BNS Section 206: Absconding to avoid service of summons or other proceeding (formerly IPC 172)
Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 · in force from 1 July 2024
BNS 206: Absconding to avoid service of summons or other proceeding
From 1 July 2024
Whoever absconds in order to avoid being served with a summons, notice or order proceeding from any public servant legally competent, as such public servant, to issue such summons, notice or order,–
(a) shall be punished with simple imprisonment for a term which may extend to one month, or with fine which may extend to five thousand rupees, or with both;
(b) where such summons or notice or order is to attend in person or by agent, or to produce a document or an electronic record in a Court shall be punished with simple imprisonment for a term which may extend to six months, or with fine which may extend to ten thousand rupees, or with both.
What it replaced in the IPC
BNS 206 ← IPC 172 · Absconding to avoid service of summons or other proceedingChanged
BPR&D's comparison records a change. Read what changed before relying on the old wording.
What changed, per BPR&D: The upper limit of the fine is increased from five hundred to five thousand rupees and one thousand to ten thousand rupees; 'Court of justice' is replaced by 'Court' etc.
Printed in both official correspondence tables (BPR&D and NCRB).
Whoever absconds in order to avoid being served with a summons, notice or order proceeding from any public servant legally competent, as such public servant, to issue such summons, notice or order, 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 or notice or order is to attend in person or by agent, or to [produce a document or an 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.
Which one applies
An offence is governed by the law in force when it was committed. An offence committed before 1 July 2024 is charged and punished under the IPC; one committed on or after that date, under the BNS. Section 358 of the BNS, which repeals the IPC, preserves every liability and proceeding already incurred under it.
Read BNS section 358 →Judgments decided under IPC 172
They remain the law on IPC 172. Where the provision changed in the move, read what changed before relying on one for an offence after 1 July 2024.
Sources
- Correspondence Table and Comparison Summary of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 to the Indian Penal Code, 1860, Bureau of Police Research & Development, Ministry of Home Affairs, page 22.
- Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023: bare Act with Corresponding Section Table, National Crime Records Bureau (Sankalan), page 51.
- The Indian Penal Code, 1860 (Act 45 of 1860), as amended, India Code, Legislative Department, Ministry of Law and Justice.
BPR&D is the Bureau of Police Research & Development (Ministry of Home Affairs); NCRB the National Crime Records Bureau. Their correspondence tables are training aids, not law. This page is general information, not legal advice on any case; the bare Acts as published by the Government of India are the authority.