Indian Penal Code, 1860
Section 398
repealedAttempt to commit robbery or dacoity when armed with deadly weapon
If, at the time of attempting to commit robbery or dacoity, the offender is armed with any deadly weapon, the imprisonment with which such offender shall be punished shall not be less than seven years.
Why this exists
This section extends the mandatory minimum sentence to attempted robbery or dacoity, not just completed offences, when the offender was carrying a deadly weapon at the time. The law recognises that simply carrying a weapon during such an attempt creates serious danger to victims and bystanders, regardless of whether the crime is completed, so it insists on a substantial minimum sentence even for a failed armed attempt. A similarly structured provision continues under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023, which replaced the Indian Penal Code in 2024.