This section covers public servant concealing design in the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS 2003).
Public servant concealing design to commit offense which it is his duty to prevent. Whoever, being a public servant, intending to facilitate or knowing it to be likely that he will thereby facilitate the commission of an offense which it is his duty as such public servant to prevent, voluntarily conceals, by any act or omission, or by the use of encryption or any other information hiding tool, the existence of a design to commit such offense, or makes any representation which he knows to be false respecting such design shall –
(a) if the offense be committed, be punished with imprisonment of any description provided for the offense, for a term which may extend to one-half of the longest term of such imprisonment, or with such fine as is provided for that offense, or with both; or
(b) if the offense be punishable with death or imprisonment for life, with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to ten years; or
(c) if the offense be not committed, shall be punished with imprisonment of any description provided for the offense for a term which may extend to one-fourth part of the longest term of such imprisonment or with such fine as is provided for the offense, or with both.
Illustration. A, an officer of police, being legally bound to give information of all designs to commit robbery which may come to his knowledge, and knowing that B designs to commit robbery, omits to give such information, with intent to so facilitate the commission of that offense. Here A has by an illegal omission concealed the existence of B’s design, and is liable to punishment according to the provision of this section.
What was the old IPC code for Section 59 of BNS 2023?
In the Indian Penal Code, public servant concealing design was covered in S. 119.