Indian Penal Code, 1860
Destruction of document or electronic record to prevent its production as evidence.—
Section
204
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
204. Destruction of document or electronic record to prevent its production as evidence.—
Whoever secretes or destroys any document or electronic record which he may be lawfully compelled to produce as evidence in a Court of Justice, or in any proceeding lawfully held before a public servant, as such, or obliterates or renders illegible the whole or any part of such document or electronic record with the intention of preventing the same from being produced or used as evidence before such Court or public servant as aforesaid, or after he shall have been lawfully summoned or required to produce the same for that purpose, shall be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to two years, or with fine, or with both.
What is IPC Section 204 ?
According to the official bare act, this legal offense is defined as: 204. Destruction of document or electronic record to prevent its production as evidence.—
Whoever secretes or destroys any document or electronic record which he may be lawfully compelled to produce as evidence in a Court of Justice, or in any proceeding lawfully held before a public servant, as such, or obliterates or renders illegible the whole or any part of such document or electronic record with the intention of preventing the same from being produced or used as evidence before such Court or public servant as aforesaid, or after he shall have been lawfully summoned or required to produce the same for that purpose, shall be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to two years, or with fine, or with both.
What is the punishment for Dhara 204 ?
The punishment for this specific offense is outlined under the law as: Imprisonment up to Two Year(s) + Fine
Is IPC 204 bailable or non-bailable?
Under the Indian Penal Code, this specific offense is classified as a Bailable offense.
Is Dhara 204 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 204 cases?
Cases pertaining to this specific IPC section are triable by the Any Magistrate.
Can IPC Section 204 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.