Whoever, being legally bound to state the truth on any subject to any public servant, refuses to answer any question demanded of him touching that subject by such public servant in the exercise of the legal powers of such public servant, shall be punished with simple imprisonment for a term which may extend to six months, or with fine which may extend to one thousand rupees, or with both.
Section 179: Refusing to answer public servant authorised to question
The Indian Penal Code, 1860Central Act · Act 45 of 1860
Repealed. This text is published for reference. It is not in force, and it should not be relied on as current law without checking what replaced it. Repealed by the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023, with effect from 1 July 2024
Where this provision sits
| Act | The Indian Penal Code, 1860 |
|---|---|
| Section | 179 |
| Marginal note | Refusing to answer public servant authorised to question |
| Jurisdiction | Central |
| Status | Repealed |
| Judgments citing it | 2 |
Find the provision, not just read it
The full text above is free, and it stays free. What a free CourtMesh account adds is everything you cannot do by reading one page at a time:
- Search 49,000+ Central and State enactments by what a provision says, not by its number
- Jump from any section to every judgment that has applied it
- Search 300 million+ Indian court records alongside the statute
- Ask a research agent to find and read the case law on a provision for you
Free account. No card. About a minute to create.
Create a free accountNeed this as data, not as a page? The Indian Penal Code, 1860 is one of 49,000+ enactments on CourtMesh. The Indian court cases API serves the case law that cites these provisions over JSON, with API documentation and plans and pricing. See also the judgment library.