Legal Provisions of Section 229 of Indian Penal Code, 1860.
Personation of a juror or assessor:
ADVERTISEMENTS:
Personation of a juror or assessor has been made an offence under this section. The section states that whoever, either by personation or otherwise, shall intentionally cause, or knowingly suffer himself to be either returned or empanelled or sworn as a juryman or assessor in any case in which he has knowledge that the law does not entitle him to be so returned, empanelled or sworn, or with knowledge that he has been so returned, empanelled or sworn against the law, shall voluntarily serve as such a juror or assessor, as the case may be, shall be punished with simple or rigorous imprisonment for a term extending up to two years, or with fine, or with both.
The use of the expression ‘by personation or otherwise’ shows that the provision is not limited only to cases of personation. If it is a case of causing oneself to be returned, empanelled or sworn as a juryman or assessor intention on the part of the accused must be proved, while in case of suffering oneself to be returned empanelled or sworn knowledge on his part has to be established. In either case it must further be established that the accused had knowledge that he was not entitled by law to so act or that his so acting was contrary to law. The words ‘to be returned’ mean to get himself enlisted as a juror or an assessor. Similarly, ‘to be empanelled’ means to get himself entered on a panel.
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The offence under this section is non-cognizable, bailable and non-compoundable, and is triable by metropolitan magistrate or magistrate of the first class.
This section has become obsolete and useless in view of the fact that trials with the help of jurors and assessors have now been abolished by Act 26 of 1955.