Section 330 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) 2023 defines the offences of lurking house-trespass and house-breaking. The key points are:
Definition of Lurking House-Trespass
- Whoever commits house-trespass, having taken precautions to conceal such house-trespass from the person who has a right to exclude or eject the trespasser, is said to commit lurking house-trespass.
Definition of House-Breaking
- A person is said to commit house-breaking if they commit house-trespass by effecting entrance into the house or any part of it in any of the six ways described, or if being in the house for the purpose of committing an offence, they quit the house in any of those ways.
Illustrations of House-Breaking
- A makes a hole through Z’s house wall and puts his hand through the aperture.
- A creeps into a ship at a port-hole between decks.
- A enters Z’s house through a window.
- A enters Z’s house through the door after opening a fastened door.
- A lifts a latch by putting a wire through a hole in the door to enter Z’s house.
- A finds Z’s lost house key and enters after opening the door with that key.
- A forces passage by knocking down Z who is standing in the doorway.
- A deters Z, the door-keeper, from opposing him by threatening to beat him, and enters the house.
So in summary, Section 330 BNS criminalizes stealthy or forcible entry into a building with the intent to commit an offence, and defines various ways in which such house-breaking can occur.
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