Only the person who actually loots the property gets punished.

Section 127 also punishes anyone who later receives that property while knowing it was taken through the wrongful acts in Sections 125 or 126.

You can escape punishment if you didn't ask questions about where the property came from.

The law requires 'knowledge' that the property was taken in the specified offences; if it can be shown you knew, ignorance claimed afterward won't help.

Indian Penal Code, 1860

Section 127

repealed

Receiving property taken by war or depredation mentioned in sections 125 and 126

Whoever receives any property knowing the same to have been taken in the commission of any of the offences mentioned in sections 125 and 126, shall be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to seven years, and shall also be liable to fine and to forfeiture of the property so received.§

Why this exists

Sections 125 and 126 of the IPC criminalize waging war against or depredating (raiding/looting) the territories of an Asiatic power at peace with the Government of India. Section 127 complements these by targeting people who did not commit the original offence but knowingly benefited from it by receiving stolen property. This closes a loophole: without it, someone could profit from looted goods without facing consequences, encouraging a market for such property and indirectly supporting the underlying wrongful acts.

Common misconceptions

Myth: Only the person who actually loots the property gets punished.
Fact: Section 127 also punishes anyone who later receives that property while knowing it was taken through the wrongful acts in Sections 125 or 126.
Myth: You can escape punishment if you didn't ask questions about where the property came from.
Fact: The law requires 'knowledge' that the property was taken in the specified offences; if it can be shown you knew, ignorance claimed afterward won't help.