Legal Provisions of Section 119 of Indian Penal Code, 1860.
Public Servant concealing design to commit offence which it is his duty to prevent:
Sections 118 and 119 are similar in nature. While in the former concealment of design to commit an offence is by an ordinary person, in the latter the same is by a public servant which it is his duty to prevent. Section 119 says that when a public servant, with the intention of facilitating or with the knowledge that it is likely that he will thereby facilitate, the commission of an offence, which it is his duty as such public servant to prevent, voluntarily conceals, either by an act or by an illegal omission, the existence of a design to commit such offence, or makes any representation about which he has knowledge that it is false respecting such design, shall, if the offence be committed, be punished with imprisonment of any description provided for the offence, for a term which may extend to one-half of the longest term of such imprisonment, or with such fine as is provided for the offence, or with both, or, if the offence be punishable with death or imprisonment for life, with simple or rigorous imprisonment for a term which may extend to ten years, or if the offence be not committed, shall be punished with imprisonment of any description provided for the offence for a term which may extend to one-fourth part of the longest term of such imprisonment or with such fine as is provided for the offence, or with both.
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ADVERTISEMENTS:
This section provides a severer punishment in comparison to section 118 because a public servant, and not a private individual, conceals design to commit offence which it is his duty to prevent. The principle that law protectors themselves breaking the law should be punished more severely than others has thus been followed. The illustration under this section illustrates the law effectively.
The offence under this section is non-bailable if the concealment is of an offence punishable with death or imprisonment for life.