BNS Section 198: Public Servant Disobeying Law, With Intent To Cause Injury To Any Person

Definition of BNS Section 198

Section 198 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), 2023 states:
“Whoever, being a public servant, knowingly disobeys any direction of the law as to the way in which he is to conduct himself as such public servant, intending to cause, or knowing it to be likely that he will by such disobedience, cause injury to any person, shall be punished with simple imprisonment for a term which may extend to one year, or with fine, or with both.

• Illustration.
  A, being an officer directed by law to take property in execution, in order to satisfy a decree pronounced in Z’s favour by a Court, knowingly disobeys that direction of law, with the knowledge that he is likely thereby to cause injury to Z. A has committed the offence defined in this section.”

Explanation and Illustration of BNS Section 198

Let us break down some of the keywords of this section to understand it better.

This section deals with the offence of a public servant disobeying any direction of the law.

A public servant has a dual relationship with the Constitution of India, one as a citizen of the country and the other as its employee. While the Constitution is the blueprint for the legal and administrative machinery of the government, a public servant is one who is charged with ensuring the running of the machinery. And in that role they are both, the executors of the law as well as its subjects, at the same time. As subjects of the law, their duty is to obey it. But as executors of the law, their duty is to obey its directions. They follow the rules and regulations laid for them in order to ensure that the law is executed and administered.

While this section provides for situations where a public servant disobeys a direction of the law, it specifically talks about a situation when such an act of disobedience is carried out with the explicit intention of causing hurt to someone. This means that if the disobedience was done out of, say, negligence and not with any malicious intent, then a judge may find such an act to be outside the purview of the provisions of this section.

It also further clarifies that it is not just the act of causing injury to someone that is punishable, but even the intent of causing injury to someone through an act of disobedience is punishable. To that extent it states that even an act of disobedience carried out knowing that it is likely to cause injury is punishable under the provisions of this section. So even if the intended injury does not take place, the intent is still punishable, nevertheless.

The punishment prescribed under the provisions of Section 198 is simple imprisonment for a term which may extend to one year, or with fine, or with both. The amount of the fine is at the discretion of the judge, depending on the severity of the injury intended and the eventual consequences.

The illustration provided in the act points at a situation where a court order in the favour of Z is not executed, or disobeyed, by A, an officer of the law. A has acted in this manner knowing well that his action will cause injury to Z by denying him a right that is decreed by the law of the land. Hence, A is an offender under the provisions of Section 198.

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