A police officer arrested and detained a girl in the lock-up despite bail order. The police officer…

Under Section 127(1) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 (formerly Section 340 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860), whoever wrongfully restrains any person in such a manner as to prevent that person from proceeding beyond certain circumscribing limits is said to wrongfully confine that person, which is punishable under Section 127(2) (formerly Section 342 IPC). Detaining a person in a police lock-up despite a valid bail order is unlawful and restricts the person within circumscribed limits, making the police officer guilty of wrongful confinement. Kidnapping (Section 137 BNS), abduction (Section 138 BNS), and criminal intimidation (Section 351 BNS) require different statutory elements that are not constituted merely by illegal detention in a lock-up.