Section 42 of The Punjab Laws Act, 1872 — Penalty for withholding assistance or conniving at offence or escape

Any person who, without good cause, refuses or neglects to render such assistance, or who connives at the commission of any offence or at the escape of the offender, shall be liable to a fine not exceeding Rs. 500, or to imprisonment for not more than six months. Any fine imposed may be awarded to the injured parties as compensation, and a fee may be ordered to be paid to the tracker. An appeal shall lie to the High Court against any such order of fine. If such headman or watchman do not forthwith give such assistance, or if the inhabitants of such village do not afford full opportunity for search in their houses for the offenders, or if, from the circumstances of the case, there shall appear good reason to believe that the inhabitants of such village, or any of them, were conniving at the offence or at the escape of the offenders, and such offenders cannot be traced beyond the village, the Magistrate of the District may, with the previous sanction of the Commissioner of the Division inflict a fine upon such village not exceeding five hundred rupees, except in the case of stolen property over five hundred rupees in value, in which case the fine shall not exceed the value of such property. An appeal against all convictions under this section shall lie to the High Court of Punjab and Haryana. The Magistrate may direct that the fine imposed under this section or any part thereof shall be awarded to any persons injured by such offence in compensation for such injury; and, in the case of stolen property recovered through the agency of a tracker, may direct that such property be not restored to its owner until he has paid to such tracker such fee, not exceeding one-fourth part of the value of the stolen property, as the said Magistrate deems fit.