What Was IPC Section 164, and Why Does It No Longer Apply?
IPC Section 164 originally sat in Chapter IX of the Indian Penal Code, "Of Offences by or Relating to Public Servants," alongside Sections 161, 162, 163, and 165, which together formed the IPC's original anti-bribery and anti-corruption framework. Section 164 specifically punished a public servant who abetted the commission of either of the offences defined in Sections 162 (taking gratification, by corrupt or illegal means, to influence a public servant) or 163 (taking gratification for exercise of personal influence with a public servant).
In effect, Section 164 addressed the situation where a public servant did not personally take the corrupt gratification, but helped facilitate someone else doing so — for example, by encouraging, assisting, or making the arrangement possible. In 1988, Parliament enacted the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988, which consolidated and modernised India's anti-corruption law into a single, dedicated statute. As part of that consolidation, Section 31 of the 1988 Act formally repealed Sections 161, 162, 163, 164, and 165 of the IPC, with effect from 9 September 1988. Since that date, these IPC sections have had no legal force — decades before the broader replacement of the IPC by the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023, in 2024.
The Former Text of Section 164 IPC (For Historical Reference)
Illustration (historical): A is a public servant. B, A's wife, receives a present as a motive for soliciting A to give an office to a particular person. A abets her doing so. B is punishable under the (now-repealed) Section 163, while A, as a public servant abetting that offence, would have been punishable under Section 164 with imprisonment up to three years, or fine, or both. Any older commentary, textbook, or judgment referencing "Section 164 IPC" is describing this now-repealed provision — it should not be relied upon as current law.
What Law Governs This Conduct Today?
| Governing Statute | The Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988, as substantially amended by the Prevention of Corruption (Amendment) Act, 2018 |
|---|---|
| Core Offences Covered | Public servants taking gratification other than legal remuneration; giving/taking bribes; abetment of bribery-related offences; criminal misconduct by public servants; and, since the 2018 amendment, offences by persons who give bribes to public servants |
| Key Sections to Know | Section 7 (public servant taking gratification), Section 8 (bribing a public servant), Section 9 (bribing to influence a public servant), Section 12 (punishment for abetment of offences), Section 13 (criminal misconduct) |
| Investigating Agency | Typically the Central Bureau of Investigation (for central government matters) or State Anti-Corruption Bureaus (for state matters) |
| Trial | By a Special Judge appointed under the Prevention of Corruption Act |
Abetment of bribery-related offences, which was once addressed piecemeal across the old IPC (through Section 164 for public servants specifically, and Section 165A more generally for private individuals abetting Sections 161 or 165), is now consolidated under Section 12 of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988, which punishes abetment of offences under Sections 7 and 11 of that Act with imprisonment ranging from three to seven years, and fine.
Why Was Section 164 Repealed?
Sections 161 to 165A of the original IPC formed a fragmented, somewhat dated approach to bribery and corruption, developed piecemeal over the decades following 1860. By the mid-20th century, the need for a comprehensive, modern anti-corruption statute — with its own investigating mechanisms, sanction requirements, and procedural safeguards tailored to public-sector corruption — became clear. The Prevention of Corruption Act was first enacted in 1947 and significantly overhauled in 1988, at which point the overlapping IPC provisions (Sections 161, 162, 163, 164, and 165) were formally repealed to avoid duplication and consolidate this area of law into a single, purpose-built statute.
This means that by the time the IPC itself was replaced by the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita in 2024, Section 164 had already been a dead letter for 36 years — which is why it does not appear as a mapped, active provision in the official IPC-to-BNS comparison tables.