B.

D Paulson, IPS
Deputy Director, SVPNPA 1
Evolution of Criminal Law in India

2
 Do you think IPC reflects values of
Indian society or Victorian society ?

3
Substantive Law
&
Procedural Law

4
 Extent
&
Jurisdiction

5
 THE INDIAN PENAL CODE
• Object – To provide general penal code for India.
• Came into force from 1.1.1862.
• Applicable to the whole of India except the State of
Jammu and Kashmir.
• Operation of the provisions:
– Territorial – Provisions applicable to offences committed
within India.
– Extra-territorial – Provisions applicable to
a) offences committed by citizens of India outside
India;
b) offences committed on ships and aircrafts regd.
in India
6
 India Outside India

Foreigner
 ?
Indian
 

7
 Case: Italian Marines

Concept of Sovereignty

8
Crime Vs. Morality

9
 ELEMENTS OF CRIME
• Actus non facit reum nisi mens sit rea
There can be no crime without a guilty mind
Two components of crime
Actus reus – Guilty act
Mens rea – Guilty mind

10
 MENS REA UNDER IPC

• No mention made, but doctrine incorporated in two ways.

• Mens rea included in the definition of the offence
(through terms like ‘dishonestly’, ’fraudulently’, ’voluntarily’,
‘intentionally’, ‘knowingly’)
• Concept included in the provisions relating to ‘general
exceptions’ in Chapter IV.
• When the definition does not include mensrea, it means that
the liability is strict.

11
 Stages of Crime
• Intention
• Preparation
• Attempt
• Commission

12
 Structure 23 Chapters
of the Code 511 Sections

13
How to read each section of the Penal
Code ?
• Definition
• Explanation
• Illustration
• Punishment Prescribed

14
How to Learn the Indian Penal Code ?

15
 CRIMINAL LAW - MAIN PARTS

• General part deals with principles and doctrines.

This includes
– the principles of criminal liability,
– defences to criminal liability,
– rules relating to punishments and
– doctrines governing preliminary crimes
• Special part deals with specific crimes.
This includes
– rules defining individual crimes and
– prescribing punishments for them that apply the general principles and
doctrines to particular crimes.

16
 IPC

Jurisprudence/General
Specific Offence
Principals

General Explanation
Concept of Liability Offence against Offence Against Against
Punishment State Society /Public Person
General Exceptions Order
Inchoate offences
War Against Against Against
Unlawful body property Reputation
War with assembly
friendly Rioting
neigbhour Nuisance Hurt Theft Intimida
Assaulting Assault extortion tion
Robbery Insult
high officers Kidnapping
Decoity defamat
Sedition /abduction ion
Cheating
Homicide
Escape of Rape
CBT/CMA
state prisoner

17
 INDIAN PENAL CODE

• General Principles
– Sections 1-120-B & 511
• Specific Offences
– Sections 121-510

18
 General Explanations (Ss 6-52A)
• Interpretation Clause giving definitions of
various terms in the Code for the purpose of
the Code.
• Examples
 ‘Dishonestly’ defined under Section 24
 ‘Counterfeit’ defined under Section 28
 ‘Injury’ defined under Section 44
 ‘Good faith’ defined under Section 52
19
 Concept of Criminal Liability

• General liability
• Joint liability
• Strict liability
 Punishments (Ss 53-75)
• Death
• Imprisonment for Life
• Imprisonment, rigorous or simple
• Forfeiture of Property
• Fine.

21
“Says when an act is a crime”

“Says same act is not a crime”

23
‘General Exceptions (Sec 76 to 106)
make an offence, a non-offence’
 S.6 of IPC
“Every definition of offence in the code to
be understood subject to the general
exceptions”
Enforceables and Justifiables
 CHART DEPICTING THE SCHEME OF THE CHAPTER RELATING TO GENERAL
EXCEPTIONS
(I.P.C. SECTIONS 76 TO 106)

Excusable Act Justifiable Act

Mistake of factIncapability Accident

(Ss. 76, 79) (S. 80)

Infancy Insanity Intoxication

(Ss. 82, 83) (S. 84) (Ss. 85, 86)

Judicial Act Necessity Duress Consent Communication Triffles Private Defence

(S. 81) (S.94) (S. 95) (Ss. 96-106)
(S. 93)

With With
Act of a Judge Order of a court (Ss. 87-89)
(S. 78) (S. 92)
(S.177)
Abetment (Ss 107 – 120)
• Instigating the commission of an offence
• Engaging in conspiracy and doing any act
towards committing an offence
• Intentionally aiding in the commission of an
offence

28
 Criminal Conspiracy (Ss 120A & 120B)

• When more than one persons agree to do an

illegal act or a legal act by illegal means, it is
Criminal Conspiracy

29
Attempt (S. 511)
 CLASS OF OFFENCES

Against State
• Offences against State – 121 to 130
– Waging war and sedition
• Offences relating to Army, Navy and Air
Force – 131 to 140

31
 CLASS OF OFFENCES
Against Public Order
• Offences against public tranquility – 141 to
160
– Unlawful assembly, rioting

• Offences by or relating to public servant –

166 to 171

32
• Offences relating to Elections – 171 A to 171 I
• Contempt of lawful authority of public servants – 172
to 190
– Obstructing public servant in discharge of his duty, refusing
to take oath, to answer questions or sign statements etc.
• False evidence and offences against public justice –
191 to 229
– Giving or fabricating false evidence, destroying evidence,
harboring offenders etc.

33
• Offences relating to coins and Government
stamps – 230 to 263-A
• Offences relating to weights and measures –
264 to 267
• Offences affecting public health, safety,
convenience, decency and morals – 268 to
294-A
– Various forms of Public nuisance
• Offences relating to religion – 295 to 298

34
 CLASSES OF OFFENCES
Against Human Body

• Offences affecting human body – 299 to 377

– Culpable homicide, murder, dowry death, hurt
and grievous hurt, kidnapping and abduction,
rape

35
 Justifiable
(Ss. 76-79, 81, 100, 103
IPC)

Lawful
Excusable
(Ss. 82-85, 87, 88, 92 IPC)

Homicide

- Culpable homicide
Unlawful S.299/304
-Murder S. 300/302
- Death by negligence
S. 304 A
- Dowry Death S. 304 B
Culpable Homicide (Sec. 299)

Causing death of a human being

by doing an act

with the intention of causing death, or

with the intention of causing such bodily injury

as is likely to cause death, or

with the knowledge that he is likely by such act

to cause death
 Clause 1
• Except in the cases hereinafter excepted, culpable homicide is
murder, if the act by which the death is caused is done with the
intention of causing death, or
• Manifestation of motive/Intention is gravest
• Case 1 : Set fire to wife and pouring Kerosene
• Case 2 : Stabbing on left chest with 2 feet blade
• Case 3: Vasant Vs Maharastra (Crushing with
Jeep)
• Identical in both Sec. 299 & 300
 Clause 2
• If it is done with intention of causing such bodily injury as the
offender knows to be likely to cause the death of the person
to whom the harm is caused, or
• Intention to Cause bodily injury
• Subjective knowledge that such injury is likely to
cause death
• “In perception of accused”
• Likely + Knowledge = Definiteness of certainty of
death not a mere probability
• Case : Srikanthiah Vs. Karnataka
 Clause 3
• If it is done with the intention of causing bodily injury to any person
and the bodily injury intended to be inflicted is sufficient in the
ordinary course of nature to cause death, or

• Objective View Point

• Purely objective, Inferential and No subjectivety
• Suffiency = Very high probability of injury resulting in
death
• Case : Virsa singh Vs. Punjab
• Knowledge is immaterial only question of fact
• Intention to cause particular injury is required
 Clause 4
• If the person committing the act knows that it is so imminently dangerous that it must, in
all probability, cause death or such bodily injury as is likely to cause, death, and commits
such act without any excuse for incurring the risk of causing death or such injury as
aforesaid.
• Act must be imminently dangerous
• Person committing act must have knowledge tat its imminently
dangerous
• That in all probability it will cause death or bodily injury likely to
cause death
• Act is done without any excuse/justification, running risk of causing
death
• Knowledge is sufficient!!!
• Hubby pouring kerosene
• Shehaj vs. haryana
• Holika dahan case
 CH is not Murder if the offender---
• On grave and sudden provocation.
Exceptn 1

•In exercise in good faith of the RPD.

Exceptn 2

• Offender being a public servant/Aiding a public

Exceptn 3 servant acting for the adavancement of public justice,
exceeds the power given to him.

Exceptn 4 • In a sudden fight in the heat of passion

• When the person whose death is cause being the above the
Exceptn 5 age of 18 years, suffers death or takes the risk of death with
his own consent
 Presence of special
characteristics (mentioned
in secondly, thirdly and
fourthly of Sec. 300)

Culpable
Murder
Homicide

Absence of exceptional
circumstances (mentioned
as exceptions to Sec. 300)
 Section 354
Whoever assaults or uses criminal force to any
woman, intending to outrage or knowing it to be
likely that he will thereby outrage her modesty, shall
be punished with imprisonment of either description
for a term which shall not be less than one year but
which may extend to five years, and shall also be
liable to fine.
“The essence of woman’s modesty is her sex.
The modesty of an adult female is written
large on her body. Young or old, Intelligent
or imbecile, sleeping or awake the woman
possesses a modesty capable or being
outraged.”

Bachawat. J
• Rape is the most morally and physically reprehensible crime in a society, as
it is an assault on the body, mind and privacy of the victim. While a
murderer destroys the physical frame of the victim, a rapist degrades and
defiles the soul of a helpless female. Rape reduces a woman to an animal,
as it shakes the very core of her life. By no means can a rape victim be
called an accomplice. Rape leaves a permanent scar on the life of the victim,
and therefore a rape victim is placed on a higher pedestal than an injured
witness. Rape is a crime against the entire society and violates the human
rights of the victim. Being the most hated crime, rape tantamounts to a
serious blow to the supreme honour of a woman, and offends both, her esteem
and dignity. It causes psychological and physical harm to the victim, leaving
upon her indelible marks.
“Dr. B.S. CHAUHAN”
 Definition of Rape (Sec.375)
A man is said to commit ‘rape’ if he –
(a) penetrates his penis, to any extent, into the vagina, mouth, urethra or
anus of a woman or makes her to do so with him or any other person; or
(b) inserts, to any extent, any object or a part of the body, not being the
penis, into the vagina, the urethra or anus of a woman or makes her to
do so with him or any other person; or

(c) manipulates any part of the body of a woman so as to cause penetration

into the vagina, urethra, anus or any part of body of such woman or
makes her to do so with him or any other person; or

(d) applies his mouth to the vagina, anus, urethra of a woman or makes her
to do so with him or any other person.
 Definition of Rape – contd.

Under the circumstances falling under any of the following seven

descriptions:-
 First :- Against her will
 Secondly :- Without her consent
 Thirdly :- With her consent, when her consent has been
obtained by putting her or any person in whom she is
interested, in fear of death or of hurt
 Fourthly :- With her consent, when the man knows that he
is not her husband, and that her consent is given because
she believes that he is another man to whom she is or
believes herself to be lawfully married.
 Fifthly :- With her consent, when, at the time of giving
such consent, by reason of unsoundness of mind or
intoxication or the administration by him personally or
through another of any stupefying or unwholesome
substance, she is unable to understand the nature and
consequences of that to which she gives consent.
 Sixthly :- With or without her consent, when she is
under eighteen years of age.
 Seventhly:- When she is unable to communicate
consent.
Explanation-1 :- For the purpose of this Section,
“vagina” shall also include labia majora.

Explanation-2:- Consent means an unequivocal

voluntary agreement when the woman by words,
gestures or any form of verbal or non-verbal
communication, communicates willingness to
participate in the specific sexual act:
[

Provided that a woman who does not physically resist

to the act of penetration shall not by the reason only of
that fact be regarded as consenting to the sexual
activity.
Exception-1:- A medical procedure or intervening
shall not constitute rape.

Exception-2 :- Sexual intercourse or sexual acts by

a man with his own wife, the wife not being under
fifteen years of age, is not rape.
 Issues
• Violation of fundamental right.
• Penetration.
• Consent.
• Marital Rape.
• Absence of injury.
• Testimony of the prosecutrix.
• “Women of easy virtue”?.
• Delay in FIR.
Penetration by Penetration of

 Penis  Vagina
 Mouth  Mouth
 Object  Anus
 Body part  Urethra
 Penis
 CLASSES OF OFFENCES
Against Property
• Offences against property – 378 to 462
Theft, extortion, robbery, dacoity, criminal
misappropriation, criminal breach of trust,
cheating, mischief and trespass
• Offences relating to documents and property
marks – 463 to 489-E
Forgery
• Criminal breach of contract of service – 490 to
492

54
 OFFENCES AGAINST PROPERTY
• Theft • Receiving stolen
• Extortion property
• Robbery • Cheating
• Dacoity • Fraudulent deeds
• Criminal and dispositions of
misappropriation of Property
Property • Mischief
• Criminal Breach of Trust • Criminal Trespass
Property offences may be grouped into three
clusters :-

 Offences dealing with deprivation of property

(Sections - 378-424)

 Offences dealing with injury to property

(Sections - 425-440)

 Offences dealing with violation of rights of

property in order to the commission of some
other offence (Sections - 441-462)
 THEFT ( Sec 378)

Whoever

 intending to take dishonestly

 any movable property

 out of the possession of any person

 without that person’s consent

 moves that property in order to such taking

is said to commit theft.

 CLASSES OF OFFENCES
Against Marriage etc.
• Offences relating to marriage – 493 to 498
– Adultery, bigamy
• Cruelty by husband or relatives of husband –
498-A
• Defamation – 499 to 502
• Criminal intimidation, insult and annoyance –
503 to 510

58
ANY QUESTIONS ?

59
 Thank you

Email ID: [email protected]

Mob No: +91 768-00-11-222

60