Concealment of Design to wage war (Section 123 of IPC)

Legal provisions regarding Concealment of Design to wage war under section 123 of Indian Penal Code, 1860.

Concealment of Design to wage war:

Section 123 of the code provides relating to concealing with intent to facilitate design to wage war thus : “whoever, by any act, or by any illegal omission, conceals the existence of a design to wage war against the Government of India, intending by such concealment to facilitate, or knowing it to be likely that such concealment will facilitate, the waging of such war, shall be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to ten years, and shall also be liable to fine.”

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Section 123 of the code enshrines the principle contained in Section 118 of the code and refers specifically to conceal with intent to facilitate design to wage war.

In order to prove an offence under Section 123, the following ingredients have to be established:

1) The existence of a design to wage war against the Government of India;

2) That the accused had knowledge of such design;

3) That he concealed the same;

4) That by doing so, he intended to facilitate the waging of such war or had knowledge that it was likely to facilitate the waging of war.

The offence under Section 123 is cognizable, non-bailable, non- compoundable and triable by the Court of Session.