Causing disappearance of evidence of offence, or giving false information to screen offender
AI Assist
Summary
If a person, knowing or reasonably believing an offence occurred, destroys or hides evidence or gives false information to protect the offender, they commit a punishable offence. Penalty follows the gravity of the original crime: if it is death-penalty eligible, up to seven years and fine; if punishable with life or up to ten years, up to three years and fine; if less than ten years, imprisonment up to one-quarter of that offence's maximum term, or fine, or both.
Example
Priya learns her brother Aditya injured a neighbour. To protect him she throws away his blood-stained shirt and tells the police she was not there. Because she destroyed evidence and gave false information to screen Aditya, Priya can be prosecuted and punished according to the seriousness of the original offence; for a less-than-ten-year offence she may face up to one-quarter of that offence's maximum prison term or a fine, or both.
Bare Act
Enacted textWhoever, knowing or having reason to believe that an offence has been committed, causes any evidence of the commission of that offence to disappear, with the intention of screening the offender from legal punishment, or with that intention gives any information respecting the offence which he knows or believes to be false,
if a capital offence – shall, if the offence which he knows or believes to have been committed is punishable with death, be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to seven years, and shall also be liable to fine;
if punishable with imprisonment for life – and if the offence is punishable with imprisonment for life, or with imprisonment which may extend to ten years, shall be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to three years, and shall also be liable to fine;
if punishable with less than ten years; imprisonment – and if the offence is punishable with imprisonment for any term not extending to ten years, shall be punished with imprisonment of the description provided for the offence, for a term which may extend to one-fourth part of the longest term of the imprisonment provided for the offence, or with fine, or with both.
Illustrations
(1) A, knowing that B has murdered Z, assists B to hide the body with the intention of screening B from punishment. A is liable to imprisonment of either description for seven years, and also to fine.
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