Indian Penal Code, 1860

IPC Chapter 9

OFFENCES BY OR RELATING TO PUBLIC SERVANTS

Section 166 — Public servant disobeying law, with intent to cause injury to any person

India Code (official)

Offence

Whoever, being a public servant, knowingly disobeys any direction of the law as to the way in which he is to conduct himself as such public servant, intending to cause, or knowing it to be likely that he will, by such disobedience, cause injury to any person,

Punishment

shall be punished with simple imprisonment for a term which may extend to one year, or with fine, or with both.

  • Imprisonment: one year.

Section 166A — Public Servant disobeying direction under Law

India Code (official)

Offence

Whoever, being a public servant : knowingly disobeys any direction of the law which prohibits him from requiring the attendance at any place of any person for the purpose of investigation into an offence or any other, or knowingly disobeys, to the prejudice of any person, any other direction of the law regulating the manner in which he shall conduct such investigation, or
fails to record any information given to him under sub-section (1) of section 154 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973, in relation to cognizable offence punishable under section 326A, section 326B, section 354, section 354B, section 370, section 370A, section 376, section 376A, section 376AB, section 376B, section 376C, section 376D, section 376DA, section 376DB, section 376E or section 509,

Punishment

shall be punished with rigorous imprisonment for a term which shall not be less than six months but which may extend to two years, and shall also be liable to fine.

  • Imprisonment: a term which shall not be less than six months but which may extend to two years.

Section 166B — Punishment for non treatment of victim

India Code (official)

Punishment

Whoever, being in charge of a hospital, public or private, whether run by the Central Government, the State Government, local bodies or any other person, contravenes the provisions of section1 357C of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973, shall be punished with imprisonment for a term which may extend to one year or with fine or with both.

  • Imprisonment: one year.
  • Fine: or with both.

Section 167 — Public servant framing an incorrect document with intent to cause injury

India Code (official)

Offence

Whoever, being a public servant, and being, as such public servant, charged with the preparation or translation of any document or electronic record, frames or translates that document in a manner which he knows or believes to be incorrect, intending thereby to cause or knowing it to be likely that he may thereby cause injury to any person,

Punishment

shall be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to three years, or with fine, or with both.

  • Imprisonment: three years.

Section 169 — Public servant unlawfully buying or bidding for property

India Code (official)

Offence

Whoever, being a public servant, and being legally bound as such public servant, not to purchase or bid for certain property, purchases or bids for that property, either in his own name or in the name of another, or jointly, or in shares with others,

Punishment

shall be punished with simple imprisonment for a term which may extend to two years, or with fine, or with both; and the property, if purchased, shall be confiscated.

  • Imprisonment: two years.

Section 170 — Personating a public servant

India Code (official)

Offence

Whoever pretends to hold any particular office as public servant, knowing that he does not hold such office or falsely personates any other person holding such office, and in such assumed character does or attempts to do any act under colour of such office,

Punishment

shall be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to two years, or with fine, or with both.

  • Imprisonment: two years.

Section 171 — Wearing garb or carrying token used by public servant with fraudulent intent

India Code (official)

Offence

Whoever, not belonging, to a certain class of public servants, wears any garb or carries any token resembling any garb or token used by that class of public servants, with the intention that it may be believed, or with the knowledge that it is likely to be believed, that he belongs to that class of public servants,

Punishment

shall be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to three months, or with fine which may extend to two hundred rupees, or with both.

  • Imprisonment: three months.
  • Fine: two hundred rupees.

Section 171A — Candidate , Electoral right defined

India Code (official)

Offence

“candidate” means a person who has been nominated as a candidate at any election;
“electoral right” means the right of a person to stand, or not to stand as, or to withdraw from being, a candidate or to vote or refrain from voting at an election.

“candidate” means a person who has been nominated as a candidate at any election;
“electoral right” means the right of a person to stand, or not to stand as, or to withdraw from being, a candidate or to vote or refrain from voting at an election.

Section 171B — Bribery

India Code (official)

Offence

Whoever:
gives a gratification to any person with the object of inducing him or any other person to exercise any electoral right or of rewarding any person for having exercised any such right; or
accepts either for himself or for any other person any gratification as a reward for exercising any such right or for inducing or attempting to induce any other person to exercise any such right, commits the offence of bribery; Provided that a declaration of public policy or a promise of public action shall not be an offence under this section.
A person who offers, or agrees to give, or offers or attempts to procure, a gratification shall be deemed to give a gratification.
A person who obtains or agrees to accept or attempts to obtain a gratification shall be deemed to accept a gratification, and a person who accepts a gratification as a motive for doing what he does not intend to do, or as a reward for doing what he has not done, shall be deemed to have accepted the gratification as a reward.

Whoever:
gives a gratification to any person with the object of inducing him or any other person to exercise any electoral right or of rewarding any person for having exercised any such right; or
accepts either for himself or for any other person any gratification as a reward for exercising any such right or for inducing or attempting to induce any other person to exercise any such right, commits the offence of bribery; Provided that a declaration of public policy or a promise of public action shall not be an offence under this section.
A person who offers, or agrees to give, or offers or attempts to procure, a gratification shall be deemed to give a gratification.
A person who obtains or agrees to accept or attempts to obtain a gratification shall be deemed to accept a gratification, and a person who accepts a gratification as a motive for doing what he does not intend to do, or as a reward for doing what he has not done, shall be deemed to have accepted the gratification as a reward.

Section 171C — Undue influence at elections

India Code (official)

Offence

Whoever voluntarily interferes or attempts to interfere with the free exercise of any electoral right commits the offence of undue influence at an election.
Without prejudice to the generality of the provisions of sub-section (1), whoever
threatens any candidate or voter, or any person in whom a candidate or voter is interested, with injury of any kind, or
induces or attempts to induce a candidate or voter to believe that he or any person in whom he is interested will become or will be rendered an object of Divine displeasure or of spiritual censure, shall be deemed to interfere with the free exercise of the electoral right of such candidate or voter, within the meaning of sub-section (1).
A declaration of public policy or a promise of public action, or the mere exercise or a legal right without intent to interfere with an electoral right, shall not be deemed to be interference within the meaning of this section.

Whoever voluntarily interferes or attempts to interfere with the free exercise of any electoral right commits the offence of undue influence at an election.
Without prejudice to the generality of the provisions of sub-section (1), whoever
threatens any candidate or voter, or any person in whom a candidate or voter is interested, with injury of any kind, or
induces or attempts to induce a candidate or voter to believe that he or any person in whom he is interested will become or will be rendered an object of Divine displeasure or of spiritual censure, shall be deemed to interfere with the free exercise of the electoral right of such candidate or voter, within the meaning of sub-section (1).
A declaration of public policy or a promise of public action, or the mere exercise or a legal right without intent to interfere with an electoral right, shall not be deemed to be interference within the meaning of this section.

Section 171D — Personation at elections

India Code (official)

Offence

Whoever at an election applies for a voting paper on votes in the name of any other person, whether living or dead, or in a fictitious name, or who having voted once at such election applies at the same election for a voting paper in his own name, and whoever abets, procures or attempts to procure the voting by any person in any such way, commits the offence of personation at an election.

Whoever at an election applies for a voting paper on votes in the name of any other person, whether living or dead, or in a fictitious name, or who having voted once at such election applies at the same election for a voting paper in his own name, and whoever abets, procures or attempts to procure the voting by any person in any such way, commits the offence of personation at an election.

Section 171G — False statement in connection with an election

India Code (official)

Offence

Whoever with intent to affect the result of an election makes or publishes any statement purporting to be a statement of fact which is false and which he either knows or believes to be false or does not believe to be true, in relation to the personal character or conduct of any candidate

Punishment

shall be punished with fine.

  • See punishment clause in section text.

Section 171H — Illegal payments in connection with an election

India Code (official)

Offence

Whoever without the general or special authority in writing of a candidate incurs or authorizes expenses on account of the holding of any public meeting, or upon any advertisement, circular or publication, or in any other way whatsoever for the purpose of promoting or procuring the election of such candidate,

Punishment

shall be punished with fine which may extend to five hundred rupees;

  • See punishment clause in section text.

Section 171I — Failure to keep election accounts

India Code (official)

Offence

Whoever being required by any law for the time being in force or any rule having the force of law to keep accounts of expenses incurred at or in connection with an election fails to keep such accounts

Punishment

shall be punished with fine which may extend to five hundred rupees.

  • Fine: five hundred rupees.