Indian Penal Code, 1860
Public servant disobeying direction under law.—
Section
166A
Punishment
Imprisonment up to Two Year(s) + Fine
Cognizable
Non-cognizable
Bailable
Bailable
Compoundable
Non-Compoundable (Refer to CrPC 320 for exceptions)
Trial Court
Any Magistrate
Bare Act Text
166A. Public servant disobeying direction under law.—
Whoever, being a public servant,–(a)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 matter, or(b)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(c)fails to record any information given to him under sub-section (1) of section 154 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (2 of 1974), 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,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.Ins. by Act 13 of 2013, s. 3 (w.e.f. 03-02-2013)
What is IPC Section 166A ?
According to the official bare act, this legal offense is defined as: 166A. Public servant disobeying direction under law.—
Whoever, being a public servant,--(a)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 matter, or(b)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(c)fails to record any information given to him under sub-section (1) of section 154 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (2 of 1974), 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,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.Ins. by Act 13 of 2013, s. 3 (w.e.f. 03-02-2013)
What is the punishment for Dhara 166A ?
The punishment for this specific offense is outlined under the law as: Imprisonment up to Two Year(s) + Fine
Is IPC 166A bailable or non-bailable?
Under the Indian Penal Code, this specific offense is classified as a Bailable offense.
Is Dhara 166A a cognizable offense?
The legal status regarding police arrest without a warrant is that this offense isNon-cognizable.
Which court has the jurisdiction to try IPC 166A cases?
Cases pertaining to this specific IPC section are triable by the Any Magistrate.
Can IPC Section 166A be compromised (Compoundable)?
The compoundable nature of this offense, meaning whether the parties can settle it out of court, is classified as: Non-Compoundable (Refer to CrPC 320 for exceptions).
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Pramod is the Founder and Editor-in-Chief of StudyHub. He holds a Master's degree and is currently pursuing a Ph.D. in Geology, alongside more than 7+ years spent building and verifying competitive exam content for Indian aspirants. He leads StudyHub's editorial process across Indian Polity, the Constitution, Indian Economy, History, Geography, Science, and the platform's other subject areas — checking every article against primary sources (bare act text and Gazette notifications for constitutional topics, government and Economic Survey data for economy content, standard reference material elsewhere) and flagging it for re-verification whenever a relevant amendment, policy, or data update makes an earlier version outdated.