IPC Section 457: Lurking House-Trespass or House-Breaking by Night to Commit an Offence

Section 457 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860 dealt with lurking house-trespass or house-breaking by night undertaken with the intention of committing an offence punishable with imprisonment. The corresponding provision in the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 is Section 331(4).

What did IPC Section 457 provide?

The above reproduces the substance of the original IPC provision, including its two punishment levels.

Corresponding current provision: BNS Section 331(4)

Section 331(4) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 addresses lurking house-trespass by night or house-breaking by night committed in order to commit an offence punishable with imprisonment. The ordinary maximum imprisonment is five years, along with liability to a fine. If the intended offence is theft, imprisonment may extend to fourteen years.

Definitions and essential legal ingredients

House-trespass

Under the IPC, house-trespass is criminal trespass involving entry into, or unlawful remaining in, a building, tent or vessel used as a human dwelling, a place of worship, or a place for custody of property. The BNS contains corresponding provisions dealing with criminal trespass and house-trespass.

Lurking house-trespass

Lurking house-trespass involves taking precautions to conceal the house-trespass from a person entitled to exclude or eject the trespasser. Mere secrecy is not necessarily enough: the statutory requirement of precautions to conceal must be examined.

House-breaking

House-breaking is a form of house-trespass involving entry or exit in one of the legally specified ways, such as making a passage, using a passage not intended for human entrance, opening a lock, or other statutory modes. Not every unlawful entry automatically amounts to house-breaking.

By night

The statutory night-time period is after sunset and before sunrise. The time of entry or exit and the circumstances of the alleged offence must be assessed against the relevant statutory definition.

Intention to commit an imprisonable offence

The prosecution must establish the relevant form of night-time trespass or breaking and that it was undertaken in order to commit an offence punishable with imprisonment. Where theft was the intended offence, the higher punishment ceiling applies. The intended offence need not necessarily have been completed for this provision to be attracted.

Illustrative situations

Example 1: A person secretly enters a dwelling after sunset, taking precautions to avoid detection, intending to commit an imprisonable offence. Depending on the evidence and statutory elements, Section 331(4) may apply.

Example 2: A person breaks into a locked premises at night intending to steal property. If the legal ingredients are established, the theft-intent limb may expose the person to imprisonment extending to fourteen years.

These examples are illustrative only. Liability depends on the evidence, the precise form of entry, the nature of the premises, and the applicable law.

How Section 457 differs from nearby provisions

Official legislation and further reading

Consult the official text of the India Code legislative database for the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023, the Indian Penal Code, 1860, and the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023. The Ministry of Home Affairs also publishes information and notifications concerning the new criminal laws. Procedural classification and bail questions should be checked against the applicable BNSS schedule and the facts of the case.

This article is general legal information and does not substitute for advice on a particular criminal case.