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Section 167: Public Servant Disobeying Law with Intent to Cause Injury

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
Non-Cognizable
Formerly Sec 166 IPC
Section 166 All 358 Sections of Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita Section 168

Legal Commentary & Landmark Judgments: Section 167

Section 167 penalizes a public servant disobeying any direction of the law as to the way in which he is to conduct himself as such public servant, intending to cause or knowing it to be likely that he will cause injury to any person, prescribing imprisonment up to one year, or fine, or both.

  • Public Servant Status: The offender must be a public servant bound by statutory directions of law.
  • Willful Disobedience: Knowingly disobeying mandatory statutory procedures (e.g. failing to give arrest memo, seizing property without panchnama).
  • Intention to Cause Injury: Done intending or knowing it to be likely that such disobedience will cause injury to any person in body, mind, reputation, or property (formerly Section 166 IPC).
Key Landmark Precedents:
  • Lalita Kumari v. Govt. of U.P. (2014) 2 SCC 1: The Constitution Bench held that police officers who willfully fail to register an FIR upon disclosure of a cognizable offence commit actionable breaches of duty under Section 166 IPC (Section 167 BNS).
  • D.K. Basu v. State of W.B. (1997) 1 SCC 416: Directed that public servants violating mandatory arrest procedures are liable to criminal prosecution under this section.
Courtroom Practice & Strategic Litigation Guidance:

When a police officer or municipal officer willfully demolishes a building without the mandatory statutory notice or refuses to release seized vehicles despite court orders, file a private complaint under Section 167 BNS: proving intentional violation of law secures prosecution.

Section 166 All 358 Sections of Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita Section 168