BNS §220
Illegal purchase or bid for property offered for sale by authority of public servant
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Comparison
185. Illegal purchase or bid for property offered for sale by authority of public servant.— Whoever, at any sale of property held by the lawful authority of a public servant, as such, purchases or bids for any property on account of any person, whether himself or any other, whom he knows to be under a legal incapacity to purchase that property at that sale, or bids for such property not intending to perform the obligations under which he lays himself by such bidding, shall be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to one month, or with fine which may extend to two hundred rupees, or with both.
Whoever, at any sale of property held by the lawful authority of a public servant, as such, purchases or bids for any property on account of any person, whether himself or any other, whom he knows to be under a legal incapacity to purchase that property at that sale, or bids for such property not intending to perform the obligations under which he lays himself by such bidding, shall be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to one month, or with fine which may extend to two hundred rupees, or with both.
What changedAI-inferred
IPC 185 (purchasing or bidding for property at a public-servant-conducted sale on behalf of someone with legal incapacity to purchase, or bidding without intending to perform obligations) is preserved character-identically as BNS 220 — including the unchanged ₹200 fine cap. This is a rare instance in BNS Chapter XIII where the colonial-era nominal fine ceiling is not modernised, possibly reflecting that the sub-offence is rarely prosecuted in practice.
Old position
IPC 185 is concerned with Illegal purchase or bid for property offered for sale by authority of public servant. Illegal purchase or bid for property offered for sale by authority of public servant
New position
BNS 220 preserves the framework with drafting modernisations as required by the new code. Topic: Illegal purchase or bid for property offered for sale by authority of public servant. Whoever, at any sale of property held by the lawful authority of a public servant, as such, purchases or bids for any property on account of any person, whether himself or any other, whom he knows to be under a legal incapacity to purchase
IPC 185 (purchasing or bidding for property at a public-servant-conducted sale on behalf of someone with legal incapacity to purchase, or bidding without intending to perform obligations) is preserved character-identically as BNS 220 — including the unchanged ₹200 fine cap. This is a rare instance...
Editorial deltaAI-indicated (source-linked)
IPC 185 (purchasing or bidding for property at a public-servant-conducted sale on behalf of someone with legal incapacity to purchase, or bidding without intending to perform obligations) is preserved character-identically as BNS 220 — including the unchanged ₹200 fine cap. This is a rare instance in BNS Chapter XIII where the colonial-era nominal fine ceiling is not modernised, possibly reflecting that the sub-offence is rarely prosecuted in practice.
Transitional note (repeal & savings)
For matters initiated before 1 July 2024, IPC 185 continues to apply. For matters from that date forward, BNS 220 applies. The transition is governed by the repeal-and-savings clause in the new code (BNS 358 / BNSS 531 / BSA 170 as the case may be); pending proceedings under the old code carry forward unaffected.
Frequently asked
BNS 220 (Illegal purchase or bid for property offered for sale by authority of public servant). The relationship is classified as substantively_same — see the change-note above for the textual delta.
Sources
- India Code — Indian Penal Code, 1860
- Gazette of India — Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023
Cite this page
Newlaws.in, IPC §185 → BNS §220 Mapping Page, last updated 2026-05-01, accessed 2026-06-14, https://newlaws.in/bns/220.
Compiled using AI-assisted tools · Source-linked · Last updated 2026-05-01
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