This law only applies if the person is actually locked up or tied down.

The law punishes the *attempt* to wrongfully confine someone when force or assault is used, even if the confinement doesn't fully happen.

Store owners or citizens can use force to hold a suspected thief until police arrive.

Using force or threats to confine someone — even a suspected wrongdoer — without lawful authority can itself be a punishable offence under this section.

Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023

Section 135

Assault or criminal force in attempt to wrongfully confine a person

Whoever assaults or uses criminal force to any person, in attempting wrongfully to confine that person, shall be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to one year, or with fine which may extend to five thousand rupees, or with both.§

Why this exists

This provision continues a rule from the old Indian Penal Code (Section 357), designed to punish the use of force or threats that accompany an attempt to unlawfully restrict someone's freedom of movement — even when the confinement itself doesn't fully happen. It recognizes that the violence or intimidation used in the attempt is itself harmful and deserves punishment, separate from the completed offence of wrongful confinement.

Common misconceptions

Myth: This law only applies if the person is actually locked up or tied down.
Fact: The law punishes the *attempt* to wrongfully confine someone when force or assault is used, even if the confinement doesn't fully happen.
Myth: Store owners or citizens can use force to hold a suspected thief until police arrive.
Fact: Using force or threats to confine someone — even a suspected wrongdoer — without lawful authority can itself be a punishable offence under this section.