BNS Section 156: Public Servant Voluntarily Allowing Prisoner of State or War to Escape

Definition of BNS Section 156

Section 156 of the BNS 2023 States:
Whoever, being a public servant and having the custody of any State prisoner or prisoner of war, voluntarily allows such prisoner to escape from any place in which such prisoner is confined, shall be punished with imprisonment for life, or imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to ten years, and shall also be liable to fine.

Explanation and Illustration of BNS Section 156

Section 156 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 (BNS 2023) deals with the escape or release of a State prisoner or a prisoner of war without lawful authority due to the gross negligence or with intent on the part of a public servant who is in charge of such prisoners. It prescribes legal liability and punishment for a public servant who deliberately or negligently allows such prisoners to escape from their place of confinement.

• Illustration 1
  A prison guard who is in charge of guarding a prisoner of war intentionally aids the prisoner to escape from a high-security prison. The officer may open the prison cell or give the prisoner the information that will help him escape. In this case, the public servant is directly involved in allowing the escape, and they would be subject to the punishment prescribed under Section 156.
  Legal Consequence: The prison officer may serve life imprisonment or up to ten years in prison and a fine.

• Illustration 2
  This requires a public official, for instance, a custodian, the prison guard ensuring that a person remains in confinement within a proper secured facility to ensure the proper custody of prisoners. He happens to leave without taking the care of locking in the area nor keeping a full eye on that prisoner who successfully commits an escape under this section and thus does the offense.
  Legal Consequence: The attendant might be detained for ten years or more coupled with a monetary penalty.

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