Grievous Hurt Caused Whilst Committing Lurking House-Trespass or House-breaking - Section 459
The Indian Penal Code, 1860 is one of the enactments by the Indian Parliament which deals with Criminal Justice. Under IPC there are several provisions that tend to protect and encourage peace, tranquility, and stability in society, by punishing the offenders who contravene any of the provisions under this code. Section 459 is related to the offences of Housebreaking and lurking trespass and causing grievous hurt during the commission of such offences. We will discuss that in detail. What is Section 459 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860? Section 459 is one of the provisions relating to the offences of housebreaking or lurking trespass. Under the provisions of Section 459, if anyone causes grievous hurt or attempts to cause death or grievous hurt during the commission of offence of lurking house-trespass or house-breaking, then he will be held and sentenced as per the provisions of this section. This section provides for punishment with imprisonment for life, or simple or rigorous imprisonment for a term extending up to ten years, and fine, to a person convicted under Section 459 of the Indian Penal Code. The ingredients of section 459 are as given below:- Housebreaking at night or lurking trespass has been committed. During such commission grievous hurt has been caused, or, Attempt to cause grievous hurt or death has been made. Is IPC 459 a cognizable offence or a non-cognizable offence? Offences under section 459 of IPC are regarded as Cognizable- Offences and arrests can be made by a police officer without any prior permission or order of the Court. The offences under section 459 are triable by the Court of Session. Consult the best lawyer online Is IPC 459 bailable? No, the offences under the Section 459 of IPC have been categorized as Non-Bailable offences. It is also regarded as a non-compoundable offence under the provisions of Cr.P.C. What is the punishment for offences under IPC 459? As per the provisions of Section 459, IPC, the convicts under this section shall be punished with imprisonment, the term of which may extend to the lifetime of the convict. Section 459 also provides for the imposition of fines upon the convicts. How to file or defend your case having constituents of offences under IPC 459? The case under Section 459 will simply be whistled by registering an FIR at the nearest police station to the place of occurrence. How to defend? When someone is charged with offences u/s 459 IPC or is accused of the provisions u/s 459 IPC, then it is advised that he/she shall hire an expert lawyer who has experience in dealing with criminal cases. Because the offences u/s 459 are cognizable, non-bailable, non-compoundable, and also, the punishment u/s 459 extends up to imprisonment for a lifetime, accompanied by a fine in certain cases. Also, at the trial in the court of law, an expert lawyer would strive to defend your case and would for sure benefit you, either by getting an acquittal order in your favor or by reducing your punishment.
Important Judgements
State of Gujarat v. Miyama Abraham Mamad: According to the facts of this case, it was alleged that the accused had entered into a house by cutting sheets of the roof and then inflicted knife blows to the deceased which resulted in the death and injury to others. The case was proved by the prosecution beyond any reasonable doubt with the help of cognate evidence and accordingly, the accused was held guilty under sections 302, 324, 457, and 459 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860.
Kuldeep Singh V. State of Punjab (CRM-M-3172-2017): As per the prosecution, one night the victim came to his courtyard then suddenly a person gave him a fatal blow with the reverse side of gandasi hitting on his back. When he tried to get up, two more people, having muffled faces and wearing black clothes, came from the side of their kitchen. They were armed with dah and they threw him on the floor. One person gave dah blow on his right palm and he raised a noise. Hearing that, his wife Narinder Kaur and other neighbors came to their house after crossing the boundary wall. They had a scuffle with him during the course of which, scarves from the faces of two intruders got removed and he identified them to be Ranjit Singh and Bablu; regarding the third intruder, he stated that he could identify if he would come in front of him. Then all the intruders ran away along with their respective weapons. According to the complainant, those persons had entered his house with the intention to commit theft after killing him and his family members and had caused injuries to him with an intention to kill him.
Accordingly, an FIR for offences under Sections 459, 324, 323, and 34 IPC was registered at Police Station Dakha, Ludhiana.
After completion of investigation when the case was put up before the Additional Session Judge, he observed that prima facie offence under Section 452 IPC was disclosed against the accused and not offence under Section 459 IPC, therefore, he remanded the case to Chief Judicial Magistrate, Ludhiana with a direction to proceed further in accordance with the law.
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The impugned order reads: A bare perusal of Section 459 IPC, makes it crystal clear that for satisfying the essential ingredients of this section, grievous hurt is required to be caused while committing lurking house-trespass or house-breaking. However, within the case in hand, no grievous hurt/injury was found on the person of the complainant and intrinsically, offence U/s 459 IPC isn't made out against the accused. Rather, the accused can be tried for the offence U/s 452 IPC, which is triable by Magistrate.
Feeling aggrieved, the complainant approached this Court by way of filling the present petition.
Honourable Court held that - An inquiry into the impugned order shows that learned Addl. Sessions Judge, Ludhiana has not properly appreciated the legal position and had read only a part of Section 459 IPC and not gone through it completely. A complete perusal of the provisions goes to show that such offence is made out even if grievous hurt is not caused while committing lurking house-trespass or house breaking and if an attempt to cause death or grievous hurt to any person is made during the course of committing lurking house-trespass.
Therefore, the order is not sustainable; the same is set aside and the matter is remanded to learned Addl. Sessions Judge, Ludhiana
This article on IPC Section 457 was drafted by Mr. Kumar Sonal, BA LLB, 5th-year student, Central University of South Bihar (CUSB).| Offence | Punishment | Cognizance | Bail | Triable By |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grievous Hurt Caused Whilst Committing Lurking House-Trespass or House-breaking | Life Imprisonment or 10 years or fine or both | Cognizable | Non-Bailable | Court of sessions |
| Offence | Grievous Hurt Caused Whilst Committing Lurking House-Trespass or House-breaking |
|---|---|
| Punishment | Life Imprisonment or 10 years or fine or both |
| Cognizance | Cognizable |
| Bail | Non-Bailable |
| Triable By | Court of sessions |
