Legal Provisions of Section 460 of Indian Penal Code, 1860.
All persons jointly concerned in lurking house-trespass or house breaking by night punishable where death or grievous hurt caused by one of them:
All persons jointly concerned in lurking house-trespass or housebreaking by night have been made punishable under this section where death or grievous hurt is caused or attempted to be caused by any of them. The section states that at the time of the committing of either lurking house-trespass by night or house-breaking by night, if any person who is guilty of such offence shall either voluntarily cause or attempt to cause death or grievous hurt to any person, every person who is jointly concerned in committing such lurking house-trespass by night or house-breaking by night, shall be punished with imprisonment for life, or with simple or rigorous imprisonment for a term extending up to ten years, and shall also be liable to fine.
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The section requires that any person guilty of committing lurking house-trespass by night or house-breaking by night must, at the time of committing such offence, either voluntarily cause or attempt to cause death or grievous hurt of any person, and in such a situation every person who is jointly concerned in committing such lurking house- trespass by night or house-breaking by night is guilty under this section.
The provision is a principle of constructive liability. The offence under this section is very serious as is apparent from the quantum of penalty prescribed. The use of the words ‘guilty of such offence’ shows that the offence of lurking house-trespass by night or house-breaking by night must have been committed by the offender. A person actually committing murder in the course of committing lurking house-trespass by night or house-breaking by night would be punishable under section 302 of the Code.
The offence under this section is cognizable, non-bailable and non-compoundable, and is triable by court of session.