● Modified in BNS
Criminal breach of trust involves dishonestly misappropriating property entrusted to you. BNS Section 316 raises the base maximum sentence from 3 to 5 years and consolidates the enhanced categories -- carriers, clerks or servants, and public servants or bankers -- into one section.
Section 406 IPC punished criminal breach of trust with imprisonment up to 3 years, or fine, or both.
BNS Section 316(2) punishes criminal breach of trust with imprisonment up to 5 years, or fine, or both, with aggravated categories (carriers, clerks/servants, public servants, bankers/agents) in sub-sections (3) to (5).
Renumbered to BNS 316 with the base maximum sentence enhanced from 3 to 5 years and all variants consolidated in one section.
Imprisonment up to 5 years, or fine, or both (aggravated categories under Section 316(3)-(5) attract higher terms)..
IPC 406 is non-bailable..
This is a cognizable. offence.
Compoundable with the permission of the court, by the owner of the property..
Matters under IPC 406 are tried before the Magistrate of the First Class..
Common defences include absence of entrustment in the legal sense, a genuine account or civil dispute over money rather than dishonest misappropriation, and that the property was used with the owners consent or authority.
Summaries are for general information and are not legal advice. For the authoritative bare-act text, see the official Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 and Indian Penal Code, 1860 (full amended text, as it stood before repeal) on India Code, or the Ministry of Home Affairs' new criminal laws page. ← All comparisons