Indian Penal Code, 1860
Causing disappearance of evidence of offence, or giving false information to screen offender.—
Section
201
Punishment
Life Imprisonment or Imprisonment up to Seven Year(s) + Fine
Cognizable
Cognizable
Bailable
Non-bailable
Compoundable
Non-Compoundable (Refer to CrPC 320 for exceptions)
Trial Court
Court of Session
Bare Act Text
201. Causing disappearance of evidence of offence, or giving false information to screen offender.—
Whoever, knowing or having reason to believe that an offence has been committed, causes any evidence of the commission of that offence to disappear, with the intention of screening the offender from legal punishment, or with that intention gives any infor-mation respecting the offence which he knows or believes to be false;if a capital offence.— shall, if the offence which he knows or believes to have been committed is punishable with death, be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to seven years, and shall also be liable to fine;if punishable with imprisonment for life.— and if the offence is punishable with imprisonment for life, or with imprisonment which may extend to ten years, shall be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to three years, and shall also be liable to fine;if punishable with less than ten years’ imprisonment.— and if the offence is punishable with imprisonment for any term not extending to ten years, shall be punished with imprisonment of the description provided for the offence, for a term which may extend to one-fourth part of the longest term of the imprisonment provided for the offence, or with fine, or with both.IllustrationA, knowing that B has murdered Z, assists B to hide the body with the intention of screening B from punishment. A is liable to imprisonment of either description for seven years, and also to fine.
What is IPC Section 201 ?
According to the official bare act, this legal offense is defined as: 201. Causing disappearance of evidence of offence, or giving false information to screen offender.—
Whoever, knowing or having reason to believe that an offence has been committed, causes any evidence of the commission of that offence to disappear, with the intention of screening the offender from legal punishment, or with that intention gives any infor-mation respecting the offence which he knows or believes to be false;if a capital offence.— shall, if the offence which he knows or believes to have been committed is punishable with death, be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to seven years, and shall also be liable to fine;if punishable with imprisonment for life.— and if the offence is punishable with imprisonment for life, or with imprisonment which may extend to ten years, shall be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to three years, and shall also be liable to fine;if punishable with less than ten years’ imprisonment.— and if the offence is punishable with imprisonment for any term not extending to ten years, shall be punished with imprisonment of the description provided for the offence, for a term which may extend to one-fourth part of the longest term of the imprisonment provided for the offence, or with fine, or with both.IllustrationA, knowing that B has murdered Z, assists B to hide the body with the intention of screening B from punishment. A is liable to imprisonment of either description for seven years, and also to fine.
What is the punishment for Dhara 201 ?
The punishment for this specific offense is outlined under the law as: Life Imprisonment or Imprisonment up to Seven Year(s) + Fine
Is IPC 201 bailable or non-bailable?
Under the Indian Penal Code, this specific offense is classified as a Non-bailable offense.
Is Dhara 201 a cognizable offense?
The legal status regarding police arrest without a warrant is that this offense isCognizable.
Which court has the jurisdiction to try IPC 201 cases?
Cases pertaining to this specific IPC section are triable by the Court of Session.
Can IPC Section 201 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.