Intentional omission to apprehend on the part of public servant bound to apprehend person under sentence or lawfully committed
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Summary
A public servant who is legally bound to arrest or keep someone in custody but intentionally omits to arrest them, allows them to escape, or aids their escape is criminally liable. Punishment is graded by the prisoner's sentence: death may attract life or up to 14 years; life or 10+ years may attract up to 7 years; shorter sentences or lawful custody may attract up to 3 years or fine. The omission or assistance must be intentional.
Example
Karan, a jail warden, intentionally unlocks a cell so that Rohan, who is serving a life sentence, can escape. Karan would face criminal charges and can be punished with up to seven years' imprisonment because Rohan was sentenced to life.
Bare Act
Enacted textWhoever, being a public servant, legally bound as such public servant to apprehend or to keep in confinement any person under sentence of a Court of Justice for any offence or lawfully committed to custody, intentionally omits to apprehend such person, or intentionally suffers such person to escape or intentionally aids such person in escaping or attempting to escape from such confinement, shall be punished as follows, that is to say:-
with imprisonment for life or with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to fourteen years, with or without fine, if the person in confinement, or who ought to have been apprehended, is under sentence of death; or
with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to seven years, with or without fine, if the person in confinement, or who, ought to have been apprehended, is subject, by a sentence of a Court of Justice, or by virtue of a commutation of such sentence, to imprisonment for life or imprisonment for a term of ten years or upwards; or
with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to three years, or with fine, or with both, if the person in confinement, or who ought to have been apprehended is subject, by a sentence of a Court of Justice, to imprisonment for a term not extending to ten years or if the person was lawfully committed to custody.
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