PPC § 212 — Harbouring offender

Statutory text (English)

Whenever an offence has been committed, whoever harbours
or conceals a person whom he knows or has reason to believe to be the offender, with the intention of
screening him from legal punishment,
if a capital offence; shall, if the offence is punishable with death, be punished with
imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to five years, and shall also be liable
to fine;
if punishable with imprisonment for life, or with imprisonment. and if the offence is
punishable with l[imprisonment for life] or with imprisonment which may extend to ten years, shall be
punished with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to three years, and shall
also be liable to fine;
and if the offence is punishable with imprisonment which may extend to one year, and not to
ten years, shall be punished with imprisonment of the description provided for the offence for a term
which may extend to one-fourth part of the longest term of imprisonment provided for the offence, or
with fine, or with both.
2["Offence" in this section includes any act committed at any place out of 3[Pakistan], which,
if committed in 3[Pakistan], would be punishable under any of the following sections, namely,
302,304,382,392,393,394,395,396,397,398,399,402,435, 436, 449, 450, 457, 458, 459 and 460 ; and
every such act shall, for the purposes of this section, be deemed to be punishable as if the accused
person had been guilty of it in 3[Pakistan.]
Exception.— This provision shall not extend to any case in which the harbour or concealment is by
the husband or wife of the offender.

Illustration
A, knowing that B has committed dacoity, knowingly conceals B in order to screen him from legal
punishment. Here, as B is liable to 1[imprisonment for life]. A is liable to imprisonment of either description
for a term not exceeding three years, and is also liable to fine.

Source and verification

Source citation: PPC (Act XLV of 1860) s.212: Pakistan Code portal consolidated official PDF 'THE PAKISTAN PENAL CODE' (Act No. XLV of 1860), p. 85, 86, ingested 2026-09-15. Automated transcription from official source (pypdf extraction, audited artifact repair); human admin re-check required before production.

Verification status: verified · Text status: auto_transcribed_verified_source

The record cites an official source, but its transcription is automated or only partly checked; a human re-check is pending.

Official Urdu text status: pending_official_urdu_text. Where official Urdu wording has not been sourced, Qanoon does not substitute an unverified translation for the statutory text.

Historical text notes

1 historical record is linked to this section. Historical wording may be incomplete or pending verification; it is not presented as current law.

• Date not confirmed: Consolidated current text as published in the official Pakistan Code PDF (p. 85, 86) — reflects all amendments recorded in the official footnotes up to ingest date 2026-09-15. Automated transcription; per-amendment…

Read this provision with care

This is a public reference to a stored statute record, not legal advice or a case-specific interpretation. Check the latest official gazette, applicable amendments and jurisdiction before relying on the text. A citation and verification label describe the record in this app; they cannot confirm that no later change has occurred. For a real legal matter, consult a licensed advocate.

Use the full PPC section index to compare nearby provisions, or return to search.