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Section 157: Public Servant Negligently Suffering State Prisoner to Escape

Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita • Chapter VII: Of Offences Against the State & Armed Forces • Official Statutory Text & Legal Guide

Chapter VII: Of Offences Against the State & Armed Forces
Magistrate 1st Class
Bailable
Cognizable
Formerly Sec 129 IPC
Section 156 All 358 Sections of Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita Section 158

Legal Commentary & Landmark Judgments: Section 157

Section 157 penalizes a public servant who, having the custody of any State prisoner or prisoner of war, negligently suffers such prisoner to escape from any place of confinement, prescribing simple imprisonment up to three years, and fine.

  • Negligent Custodial Lapses: Failure to observe prescribed jail security manuals, lax gatekeeping, or sleeping on guard duty.
  • Escape of State Prisoner: Results in the escape of a State prisoner or prisoner of war.
  • Simple Imprisonment Scale: Simple imprisonment up to three years, distinguishing negligent lapses from corrupt connivance (formerly Section 129 IPC).
Key Landmark Precedents:
  • Syad Akbar v. State of Karnataka (1980) 1 SCC 30: The Supreme Court examined criminal negligence, holding that culpable negligence requires showing a gross breach of duty that directly caused the result.
  • State of A.P. v. P. Satyanarayana (1981) 3 SCC 272: Affirmed that prison staff negligence in cell lockups falls under Section 129 IPC (Section 157 BNS).
Courtroom Practice & Strategic Litigation Guidance:

In departmental-cum-criminal trials for jailbreaks, demonstrate system failure: prove acute understaffing, malfunctioning CCTV cameras, and broken security locks to establish that the escape was not attributable to individual negligence under Section 157 BNS.

Section 156 All 358 Sections of Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita Section 158