IPC Section 21: Public Servant Definition and Current BNS Law

Section 21 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860 (IPC) defined the expression public servant through a broad list of offices and public functions. The corresponding provision in the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 (BNS) is Section 2(28).

Current legal position: The BNS came into force on 1 July 2024, subject to the notified exception concerning Section 106(2). The IPC was repealed, with savings for earlier offences and proceedings under Section 358 BNS. For conduct predating commencement, consider the applicable law and savings provisions.

What is a public servant under IPC Section 21?

The term is not limited to a permanent Government employee. The IPC listed eleven operative categories under clauses historically numbered Second through Twelfth (the First clause had been repealed). These included judges, armed-forces commissioned officers, court officials, persons exercising specified public powers and employees of Government or qualifying public bodies.

Current definition: BNS Section 2(28)

Section 2(28) defines a public servant by the functions or offices described in clauses (a) to (k). The following is a structured explanation of those categories; consult the official statutory text for the complete wording.

Clause (a): Commissioned officers of the Army, Navy or Air Force.
Clause (b): Judges and persons legally empowered to discharge adjudicatory functions.
Clause (c): Court officers, including liquidators, receivers and commissioners, charged with investigation, records, property, judicial process, oaths, interpretation or maintaining court order; also persons specially authorised by a Court to perform such duties.
Clause (d): Assessors and members of a panchayat assisting a Court or public servant.
Clause (e): Arbitrators and persons to whom a Court or competent public authority refers a matter for decision or report.
Clause (f): Persons holding an office empowering them to place or keep another person in confinement.
Clause (g): Government officers charged with preventing or reporting offences, bringing offenders to justice, or protecting public health, safety or convenience.
Clause (h): Officers entrusted with Government property, revenue processes, surveys, assessments, contracts, documents or safeguarding Government financial interests.
Clause (i): Officers dealing with property, surveys, assessments, local rates or taxes for secular common purposes, or documents recording local inhabitants' rights.
Clause (j): Persons empowered to prepare, publish, maintain or revise electoral rolls or to conduct elections.
Clause (k): Persons paid or engaged by Government to perform public duties, and persons in the service or pay of specified local authorities, statutory corporations and Government companies.

Meaning of local authority and Government company

Clause (k)(ii) of BNS Section 2(28) refers to a local authority as defined in Section 3(31) of the General Clauses Act, 1897; a corporation established by or under a Central or State Act; and a Government company as defined in Section 2(45) of the Companies Act, 2013. The earlier IPC text referred to Section 617 of the Companies Act, 1956; that reference should not be presented as the current BNS citation.

Statutory explanations and illustration

Explanation (a): Government appointment is not essential

A person meeting one of the statutory descriptions is a public servant even if not appointed by the Government.

Explanation (b): Defect in appointment

A person actually occupying the position of a public servant may fall within the definition despite a legal defect in the right to hold that position.

Explanation (c): Election

For this definition, an election concerns selection of members of a legislative, municipal or other public authority where selection by election is prescribed by law.

Statutory illustration

A Municipal Commissioner is a public servant. This illustration is retained in the BNS definition and was also present in IPC Section 21.

IPC Section 21 and BNS Section 2(28): Main changes

The BNS consolidates the historical IPC categories into lettered clauses and updates legislative references. For example, it replaces the older Companies Act, 1956 reference with the Companies Act, 2013 definition of Government company. It also uses the terminology of an officer of a Court and omits the obsolete reference to a juryman from the category now covering assessors and panchayat members assisting a Court or public servant.

Not every private contractor or employee of a private organisation becomes a public servant merely by performing work connected with Government. Whether an individual is covered depends on the precise statutory category, the duties and the applicable enactment. Definitions under other laws, including anti-corruption legislation, may differ.

Why the definition matters

Whether a person is a public servant may affect offences involving public duties, misuse of office, obstruction, false information, and the application of special laws. The definition itself does not prescribe a punishment; any criminal liability depends on a separately applicable offence and its elements.

Frequently asked questions

Is every Government employee a public servant?

Persons in Government service or pay generally fall within BNS Section 2(28)(k)(i), but the facts and applicable statutory wording should be checked.

Are judges and court officers public servants?

Yes, where they fall within the categories in BNS Section 2(28)(b) or (c), respectively.

Are municipal commissioners public servants?

Yes. The statute expressly gives a Municipal Commissioner as an illustration.

Does IPC Section 21 still apply after 1 July 2024?

The BNS is the current principal penal statute. IPC Section 21 remains relevant when interpreting saved liabilities and proceedings relating to conduct before the changeover, subject to the applicable transitional rules.

Official legal sources

Last reviewed: 28 October 2026. This article provides general legal information and is not a substitute for advice on particular facts.