Contempt of Lawful Authority of Public Servants

A process server arrives at your door with a court summons. You hide in the bedroom and tell your brother to say you are out. Nothing violent has happened, nobody is hurt, and yet you have probably committed an offence. The State can only work if people answer summons, hand over documents and do not obstruct officials. Chapter XIII of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita punishes those who defy lawful authority, and the key word is lawful.

In two minutes

Chapter XIII of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita 2023 (ss.206–226) punishes defiance of a public servant acting within lawful authority: avoiding summons, not attending or producing documents, giving false information, refusing oath or answers, resisting seizure or sale, obstructing or threatening public servants, and attempting suicide to coerce an official.

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