BNS Section 58- Concealing design to commit offence punishable with death or imprisonment for life | Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita 2023
Hello readers! Today, we are going to break down Section 58 of the new Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) 2023. If you've been wondering what exactly this section covers and how it impacts our legal system, you're in the right place.
Bare Act Text
Concealing design to commit offence punishable with death or imprisonment for life.— Whoever intending to facilitate or knowing it to be likely that he will thereby facilitate the commission of an offence punishable with death or imprisonment for life, 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,—
if that offence be committed, be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to seven years; or
if the offence be not committed, with imprisonment of either description, for a term which may extend to three years,
and shall also be liable to fine.
Illustration.
A, knowing that dacoity is about to be committed at B, falsely informs the Magistrate that a dacoity is about to be committed at C, a place in an opposite direction, and thereby misleads the Magistrate with intent to facilitate the commission of the offence. The dacoity is committed at B in pursuance of the design. A is punishable under this section.
Procedural Details
Punishment
Life Imprisonment or Imprisonment up to Seven Year(s) + Fine
Nature of Offense
Cognizable
Bail Eligibility
Non-bailable
Compoundability
Non-Compoundable (Refer to BNSS 359 for exceptions)
Trial Court
Court of Session
Frequently Asked Questions about BNS Section 58
What is Section 58 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS)?
According to the official bare act, this legal offense is defined as: Concealing design to commit offence punishable with death or imprisonment for life.— Whoever intending to facilitate or knowing it to be likely that he will thereby facilitate the commission of an offence punishable with death or imprisonment for life, 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,—
if that offence be committed, be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to seven years; or
if the offence be not committed, with imprisonment of either description, for a term which may extend to three years,
and shall also be liable to fine.
Illustration.
A, knowing that dacoity is about to be committed at B, falsely informs the Magistrate that a dacoity is about to be committed at C, a place in an opposite direction, and thereby misleads the Magistrate with intent to facilitate the commission of the offence. The dacoity is committed at B in pursuance of the design. A is punishable under this section.
What is the punishment under BNS Section58 ?
The punishment for this specific offense is outlined under the new law as: Life Imprisonment or Imprisonment up to Seven Year(s) + Fine
Is BNS Section 58 bailable or non-bailable?
Under the new legal framework, this specific offense is classified as a Non-bailableoffense.
Is BNS Section 58 a cognizable offense?
The legal status regarding police arrest without a warrant is that this offense isCognizable.
Which court has the jurisdiction to try cases under BNS Section 58 ?
Cases pertaining to this specific BNS section are triable by the Court of Session.
Can BNS Section 58 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 BNSS 359 for exceptions).
Pramod Editor-in-Chief
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.