Whoever knowingly aids or assists any State prisoner or prisoner of war in escaping from lawful custody, or rescues or attempts to rescue any such prisoner, or harbours or conceals any such prisoner who has escaped from lawful custody, or offers or attempts to offer any resistance to the recapture of such prisoner, shall be punished with imprisonment for life, or with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to ten years, and shall also be liable to fine.
Explanation — —A State prisoner or prisoner of war, who is permitted to be at large on his parole within certain limits in India, is said to escape from lawful custody if he goes beyond the limits within which he is allowed to be at large.
Legal Commentary & Landmark Judgments: Section 158
Section 158 penalizes aiding the escape of, rescuing, or harbouring any State prisoner or prisoner of war, prescribing imprisonment for life or up to ten years, and fine.
In harboring trials under Section 158 BNS, prove lack of awareness: if the client let out a room through a local broker to an escaped convict who presented a forged Aadhaar card, guilty knowledge is completely missing, securing acquittal.