# Locked in a room? That is a crime. > Keeping a person inside limits they cannot leave is wrongful confinement under section 340 PPC, even with no chains, as when armed men guard the exits. The longer it lasts, the harsher it gets: up to 1 year (s.342), 2 years for three days or more (s.343), and 3 years and fine for ten days or more (s.344). - Topic: Criminal law - For: Citizens - A 12-slide carousel: https://failegal.site/media/locked-in-a-room-that-is-a-crime - Published by FAI Legal on 2026-10-22 ## Myth or fact? What people often think. - **Myth: If no one is chained or beaten, it is not a crime.** - **Fact: Placing armed men at the exits and threatening to fire if you leave is wrongful confinement too (PPC s.340, illustration (b)).** ## Restraint or confinement? Two offences, two sections. - **Wrongful restraint, s.339** Blocking you from going where you have a right to go. - **Wrongful confinement, s.340** Keeping you inside limits, like a locked room. ## The law. Section 340, PPC. > "Whoever wrongfully restrains any person in such a manner as to prevent that person from proceeding beyond certain circumscribing limits, is said "wrongfully to confine" that person. (a) A causes Z to go within a walled space, and locks Z in ... A wrongfully confines Z." (Pakistan Penal Code, 1860 · Section 340) ## Longer means harsher. Sections 342 to 344, PPC. - **Any confinement, s.342** Up to 1 year, or fine, or both. - **3 days or more, s.343** Up to 2 years, or fine, or both. - **10 days or more, s.344** Up to 3 years, and fine. ## Quick quiz. The factory. Guess first, then swipe for the answer. - **A. 1 month** - **B. Up to 2 years** - **C. Nothing, he is the employer** ## Answer: B. Section 343. Three days or more raises the term. - **Section 343** Confinement for three days or more: up to 2 years, or fine, or both. - **Restraint only** Up to 1 month (s.341). Confinement is the more serious offence. ## Worse with a motive. Sections 346 to 348, PPC. - **In secret, s.346** Up to 2 more years, on top of the confinement. - **To extort property, s.347** Up to 3 years, and fine. - **To force a confession, s.348** Up to 3 years, and fine. ## What a court did. 2016 MLD 318, Sindh High Court. - **The facts** A man was taken by police with private persons and held at an officer's residence, allegedly till stolen articles were returned. - **The case** His brother filed a direct complaint, including s.342 PPC. - **The result** Dismissal of the complaint was set aside. The trial court was told to issue process. ## What to do. Three routes, fastest first. - **Police** Report it. Police may arrest without warrant (Schedule II, s.342). - **Magistrate** A First Class Magistrate can issue a search warrant for the person (CrPC s.100). - **High Court** A s.491 petition to set the person at liberty. ## Someone locked in? Ask FAI in your own words. It answers with the exact section and the judgments behind it. - **My cousin's in-laws will not let her leave the house. What can we do?** - **What is the punishment for wrongful confinement under section 342 PPC?** ## Sources - Pakistan Penal Code, 1860 · Section 340: Wrongful confinement --- Educational legal information, not legal advice. Every case turns on its own facts. Speak to a qualified lawyer about your situation. Review status: Pending advocate review. FAI Media is part of FAI Legal (https://failegal.site), research on Pakistani statutes and judgments. Free to watch and read.