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IPC 1860REPEALED
Section 120
Concealment of Design to Commit Offence Punishable with Imprisonment
Replaced by: BNS 61
BailableCognizable: Non-CognizableAny Magistrate
THE STATUTE
Original Text
Whoever, intending to facilitate or knowing it to be likely that he will thereby facilitate the commission of an offence punishable with imprisonment, voluntarily conceals, by any act or omission, the existence of a design to commit such offence, shall, if that offence be committed, be punished with imprisonment of the description provided for the offence, for a term which may extend to one-fourth part of the longest term of imprisonment provided for the offence; or, if the offence be not committed, with imprisonment of any description for a term which may extend to one-eighth part of the longest term of imprisonment provided for the offence, or with fine, or with both.
Simplified
Section 120 criminalises deliberately concealing knowledge of a plan to commit a crime — a companion to criminal conspiracy (Section 120A/120B) that targets passive concealment rather than active participation. Unlike conspiracy, Section 120 does not require the person to be part of the agreement to commit the offence — it applies where someone learns of another's plan to commit an imprisonable offence and deliberately conceals it to help the plan succeed. The punishment is proportional and scales with the gravity of the underlying offence: one-quarter of its maximum if the offence is actually committed; one-eighth if the offence is not committed. This reflects the common law principle that failure to prevent an offence when one has facilitated it through concealment carries moral responsibility. Note that Section 120 was substantially overshadowed in practice by the criminal conspiracy provisions (Sections 120A and 120B) added in 1913.
Legal Evolution
Section 120 was part of the original 1860 IPC. Its practical significance diminished after the addition of the criminal conspiracy provisions (Sections 120A and 120B) in 1913 by the Criminal Law Amendment Act, which provided a more comprehensive framework for pre-offence liability. The BNS consolidates the conspiracy and concealment framework under Section 61.
Practical Scenarios
"A person who learns that friends are planning a robbery and deliberately stays silent — Section 120 if the robbery occurs."
"An employee who discovers a colleague's plan to commit fraud and conceals it to help them — Section 120."
Common Queries
Section 107 covers active abetment — instigation, conspiracy, or intentional aid. Section 120 covers passive concealment — knowing of a plan and deliberately hiding it to help the plan succeed. The concealer under Section 120 need not have participated in planning the offence.
Yes — but the punishment is halved (one-eighth of the maximum rather than one-quarter) if the offence is not ultimately committed.