Indian Penal Code, 1860
Preventing service of summons or other proceeding, or preventing publication thereof.—
Section
173
Punishment
Imprisonment up to One Month(s) + Fine
Cognizable
Non-cognizable
Bailable
Bailable
Compoundable
Non-Compoundable (Refer to CrPC 320 for exceptions)
Trial Court
Any Magistrate
Bare Act Text
173. Preventing service of summons or other proceeding, or preventing publication thereof.—
Whoever in any manner intentionally prevents the serving on himself, or on any other person, of any summons, notice or order proceeding from any public servant legally competent, as such public servant, to issue such summons, notice or order,or intentionally prevents the lawful affixing to any place of any such summons, notice or order, or intentionally removes any such summons, notice or order from any place to which it is lawfully affixed,or intentionally prevents the lawful making of any proclamation, under the authority of any public servant legally competent, as such public servant, to direct such proclamation to be made,shall be punished with simple imprisonment for a term which may extend to one month, or with fine which may extend to five hundred rupees, or with both; or, if the summons, notice, order or proclamation is to attend in person or by agent,or to produce a document or electronic record in a Court of Justice, with simple imprisonment for a term which may extend to six months, or with fine which may extend to one thousand rupees, or with both.
What is IPC Section 173 ?
According to the official bare act, this legal offense is defined as: 173. Preventing service of summons or other proceeding, or preventing publication thereof.—
Whoever in any manner intentionally prevents the serving on himself, or on any other person, of any summons, notice or order proceeding from any public servant legally competent, as such public servant, to issue such summons, notice or order,or intentionally prevents the lawful affixing to any place of any such summons, notice or order, or intentionally removes any such summons, notice or order from any place to which it is lawfully affixed,or intentionally prevents the lawful making of any proclamation, under the authority of any public servant legally competent, as such public servant, to direct such proclamation to be made,shall be punished with simple imprisonment for a term which may extend to one month, or with fine which may extend to five hundred rupees, or with both; or, if the summons, notice, order or proclamation is to attend in person or by agent,or to produce a document or electronic record in a Court of Justice, with simple imprisonment for a term which may extend to six months, or with fine which may extend to one thousand rupees, or with both.
What is the punishment for Dhara 173 ?
The punishment for this specific offense is outlined under the law as: Imprisonment up to One Month(s) + Fine
Is IPC 173 bailable or non-bailable?
Under the Indian Penal Code, this specific offense is classified as a Bailable offense.
Is Dhara 173 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 173 cases?
Cases pertaining to this specific IPC section are triable by the Any Magistrate.
Can IPC Section 173 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).
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.