BNS Section 323: Dishonest or Fraudulent Removal or Concealment of Property (IPC 424 Mapping) (2026)

Explainer · Criminal Law · BNS

Updated for 2026 · Claw Editorial

Section 323 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) punishes the dishonest or fraudulent removal or concealment of property. It replaced Section 424 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) from 1 July 2024. The punishment is imprisonment of either description up to three years, or fine, or both. If you still look up "section 424 IPC", this is the provision you now need. This explainer sets out what Section 323 covers, how it maps to the old law, the punishment, the classification, and what changed. Last verified October 2026.

01Why the section number matters now

Since 1 July 2024 the Indian Penal Code (IPC) is replaced by the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 (BNS). Many section numbers moved. The offence of dishonestly or fraudulently removing or concealing property, which lawyers knew as Section 424 of the IPC, now sits in Section 323 of the BNS.

This matters in practice. An FIR for an offence committed on or after 1 July 2024 is registered under the BNS, so it cites Section 323. An older matter keeps its IPC number, because the law that applies is the law on the date of the offence. So for some years you will see both numbers in live files, and you need to read each one correctly.

02What Section 323 covers

Section 323 of the BNS deals with a person who tries to put property beyond the reach of those with a right to it, by dishonest or fraudulent means. It falls in the group of offences on fraudulent deeds and dispositions of property, inside the chapter on offences against property.

The section covers three kinds of conduct:

• dishonestly or fraudulently concealing or removing any property, whether it is the accused person's own property or that of another person;
• dishonestly or fraudulently assisting in the concealment or removal of such property; and
• dishonestly releasing any demand or claim to which the person is entitled.

03Key ingredients

To bring a case under Section 323, the prosecution must show two things together: the act, and the dishonest or fraudulent intent behind it.

• The act: concealing or removing property, helping to conceal or remove it, or releasing a demand or claim.
• The intent: the act must be done "dishonestly" or "fraudulently" as those words are defined in the BNS. A mere shifting of goods, with no wrongful aim, is not enough.

Because intent is central, the facts around the transfer matter: the timing against a pending claim, the lack of real value received, and the relationship between the parties are all read together to judge whether the act was dishonest or fraudulent.

04Old to new: IPC 424 to BNS 323

Section 424 of the IPC is now Section 323 of the BNS. The wording of the offence is carried over almost without change.

The main substantive change is the maximum term. Under old Section 424 of the IPC the ceiling was two years. Under Section 323 of the BNS the ceiling is three years, or fine, or both.

05Punishment and classification

The punishment under Section 323 is imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to three years, or fine, or both.

On classification, the offence under Section 323 is:

• Non-cognizable: the police generally need an order of a Magistrate before they register and investigate.
• Bailable: bail is a matter of right, subject to the usual conditions.
• Triable by any Magistrate.

06What changed from the old law

For this offence, the change is mostly the number and the higher maximum term. The ingredients, the dishonest or fraudulent intent, and the basic structure are carried over from Section 424 of the IPC. So older judgments on Section 424 still guide how Section 323 is read.

The higher ceiling of three years signals that Parliament treats asset-hiding and claim-dodging a little more seriously than before, but the offence remains bailable and triable by any Magistrate.

07Where Claw fits

Claw is an all-in-one legaltech platform for Indian advocates, law firms, and corporate legal teams, combining AI-based case search, an AI legal assistant (Legal GPT), case management, and compliance automation across all Indian courts and tribunals.

Asset-hiding of this kind rarely stands alone; the same parties often face parallel civil and commercial proceedings. Claw pulls together case records, orders and hearing dates from 9,102 courts, benches and forums, so you can see how judges have read the old Section 424 and the new Section 323 side by side. The searchable set passes 30 crore judgments, reaches the Supreme Court back to 1950 and the High Courts back to 1990, and returns most searches in under five seconds. You can also follow a running matter by party or advocate name.

Documents you upload stay yours; Claw does not feed them into training its AI models. Create a free Claw account to track a Section 323 case by party or advocate name and surface the Section 424 precedents behind it. To search further across the law, see case search across Indian courts.

08Sources and further reading

• India Code (official text of the BNS, 2023): indiacode.nic.in
• PRS Legislative Research (BNS overview and IPC comparison): prsindia.org
• Section 323, BNS (bare text): devgan.in
• Claw: clawlaw.in

This explainer is general information, not legal advice. The law changes through amendments and judgments, so check the current text and take advice from counsel before you act.

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