Indian Penal Code, 1860
Section 400
repealedPunishment for belonging to gang of dacoits
Whoever, at any time after the passing of this Act, shall belong to a gang of persons associated for the purpose of habitually committing dacoity, shall be punished with imprisonment for life, or with rigorous imprisonment for a term which may extend to ten years, and shall also be liable to fine.
Why this exists
This section targets membership in an organised gang whose very purpose is to repeatedly commit dacoity, rather than punishing only a single completed act of dacoity. It reflects a concern from the colonial period with organised criminal gangs operating over long periods, and allows the law to punish someone simply for being part of such a gang, even without proving their involvement in one specific robbery. This concept of punishing habitual, organised gang crime continues in comparable form under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023, which replaced the Indian Penal Code in 2024.