Legal Provisions of Section 214 of Indian Penal Code, 1860.
Offering gift or restoration of property in consideration of screening offender:
While section 213 punishes a receiver etc. of a gratification in consideration of screening etc. an offender, this section penalises the offer etc. of such gratification or restoration of property in consideration of screening etc. an offender. The section states that whoever either gives or causes any gratification to any person, or offers or agrees to give or cause any gratification to any person, or either restores or causes the restoration of any property to any person, in consideration of a concealment of an offence by that person, or screening any person from legal punishment for any offence by him, or not proceeding against any person for the purpose of bringing him to legal punishment by him, shall be punished with simple or rigorous imprisonment for a term extending up to seven years, and shall also be liable to fine where the offence is punishable with death, and shall be punished with simple or rigorous imprisonment for a term extending up to three years, and shall also be liable to fine where the offence is punishable with imprisonment for life or with imprisonment extending up to ten years; and shall be punished with imprisonment of that description as provided for the offence for a term extending up to one-fourth part of the maximum terms of imprisonment provided for the offence, or with fine, or with both where the offence is punishable with imprisonment of up to ten years. The exception attached to this section says that the provisions of sections 213 and 214 are not applicable to any case in which the offence is lawfully compoundable.
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ADVERTISEMENTS:
The section requires that there must be giving or causing, or offering or agreement to give or cause any gratification to anyone, or restoration or causing restoration of any property to anyone. The consideration for doing such a thing must be either concealment by him of an offence, or screening by him anyone from legal punishment for any offence, or not proceeding by him against any person for the purpose of bringing him to legal punishment.
The punishment depends on the seriousness of the offence sought to be Screened etc. The expressions concealing an offence and screening any person from legal punishment for any offence have been used to indicate that an offence has in fact been committed and not that the same may have been assumed to be committed.
In Mohammad Aslam v. State, the prosecution failed to establish that the offence of preparing false muster rolls with a view to misappropriate government money had been committed, because neither were the muster rolls produced nor any labourer whose name was falsely entered was examined. Payment of money to prosecution witness was also not proved beyond doubt. The Supreme Court set aside the conviction under this section. The Madhya Pradesh High Court has held in Sumativijay Jain v. State, that the prosecution must establish that the accused knew that the concerned person was an offender.
ADVERTISEMENTS:
The offence under section 214 is non-cognizable, bailable and non-compoundable, and is triable by magistrate of the first class.