Section 285 punishes a person who, by doing an act or by failing to take order with property in his possession or charge, causes danger, obstruction or injury to any person in a public way or a public line of navigation. The only punishment is a fine of up to ₹5,000; there is no jail term. It is the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita's version of IPC Section 283, with the maximum fine raised from ₹200 to ₹5,000.
Verified against the National Crime Records Bureau's official BNS–IPC concordance (Sankalan Portal) and cross-checked directly against the bare text of both Acts. Section 285 is marked Substantively changed — it descends from one section of the old Indian Penal Code, 1860, but the maximum fine has been raised:
| BNS 285 | Covers | IPC, 1860 equivalent | Category |
|---|---|---|---|
| 285 | Danger or obstruction in public way or line of navigation | S.283 “Danger or obstruction in public way or line of navigation” | Substantively changed |
The description of the offence is the same in both Acts: by doing any act, or by omitting to take order with any property in his possession or under his charge, causing danger, obstruction or injury to any person in any public way or public line of navigation. The only textual differences are in the punishment clause. IPC Section 283 said “shall be punished, with fine which may extend to two hundred rupees”; BNS Section 285 says “shall be punished with fine which may extend to five thousand rupees”. The maximum fine therefore rises from ₹200 to ₹5,000 (a 25-fold increase), and the stray comma after “punished” is dropped. No ingredient of the offence was added or removed.
Whoever, by doing any act, or by omitting to take order with any property in his possession or under his charge, causes danger, obstruction or injury to any person in any public way or public line of navigation, shall be punished with fine which may extend to five thousand rupees.
Source: Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 (Act No. 45 of 2023), as published in the Gazette of India Extraordinary.
Section 285 concerns danger or obstruction in public ways and public lines of navigation. It has two ways of being committed. The first is doing an act that causes danger, obstruction or injury to a person in a public way or public line of navigation. The second is omitting to take order with property that is in the offender's possession or under his charge, with the same result. The second limb matters because the section reaches a person who does nothing dramatic at all: an owner or custodian who omits to take order with property in his possession or charge, with the result the section names, is within the wording. The property must be one in his possession or under his charge; a stranger's property is not caught by the omission limb.
The consequence element is broad: danger, obstruction or injury, each caused to a person, and each occurring in a public way or a public line of navigation. The Sanhita does not define “public way” or “public line of navigation”; Section 2(27) says only that “public” includes any class of the public or any community. In ordinary usage, a public way is a road, path or thoroughfare open to the public, and a public line of navigation is a waterway route used by the public for the passage of vessels. The section does not require that any harm actually happen — danger or obstruction to a person is enough — and the text does not use the words “rash”, “negligent” or “voluntarily”, so it is framed in terms of the act or omission and its result. The only punishment is a fine of up to ₹5,000; the section provides no imprisonment. Under the BNSS First Schedule the offence is cognizable, bailable and triable by any Magistrate, and it is not in either compounding table of BNSS Section 359. Do not confuse it with Section 281 (rash driving or riding on a public way) or Section 282 (rash navigation of a vessel), which punish the manner of driving or navigating, or with Section 292, which punishes public nuisance generally with a fine of up to ₹1,000.
Yes. The section is worded to cover causing danger or obstruction to a person in a public way or public line of navigation, as well as injury. Actual physical injury is one of three alternative results, not a requirement.
Yes, but only in the way the section describes: omitting to take order with property that was in your possession or under your charge, where that omission causes danger, obstruction or injury to a person in a public way or line of navigation. The omission limb does not extend to property that was neither in your possession nor under your charge.
No. The section provides only for a fine which may extend to ₹5,000. The BNSS First Schedule likewise lists the punishment as a fine of 5,000 rupees.
It is a cognizable and bailable offence triable by any Magistrate. It appears in neither table of BNSS Section 359, so it is not compoundable.
The description of the offence is unchanged. The maximum fine rises from ₹200 to ₹5,000.