From the facts mentioned by you, it may amount to an offence of “harbouring offender” which is punishable under Section 212 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and/or under Section 216-A of IPC, which are reproduced below:
“212. Harbouring offender.—Whenever an offence has been committed, whoever harbours or conceals a person whom he knows or has reason to believe to be the offender, with the intention of screening him from legal punishment,
[if a capital offence] shall, if the offence is punishable with death, be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to five years, and shall also be liable to fine;
[if punishable with imprisonment for life, or with imprisonment] and if the offence is punishable with imprisonment for life, or with imprisonment which may extend to ten years, shall be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to three years, and shall also be liable to fine;
and if the offence is punishable with imprisonment which may extend to one year, and not to ten years, shall be punished with imprisonment of the description provided for the offence for a term which may extend to one-fourth part of the longest term of imprisonment provided for the offence, or with fine, or with both.
“Offence” in this section includes any act committed at any place out of India, which, if committed in India, would be punishable under any of the following sections, namely, 302, 304, 382, 392, 393, 394, 395, 396, 397, 398, 399, 402, 435, 436, 449, 450, 457, 458, 459 and 460; and every such act shall, for the purposes of this section, be deemed to be punishable as if the accused person had been guilty of it in India.
Exception.—This provision shall not extend to any case in which the harbour or concealment is by the husband or wife of the offender.
Illustration
A, knowing that B has committed dacoity, knowingly conceals B in order to screen him from legal punishment. Here, as B is liable to imprisonment for life, A is liable to imprisonment of either description for a term not exceeding three years, and is also liable to fine.”
“216-A. Penalty for harbouring robbers or dacoits.—Whoever, knowing or having reason to believe that any persons are about to commit or have recently committed robbery or dacoity, harbours them or any of them, with the intention of facilitating the commission of such robbery or dacoity or of screening them or any of them from punishment, shall be punished with rigorous imprisonment for a term which may extend to seven years, and shall also be liable to fine.
Explanation.—For the purposes of this section it is immaterial whether the robbery or dacoity is intended to be committed, or has been committed, within or without 2[India].
Exception.—This provision does not extend to the case in which the harbour is by the husband or wife of the offender.”
It may be seen from the above legal provisions that even if the offender is a close friend, harbouring him may be an offence under these provisions. The only exception is when the harbour is by the husband or wife of the offender, as the case may be, in which case the harbouring is not an offence.
Dr. Ashok Dhamija is a New Delhi based Supreme Court Advocate and author of law books. Read more about him by clicking here. List of his Forum Replies. List of his other articles. List of his Quora Answers. List of his YouTube Videos.
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