Section 243 punishes a person who fraudulently removes, conceals, transfers or delivers to any person any property, or any interest in it, intending to prevent it from being taken as a forfeiture or in satisfaction of a fine under a sentence, or in execution of a decree or order of a Court in a civil suit. The punishment is imprisonment of either description for up to three years, or fine of up to five thousand rupees, or both.
Verified against the National Crime Records Bureau’s official BNS–IPC concordance (Sankalan Portal) and compared word by word with the bare text of both Acts. Section 243 is marked Substantively changed — it descends from a single section of the old Indian Penal Code, 1860, with the same ingredients, but the punishment has been raised and the fine now has a ceiling:
| BNS 243 | Covers | IPC, 1860 equivalent | Category |
|---|---|---|---|
| 243 | Fraudulent removal or concealment of property to prevent its seizure as forfeited or in execution | S.206 “Fraudulent removal or concealment of property to prevent its seizure as forfeited or in execution” | Substantively changed |
A word-by-word comparison of IPC Section 206 with BNS Section 243 (run by program, and checked against the printed page of each Act) finds these differences and no others. (1) The longest imprisonment rises from two years (IPC) to three years (BNS). (2) The IPC says “or with fine, or with both”, with no ceiling stated for the fine; the BNS says “or with fine which may extend to five thousand rupees, or with both”. (3) The IPC reads “by a Court of Justice or other competent authority” and “by a Court of Justice in a civil suit”; the BNS reads “by a Court or other competent authority” and “by a Court in a civil suit”, dropping the words “of Justice” in both places. The acts (removes, conceals, transfers or delivers), the fraudulent intention, the two objects of the intention (a forfeiture or satisfaction of a fine under a sentence; execution of a decree or order), the punctuation and the heading are otherwise word-for-word the same.
Whoever fraudulently removes, conceals, transfers or delivers to any person any property or any interest therein, intending thereby to prevent that property or interest therein from being taken as a forfeiture or in satisfaction of a fine, under a sentence which has been pronounced, or which he knows to be likely to be pronounced, by a Court or other competent authority, or from being taken in execution of a decree or order which has been made, or which he knows to be likely to be made by a Court in a civil suit, shall be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to three years, or with fine which may extend to five thousand rupees, or with both.
Source: Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 (Act No. 45 of 2023), as published in the Gazette of India Extraordinary.
Section 243 is one sentence that joins an act, a state of mind and an intended result. The act is that the person “removes, conceals, transfers or delivers to any person any property or any interest therein”; the four verbs are alternatives. The state of mind is that he does so “fraudulently”, and Section 2(9) defines that word: doing anything with the intention to defraud but not otherwise. The intended result is that he acts “intending thereby to prevent that property or interest therein from being taken” in one of the two ways the section names.
The section speaks of “any property or any interest therein”. Section 2(21) defines “movable property”, but the Sanhita does not define “property” in Section 2, and Section 243 does not use the word “movable”; this page therefore does not read the section as limited to movable property, and states no rule beyond its words.
The two ways in which the seizure is meant to be prevented are these. The first is being taken “as a forfeiture or in satisfaction of a fine, under a sentence which has been pronounced, or which he knows to be likely to be pronounced, by a Court or other competent authority”. Section 4 lists forfeiture of property (clause (d)) and fine (clause (e)) among the punishments to which offenders are liable under the Sanhita, and Section 8 deals with fines. The second is being taken “in execution of a decree or order which has been made, or which he knows to be likely to be made by a Court in a civil suit”. In each way the section speaks both of something already made (a sentence pronounced; a decree or order made) and of something the person “knows to be likely” to be pronounced or made, so on the words the sentence, decree or order need not yet exist if the person knows it to be likely.
The punishment is imprisonment of either description (rigorous or simple, Section 4(c)) for a term which may extend to three years, or fine which may extend to five thousand rupees, or both. The three are alternatives joined by “or”, so on the words of the section a fine alone is open. Under the BNSS First Schedule the offence is non-cognizable, bailable and triable by any Magistrate. BNSS Section 2(1)(o) defines a non-cognizable offence as one for which a police officer has no authority to arrest without warrant, and BNSS Section 174(2) provides that no police officer shall investigate a non-cognizable case without the order of a Magistrate having power to try such case or commit the case for trial. Because the offence is bailable, BNSS Section 478(1) applies: a person accused of a bailable offence who is prepared to give bail “shall be released on bail”. Section 243 appears in neither compounding table of BNSS Section 359.
Neighbouring provisions are worded differently. Section 244 (Fraudulent claim to property to prevent its seizure as forfeited or in execution) deals with a person who fraudulently accepts, receives or claims property or an interest in it, knowing that he has no right or rightful claim, or practises deception touching any right to it, with the same intended result, and prescribes imprisonment of either description for up to two years, or fine, or both. Section 320 (Dishonest or fraudulent removal or concealment of property to prevent distribution among creditors) speaks of removing, concealing or delivering property, or transferring it without adequate consideration, with intent to prevent (or knowing it likely that he will prevent) the distribution of that property according to law among creditors. Section 323 (Dishonest or fraudulent removal or concealment of property) speaks of dishonestly or fraudulently concealing or removing any property of himself or any other person, assisting in that, or dishonestly releasing a demand or claim to which he is entitled. Sections 320 and 323 appear in the first compounding table of BNSS Section 359 (compoundable by the creditors who are affected and by the person affected, respectively); Section 243 appears in neither table.
The section speaks of a sentence “which has been pronounced, or which he knows to be likely to be pronounced”, and of a decree or order “which has been made, or which he knows to be likely to be made”. On those words, either the sentence, decree or order already exists or the person knows it to be likely.
The section says “any property or any interest therein” and does not use the word “movable”. Section 2(21) defines “movable property”, but the Sanhita does not define “property” in Section 2. This page does not state a rule beyond the words of the section.
Section 243 requires that the person intend to prevent the property from being taken as a forfeiture, in satisfaction of a fine under a sentence, or in execution of a decree or order. Section 320 speaks of preventing distribution of property among creditors, and Section 323 speaks of concealing or removing property, assisting in that, or releasing a demand or claim. Sections 320 and 323 also appear in the first compounding table of BNSS Section 359; Section 243 is in neither table.
The BNSS First Schedule lists it as non-cognizable and bailable, triable by any Magistrate. Under BNSS Section 2(1)(o) a police officer has no authority to arrest without warrant in a non-cognizable case, and BNSS Section 174(2) says no police officer shall investigate a non-cognizable case without the order of a Magistrate having power to try such case or commit the case for trial. Being bailable, it is governed by BNSS Section 478(1): a person accused of it who is prepared to give bail “shall be released on bail”. It is not compoundable under BNSS Section 359.
The longest imprisonment is now three years instead of two, the fine now has a stated ceiling of five thousand rupees where the IPC text stated none, and the words “of Justice” after “Court” were dropped in both places. The remaining words and the punctuation are the same.