Section 119 IPC: Public servant concealing design to commit offence which it is his duty to prevent

Indian Penal Code, 1860

Section 119 IPC at a Glance

Section 119 IPC deals with public servant concealing design to commit offence which it is his duty to prevent. It is triable by the Court by which offence abetted is triable; from 1 July 2024 it is replaced by Section 59 BNS.

Punishment

Imprisonment extending to half of the longest term provided for the offence if committed, or extending to ten years if the offence carries death or imprisonment for life, or extending to one-fourth part if not committed.

Bail depends on the underlying offence ⓘCognizance depends on the case ⓘNon-Compoundable ⓘ🏛️ Court by which offence abetted is triable ⓘ

BNS Equivalent

Section 59 →

Section 119 IPC Bare Act Text

119. Public servant concealing design to commit offence 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 offence 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 offence, or makes any representation which he knows to be false respecting such design,
if offence be committed.—shall, if the offence be committed, be punished with imprisonment of any description provided for the offence, 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 offence, or with both;
if offence be punishable with death, etc.—or, if the offence be punishable with death or imprisonment for life, with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to ten years;
if offence be not committed.—or, if the offence be not committed, shall be punished with imprisonment of any description provided for the offence 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 offence, 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 facilitate the commission of that offence. 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.

Source: Section 119, Indian Penal Code, 1860

Section 119 IPC in Simple Words

Section 119 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) punishes any public servant who, intending to facilitate or knowing it to be likely that he will thereby facilitate the commission of an offence which it is his duty as such public servant to prevent, voluntarily conceals the existence of a design to commit such offence by any act or omission or by the use of encryption or any other information hiding tool, or makes any representation which he knows to be false respecting such design. If the offence is committed, punishment extends to half of the longest term of imprisonment provided for the offence, or with fine, or with both.

If the offence is punishable with death or imprisonment for life, imprisonment extends to ten years. If the offence is not committed, the term extends to one-fourth part of the longest term, or with fine, or with both.

Ingredients of Section 119 IPC

The accused was a public servant whose duty as such public servant it was to prevent the offence
The existence of a design to commit that offence
Voluntary concealment of the design by an act or omission, or by the use of encryption or another information hiding tool, or making a representation respecting the design known to be false
An intention to facilitate the commission of the offence, or knowledge that such conduct is likely to facilitate its commission

Punishment Under Section 119 IPC

Imprisonment

Fine

Fine as provided for the offence, as an alternative or in addition to imprisonment, where applicable under the relevant limb.

Bail depends on the underlying offence ⓘCognizance depends on the case ⓘNon-Compoundable ⓘ🏛️ Court by which offence abetted is triable ⓘ

The First Schedule provides three limbs. Bail follows the offence when the offence is committed. The concealment is non-bailable when the offence carries death or imprisonment for life, and bailable when the offence is not committed. Cognizance and the trial court follow the offence designed across all limbs.

Cognizable: According as offence abetted is cognizable or non-cognizable
Bailable: According as the offence is bailable or non-bailable where it is committed; non-bailable where the offence is punishable with death or imprisonment for life; bailable where the offence is not committed

Under the IPC, a public servant concealing a design to commit an offence he is bound to prevent faces graded imprisonment and fine across three limbs. Bail turns on the limb, and cognizance and the trial court follow the offence designed.

Example of Section 119 IPC

In Shimla in 2017, Forest Officer Bhaskar, a public servant whose official duty was to prevent timber theft in a reserve forest, learned that contractor Dinesh had planned to steal stacked cedar logs that night. Intending to facilitate the theft, Bhaskar voluntarily omitted to alert the forest guards and falsely informed the conservator that Dinesh's trucks had left the district. Dinesh carried away the logs, committing theft under Section 379 IPC. Because Bhaskar concealed a design to commit an offence he was bound to prevent, Bhaskar is punishable under Section 119 IPC.

When Section 119 IPC Does Not Apply

The accused was either not a public servant or had no official duty as a public servant to prevent the planned offence.
The public servant neither intended to facilitate the offence nor knew that his conduct was likely to help it occur.
The public servant did not voluntarily hide the design by any act, omission, encryption or information hiding tool, and made no false statement about it.
The public servant believed on reasonable grounds that the statement he made regarding the design was true.

Section 119 IPC in the BNS

Section 119 IPC is now covered under Section 59 BNS.

Section 119 IPC is replaced by Section 59 BNS. The words by the use of encryption or any other information hiding tool were already in Section 119 IPC, added by the Information Technology Amendment Act, 2008, and Section 59 BNS keeps them. Section 59 BNS sets out the three punishments as clauses a, b and c and drops the marginal words. In the illustration, with intent to facilitate becomes with intent to so facilitate. The fractions of the longest term and the ten-year term are unchanged.

View detailed comparison (IPC 119 vs BNS 59) →

FAQs on Section 119 IPC

What does Section 119 IPC say?▼

Section 119 IPC provides that whoever, being a public servant intending to facilitate or knowing it to be likely that he will thereby facilitate the commission of an offence 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 offence, or makes any representation which he knows to be false respecting such design, shall be punished according to three distinct statutory limbs.

What punishments are prescribed under Section 119 IPC?▼

Where the offence is committed, the public servant faces imprisonment extending to half of the longest term provided for that offence, or fine, or both. Where the offence carries death or imprisonment for life, the term extends to ten years. Where the offence is not committed, imprisonment extends to one-fourth part of the longest term provided for the offence, or fine, or both.

Does concealment by encryption or information hiding tools apply to public servants under Section 119 IPC?▼

Yes. The Information Technology Amendment Act, 2008 added the words by the use of encryption or any other information hiding tool to Section 119 IPC, beside concealment by any act or omission.

Is an offence under Section 119 IPC cognizable?▼

Cognizability is conditional under the First Schedule to the CrPC, determined according as the offence abetted is cognizable or non-cognizable.

Is an offence under Section 119 IPC bailable?▼

Under the First Schedule to the CrPC, bail status is conditional: bail follows the offence if committed; the offence is non-bailable if punishable with death or imprisonment for life; and the offence is bailable if not committed.

Which court tries an offence under Section 119 IPC?▼

Under the First Schedule to the CrPC, the offence is triable by the court by which the offence abetted is triable.

Can an offence under Section 119 IPC be compounded?▼

No. Section 119 IPC is not listed in Section 320 CrPC, so it cannot be compounded.

Which provision of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita corresponds to Section 119 IPC?▼

Section 59 BNS corresponds to Section 119 IPC, structuring the three punishment limbs into clauses a, b and c while maintaining the substantive elements and statutory illustration.

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Disclaimer: This is for informational purposes only. Always consult a qualified advocate for legal advice.

Sources: Bare Act Text, Indian Penal Code, 1860 · Last updated: 16 Oct 2026 ·