Legal Provisions of Section 458 of Indian Penal Code, 1860.
Lurking house-trespass or house-breaking by night after preparation for hurt, assault or wrongful restraint:
Lurking house-trespass or house-breaking by night after making preparation for causing hurt, assault or wrongful restraint has been made punishable under this section. The section says that whoever commits either lurking house-trespass by night, or house-breaking by night, having made preparation for either causing hurt to, or for assaulting, or for wrongfully restraining, any person, or for putting any person in fear of hurt, or of assault, or of wrongful restraint, shall be punished with simple or rigorous imprisonment for a term extending up to fourteen years, and shall also be liable to fine.
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ADVERTISEMENTS:
The section requires commission of lurking house-trespass by night or housebreaking by night. This must be done after having made preparation for causing hurt, or for assaulting, or for wrongfully restraining, any person, or for putting any person in fear of hurt, assault or wrongful restraint.
Where four accused persons entered a girls’ hostel at around midnight openly and without concealing themselves, and bodily lifted by force a young girl inmate, took her to a field some distance away and gang raped her, this section was held to be not applicable as they had not taken precautions to conceal the house-trespass, but they were all held guilty under sections 376, 366, 324 and 506 read with section 34 with each of the above- mentioned sections, and each of them was sentenced to ten years’ imprisonment.
The offence under section 458 is cognizable, non-bailable and non-compoundable, and is triable by magistrate of the first class.
