Section 261 BNS: Escape from Confinement or Custody Negligently Suffered by Public Servant
Section 261 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 deals with negligent escape from lawful confinement or custody where a public servant was legally bound to keep the person confined. The provision applies when the escape is suffered because of negligence rather than an intentional act.
Text of Section 261, Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023
261. Escape from confinement or custody negligently suffered by public servant. Whoever, being a public servant legally bound as such public servant to keep in confinement any person charged with or convicted of any offence or lawfully committed to custody, negligently suffers such person to escape from confinement, shall be punished with simple imprisonment for a term which may extend to two years, or with fine, or with both.
Meaning and Scope of Section 261 BNS
The section creates criminal liability for a public servant who has a legal duty to keep a person in confinement or custody and, through negligence, allows that person to escape. The provision therefore focuses on a failure to exercise the degree of care required by the public servant's lawful custodial duty.
The person who escapes must be a person charged with an offence, convicted of an offence, or otherwise lawfully committed to custody. Mere physical presence under the supervision of a public servant is not enough unless the confinement or custody is lawful and the public servant is legally bound to maintain it.
Essential Ingredients
- The accused must be a public servant.
- The public servant must be legally bound to keep another person in confinement or lawful custody.
- The person in custody must be charged with an offence, convicted of an offence, or otherwise lawfully committed to custody.
- The person must escape from confinement.
- The escape must have been negligently suffered by the public servant.
Punishment under Section 261 BNS
The maximum punishment is simple imprisonment for a term which may extend to two years, or fine, or both.
Nature of the Offence
| Provision | Section 261, Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 |
|---|---|
| Punishment | Simple imprisonment up to two years, or fine, or both |
| Cognizable or non-cognizable | Non-cognizable |
| Bailable or non-bailable | Bailable |
| Triable by | Any Magistrate |
Negligence under Section 261
The defining feature of Section 261 is negligence. The prosecution must establish that the public servant's failure to exercise due care in carrying out a legal custodial duty resulted in the escape. This distinguishes the provision from offences dealing with intentional omission to apprehend or intentional sufferance of escape.
Difference between Section 261 and Related BNS Provisions
Section 261 concerns negligent sufferance of escape by a public servant who is legally bound to keep a person in confinement. Nearby provisions deal with different forms of conduct, including intentional omission to apprehend, resistance to lawful apprehension, rescue from custody and other cases of omission or sufferance of escape.
Related BNS Sections
Readers may also refer to the succeeding provisions dealing with resistance to lawful apprehension, rescue from custody and other forms of escape or omission by public servants.
This page is intended for legal information and statutory reference. The application of a penal provision depends on the facts, applicable procedural law and judicial interpretation.