IPC - The Indian Penal Code is the official criminal code of India

The Indian Penal Code is the official criminal code of India, which was drafted in 1860. It’s objective is to provide a general penal code for the country. It has 511 sections across 23 chapters, providing the list of crimes along with their definitions and punishments.

History of Indian Penal Code

The First Law Commission prepared the draft of the Indian Penal Code which was chaired by Thomas Babington Macaulay in the year 1834. Elements were also derived from the Napoleonic Code and the Louisiana Civil Code of 1825. The drafting was completed in the year 1850 and was presented to the Legislative Council in the year 1856. The draft became law and came into operation on January 1, 1862.

Overview

The objective of the Indian Penal Code is to lay what is right and what is wrong and to lay down the punishment for committing such wrong. In criminal law, the “intention” of committing the crime plays a huge role in deciding the liability of the offense.

There are usually five stages of committing the crime: Motive, Intention, Preparation, Attempt, and Commission. Liability in crime arises when one goes beyond the stage of preparation and attempts to do the illegal act.

Broad classification of crimes under the Indian Penal Code (IPC):

Crime against the body – Murder, Culpable homicide not amounting to murder, kidnapping, etc.

Crimes against property – Theft, dacoity, burglary, etc.

Crimes against public order – Riots and Arson

Economic crimes – Cheating and Counterfeiting

Crimes against women – Rape, dowry death, cruelty by husband and relatives, molestation, sexual harassment and importation of girls

Crimes against children – Child rape, kidnapping, and abduction of children, selling and buying of girls for prostitution, abetment to suicide, infanticide, foeticide.

The Indian Penal Code (IPC) covers the substantial part of criminal law in India. It defines various common criminal offenses. For example, it lays down the definition of murder, theft, assault and several other offenses and also stipulates appropriate punishments for each one of them. For example, the offense of “theft” is defined under Section 378 of the Indian Penal Code. It says that if any person dishonestly intends to take away any movable property out of the possession of any person without his/her consent, and moves that property, then he/she is said to commit the offense of theft.  Mere intention to take somebody’s property without actually going ahead with the later process does not constitute theft.

The Act further provides for an explanation of various sections. These explanations further elaborate on the sections. For example, Section 378 provides five explanations to 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 effected 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.

The Punishment for theft is stipulated in Section 379 which prescribes punishment for imprisonment extendable up to three years, or with fine, or both.

Different crimes carry different punishments according to the severity of the offense committed. For example, the punishment for murder is either death or life imprisonment.

First, the definition of the offense is laid down, and then the punishment for the offense 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 classification and punishment of criminal acts.

The definition only gives an idea of what the offense is. It does not tell us what we should do if someone has stolen our property, or whom should we seek justice from? Or, what can the police do in this regard? In other words, the Indian Penal Code is only concerned with substantive criminal law and not with procedural criminal law. Procedural Law is spelled out in the Criminal Procedure Code, 1973.

What are the objectives of criminal law?

What are the objectives of criminal law?

Every crime is composed of criminal elements. Criminal law informs and then covers the serious, potential consequences or sanctions for failure to abide by its rules. Capital punishment may be imposed in some jurisdictions for the most serious crimes. Physical or corporal punishment are now prohibited in much of the world. Individuals may be incarcerated in prison or jail in a variety of conditions depending on the jurisdiction. Confinement may also be solitary. Government supervision may be imposed, including house arrest, and convicts may be required to conform to particularized guidelines as part of a parole or probation regimen. Fines also may be imposed, seizing money or property from a person convicted of a crime.

Five objectives are widely accepted for enforcement of the criminal law by punishments: retribution, deterrence, incapacitation, rehabilitation and restoration. Values placed on each of them depends on different jurisdictions.

Retribution: Criminals Must Be Punished in some way. This is the Goal. Criminals have taken improper advantage, or inflicted unfair detriment, upon others and consequently, the criminal law will put criminals at some unpleasant disadvantage to "balance the scales." People submit to the law to receive the right not to be murdered and if people contravene these laws, they surrender the rights granted to them by the law. One who murders may be executed himself. A related theory includes the idea of "righting the balance."

Deterrence: The aim of deterrence is to impose a sufficient penalty to discourage the offender from criminal behavior now and in future. General deterrence aims at society at large. By imposing a penalty on those who commit offenses, all the other individuals are discouraged from committing those very offenses.

Incapacitation: Keep criminals away from society so that the public is protected from their misconduct. This objective is achieved through prison sentences. Death penalty and banishment are no longer preffered for this purpose.

Rehabilitation: The main and primary goal of rehabilitation is to prevent further offense by convincing the offender that their conduct was wrong. Rehabilitation Aims at transforming an offender into a valuable member of society.

Restoration: The goal is to repair, through state authority, any injury inflicted upon the victim by the offender. For example, one who embezzles will be required to repay the amount improperly acquired. Restoration is commonly combined with other main goals of criminal justice and is closely related to concepts in the civil law, that is, returning the victim to his or her original position before the injury. Restoration is a victim-oriented theory of punishment.