BNS Section 199: Public Servant Disobeying Direction Under Law

Explanation and Illustration of BNS Section 199

Section 199 deals with disobedience of the direction of law by a public servant. 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.

And while this section deals with disobedience of the direction of law, it does so with three specific acts of disobedience that a public servant may perform. Let us break down the key words in these sections to understand them better.

Section 199 (a) states that when a public servant has express directions from a legal authority prohibiting him or her from summoning any person for any legal investigation or any other matter, which may otherwise be within the scope of the public servant’s authority, and he or she disobeys these directions and summons the person anyway, then such an action will be considered as an offence under the provisions of this subsection.

Of course, the section does specify that the action has to be carried out knowingly. If the public servant in question claims that he or she was unaware of such a direction or order of the law and had carried out the action in question being unaware of such restriction, then the judge may consider looking into the evidence of it and if convinced, may recuse the officer in question.

The most common and easily observable example for this subsection is the concept of an injunction. An injunction is an order that a court often passes specifically refraining investigative authorities from summoning certain persons of interest for any questioning.

For this, the person of interest has to first file an appeal with the court seeking an injunction from the court, stating the reasons as to why they should be excused from the investigation. And if the court finds merit in the arguments of the applicant, then it may grant an injunction, refraining the investigative authorities from engaging the beneficiary of the injunction from questioning. If the officer in charge of the investigation disregards this order and engages with the person of interest to further the investigation, he or she shall be punishable under the provisions of section 199 (a).

In continuation to (a), Section 199 (b) is a broad spectrum provision that provides for disobedience of any other direction issued to them by a legal authority for the purpose of conducting the investigation. Again, there is the condition of such an action being done knowingly. If the officer in question can prove that he or she was not aware of the direction which they have disobeyed, then the court may ask them to produce evidence of such a claim. If found true, the court may recuse the officer.

Section 199 (c) provides for disobedience of direction of the law defined under section 173 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023. The BNSS is the replacement for the Indian Civil Code, just like the BNS is replacement for the Indian Penal Code. This subsection mentions a long list of other sections under the BNS also. Let us first take a look at the list of BNS sections mentioned here and what they are:

If one looks at this list, one may observe that these are crimes where women are most likely to be victims. Section 173 of the civil code, or BNSS, lays down, in no uncertain terms, the procedure that an officer of the law must follow in taking down the complaint and the entailing information in these particular cases. It states, in detail, how an officer must approach the victim, how they must take down the complaint, what they must do once the complaint has been noted, how they must proceed with the investigation and even states what is the alternative a victim has if the officer refuses to take down the complaint.

So basically, Section 199 (c) provides for the offence of disobedience by an officer of the law who with regards to the procedure that has been so clearly and unambiguously laid out in section 173 of the BNSS.

Unlike the previous two sections that talk about disobedience of a direction that may be issued by a legal authority, this section talks about disobedience of duties that are well defined and very essential to the duties of a public officer. This why this subsection, unlike the other two, does not expressly state the word “knowingly” in its provision because the duties outlined in this section are at the core of a public servant’s duty and there is no scope for the public servant to claim that the disobedience was performed “unknowingly.” A public servant is required to know the duties outlined in section 173 at the very commencement of their employment and there is no scope for misinterpretation.

Finally, Section 199(c) lays down the punishment for the offences committed under the section as rigorous imprisonment for a term which shall be a minimum of six months and a maximum of two years, and shall also be liable to fine, which shall be prescribed by the judge depending on the severity of the case.

Disclaimer: The examples provided are for educational purposes only and do not constitute legal advice. They should not be used for legal proceedings or decision-making. For specific legal matters, please consult a qualified legal professional.

Key Points in BNS 199

Differences Between Section 199 of BNS and its Equivalent IPC Section

The BNS came into force on July 1, 2024, effectively replacing the Indian Penal Code. Section 199 of BNS replaces IPC Section 166A. Let us look at the changes that have been made in the provisions of the new section in comparison to the old one.