INDIAN PENAL CODE 1860 ACT KEY FEATURES

 


WHAT IS IPC?

IPC (IPC full form Indian Penal Code) is the skeleton of the Indian criminal justice system. The Indian Penal Code 1860 is the main criminal code of India. Enacted in 1860, it is a comprehensive code designed to meet all substantive features of criminal law. The Act came into force in the year 1862 and since then amended many times. At present, the Act is enhanced by other criminal provisions. The Act was drafted on the recommendations of the first law commission established under the chairmanship of Lord Macaulay in 1834.


The Indian Penal Code is the official criminal code of the Republic of India. It is a complete code intended to cover all aspects of criminal law. It came into force in 1862 in all British Presidencies, although it did not apply to the Princely states, which had their courts and legal systems.

 

HISTORY

The first draft of the Indian Penal Code was prepared by the First Law Commission, chaired by Thomas Babington Macaulay. The draft was based on the simple codification of the law of England, while at the same time borrowing elements from the Napoleanic Code and Louisiana Civil Code of 1825.

The first draft of the Code was presented before the Governor-General in council in the year 1837, but subsequent revisions and amendments took two more decades. The complete drafting of the code was done in 1850 and presented to the Legislative Council in 1856. It was delayed being placed on the statute book of British India due to the Indian Revolt of 1857.

The code came into force on January 1st, 1860 after undergoing many revisions and amendments by Barnes Peacock who would go on to serve as the first Chief Justice of the Calcutta High Court.

Before the advent of the British, the penal law prevailing in India, for the most part, was the Muhammedan law. For the first few years of its administration, the East India Company did not interfere with the criminal law of the country and although in 1772, during the administration of Warren Hastings, the Company for the first time interfered, and henceforth till 1861, from time to time, the British Government did alter the Muhammedan law, yet up to 1862, when the Indian Penal Code came into operation, the Muhammedan law was undoubtedly the basis of the criminal law excepting in the presidency towns. 

The epoch of the administration of Muslim criminal law in India extended for a considerable period and has even supplied many terms for the vocabulary of Indian law.’


FEATURES


Crimes against the Human Body

These offences are provided for in Chapter XVI of the Code spanning from Section 299, which deals with culpable homicide to Section 377, which deals with unnatural offences.

The chapter deals with all kinds of offences which can be committed against the human body, from the very lowest degree i.e. simple hurt or assault to the gravestones which include murder, kidnapping and rape.


Crimes against Property

These crimes are defined and punished under Chapter XVII and range from Section 378 which defines theft, to Section 462 which prescribes punishment for the offence of breaking upon an entrusted property. The offences that are dealt with under this chapter include, among others, theft, extortion, robbery, dacoity, cheating and forgery.


Crimes against Public Tranquillity 

The definitions and punishment for this category of offences are provided in Chapter VIII which ranges from Section 141 to 160. This chapter lays down the acts which are considered to be criminal because they disturb and destroy public tranquillity and order. This chapter includes offences like being a member of an unlawful assembly, rioting and affray.


Offences against the State

Chapter VI, which deals with offences of this nature, and includes Sections 121 to 130 are some of the most rigorous penal provisions of the entire code. This includes the offence of waging war against the state under Section 121 and the much-debated, criticised, and abused offence of Sedition under Section 124A. The offence defined under this Section has been much maligned as it was used by the British to prosecute many freedom fighters; it has also been used post-independence to silence critics of the government and continues to date which is why many experts advocate repealing the same.


General Exceptions

Sections 76-106 (Chapter IV) embody the general exceptions which are exceptional circumstances where the offender can escape criminal liability. A basic example in this context is the Right of Private Defence (Section 96-106). Other concepts that are elaborated upon in this chapter include Insanity, Necessity, Consent, and acts of children below a certain age.


Unnatural Offences-Section 377

This Section, among other things, punished consensual sexual acts between consenting adults belonging to the same sex. With the advent of time, several voices advocated for the decriminalisation of this part which punishes homosexuality. The Supreme Court, finally in the case of Navtej Johar, obliged and decriminalised the portion of this Section which punished consensual acts of this nature. 


Attempt to Commit Suicide – Section 309

This Section prescribed a punishment of up to one year for attempting suicide. There is a longstanding recommendation of the Law Commission to decriminalise attempting suicide by dropping Section 309 from the statute books. But the amendment to this effect has not been carried, albeit, the use of the provision has been minimized, by the coming into force of the Mental Healthcare Act, 2017.

As per the non-obstante clause contained in Section 115(1) of the Mental Healthcare Act, 2017, there is the presumption of severe stress on a person who attempted suicide and such person is not to be punished under Section 309 IPC.

But the reports about the use of Section 309 IPC are not unknown and continue to be reported from almost all the parts of the country. As such, it is the need of the hour that the police authorities should be sanitized about the issue.



The Act further explains various sections. These explanations further elaborate on the sections. For example, Section 378 provides five explanations for the definition of theft 

  • Explanation 1—A thing so long as it is attached to the earth, not being movable property, is not the subject of theft; but it becomes capable of being the subject of theft as soon as it is severed from the earth. 
  • Explanation 2—A moving affected by the same act which affects the severance may be a theft.
  • Explanation 3—A person is said to cause a thing to move by removing an obstacle which prevented it from moving or by sepa­rating it from any other thing, as well as by actually moving it.
  • Explanation 4—A person, who by any means causes an animal to move, is said to move that animal, and to move everything which, in consequence of the motion so caused, is moved by that animal.
  • Explanation 5—The consent mentioned in the definition may be express or implied, and may be given either by the person in possession or by any person having for that purpose authority either express or implied. 

 

CONCLUSION:

This is how the Indian Penal Code is structured. First, the definition of the offence is laid down, and then the punishment for the offence is provided. In addition to the Indian Penal Code, there is other special legislation such as the Information Technology Act, the Prevention of Corruption Act, Indecent Representation of Women Act, the Narcotics and Psychotropic Substances Act, etc. which also enable the classification and punishment of criminal acts.


REFERENCE:

https://byjus.com/free-ias-prep/indian-penal-code/

https://getlegalindia.com/article/ipc-bare-act/

https://legodesk.com/legopedia/indian-penal-code/



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