Legal Provisions of Section 166 of Indian Penal Code, 1860.
Public servant disobeying law, with intent to cause injury to any person:
This section deals with the liability of a public servant disobeying law with intent to cause injury to any person. It says that whoever, being a public servant, with knowledge disobeys any direction of the law as to the way in which he is to conduct himself as such public servant, with the intention to cause, or with the knowledge that it is likely that he will cause injury, to any person by such disobedience, shall be punished with simple imprisonment for a term extending up to one year, or with fine, or with both.
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Public servant
The expression ‘public servant’ has been defined in section 21 of the Code. This expression wherever used in the Indian Penal Code, therefore, has the same meaning as given under section 21. Section 2 (c) of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988 also defines ‘public servant’ which determines its meaning under that Act. There are certain similarities and dissimilarities between the two definitions, and the definition given in the Code applies to cases arising under the Code, and that under the Act applies to cases arising under that Act.
Direction of the law
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The disobedience must be of a direction of law. Whatever a public servant is legally bound to obey is a direction of the law. There is a doubt as to whether the direction may be a direction under a statute or a direction issued by a competent authority, such as a court, under law. It has been held that disobedience of an order of a court, such as a temporary injunction, does not come within the ambit of this section. If a departmental rule is breached or disobeyed, this section does not apply as such rule is not a direction of law.
Injury
The word ‘injury’ has the same meaning as given under section 44 of the Code.
Person
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The word ‘person’ has been defined under section 11 of the Code.
Punishment
There is no provision for rigorous imprisonment under this section.
The offence under this section is non-cognizable, bailable and non-compoundable, and is triable by magistrate of the first class.