Public servant disobeying direction under law
What this section does
Penalises a public servant who knowingly disobeys legal directions prohibiting requiring attendance for investigation, or who disobeys directions regulating the manner of investigation to the prejudice of any person, or who fails to record information given under the specified provision of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita 2023 in relation to certain cognizable offences. The punishment includes a mandatory minimum term of rigorous imprisonment.
AI-generated plain-language summary. For the binding statutory text, see India Code (official).
Quick reference
- Punishment
- Rigorous imprisonment for not less than 6 months and up to 2 years, and fine.
- Triable by
- Magistrate of First Class
- Cognizable
- Yes
- Bailable
- No
- Compoundable
- No
Ingredients (what prosecution must prove)
- The accused is a public servant
- The accused knowingly disobeyed a legal direction prohibiting requiring attendance at any place for investigation (s.199(a)); OR
- Knowingly disobeyed, to the prejudice of any person, a legal direction regulating the manner of conducting investigation (s.199(b)); OR
- Failed to record information given under s.173(1) of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita 2023 in relation to cognizable offences under the specified sections (s.199(c))
Practitioner note
This section carries a mandatory minimum of 6 months rigorous imprisonment and is non-bailable. Section 199(c) specifically targets failure to register FIRs for serious offences including sexual offences and offences against women and children listed in the cross-referenced sections. Both imprisonment and fine are mandatory (not in the alternative).
Derived from IPC s.166A.
Read the official text
For the binding statutory text of BNS Section 199, refer to the Gazette of India or the India Code official website.
Why this matters
BNS Section 199 forms part of Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita which replaced the Indian Penal Code 1860 on 1 July 2024. Any new filing, FIR, charge sheet, or bail application made on or after that date should cite the new section number. References to the old act in legacy documents remain valid for matters that arose before the changeover.