‘A’ removes a landmark fixed by a public authority on a busy intersect

‘A’ removes a landmark fixed by a public authority on a busy intersection, and hides that behind a large tree, due to which it is no longer visible to the public for whom it was put on display. ‘A’ is guilty of an offence under which one among the following provisions ?

Section 432 IPC
Section 433 IPC
Section 434 IPC
Section 435 IPC
This question was previously asked in
UPSC CISF-AC-EXE – 2023
The correct answer is C.
The act described, removing or hiding a landmark fixed by a public authority, constitutes the offence of mischief related to public landmarks. This specific offence is covered by Section 434 of the Indian Penal Code.
Section 434 of the IPC is titled “Mischief by destroying or moving, etc., a land-mark fixed by public authority”. It states that whoever commits mischief by destroying or moving any land-mark fixed by the authority of a public servant, or by any other lawful authority, or by taking down, altering or defacing any such land-mark, shall be punished. The scenario perfectly matches the description in Section 434. Other sections deal with different types of mischief (e.g., causing inundation under Section 432, related to lighthouses/sea-marks under Section 433, or by fire/explosive substance under Section 435).