisonment. The BNS, 2023, aims to modernize and consolidate criminal law in India, replacing the IPC with updated provisions.
π Key Elements
Intent or Knowledge: The individual must intend to facilitate or know that their actions will likely facilitate the commission of a punishable offence
Concealment or False Representation: The person must voluntarily conceal the existence of a design to commit the offence or make a false representation regarding such a design.(
Punishment: The punishment varies depending on whether the offence is committed:
If the offence is committed, the punishment is up to one-fourth of the maximum term prescribed for the offence.
If the offence is not committed, the punishment is up to one-eighth of the maximum term, or a fine, or both.
π Illustrative Example
Example: If Person A learns that Person B is planning to commit a theft and intentionally conceals this information or provides false information to mislead authorities, and the theft is subsequently committed, Person A can be punished under Section 60 with imprisonment for up to one-fourth of the term prescribed for theft.
RELATED Blog
0 comments