Indian Penal Code 1960

Last updated: December 2020 | 5 min read

Objective of the Indian Penal Code

The objective of this Act is to provide a general Penal Code for India.Though this Code consolidates the whole of the law on the subject and is exhaustive on the matters in respect of which it declares the law, many more penal statutes governing various offences have been created in addition to this code.

The Indian security system has been one that has gone through a lot of tests and examinations throughout the time. This is due to the political as well as the social situation of the country. India is a land of diverse cultures and traditions and it is a place where people from various religions as well as ethnic backgrounds live together.

Indian Penal Code Format

The Indian Penal code has a basic format, it’s a document that lists all the cases and punishments that a person committing any crimes is liable to be charged. It covers any person of Indian origin. The exceptions are the military and other armed forces, they cannot be charged based on the Indian Penal Code. They have a different set of laws under the Indian Penal Code as well.

The Indian Penal Code has its roots I the times of the British rule in India, formulating in year 1860.Amendments have been made to it in order to incorporate a lot of changes and jurisdiction clauses. One such amendment is the inclusions of section 498-A.The total number of sections contained in the Indian Penal Code are five hundred eleven. All these sections pertain to a particular category of crimes committed by civilians of Indian origin. There are sections related to Dowry Laws and jurisdictions in India, as well as there are several sections that concern various types of criminal laws. The Indian Penal Code is thus the most fundamental document of all the law enforcer as well as the entire judiciary in India.

The Indian judicial system is one that has evolved into a stable and fair system of detention and penalizing, after being tested well for several years. The judiciary of the country is a body of people who are given the task of execution of the laws made by the government, that is, the judiciaries of a country are its law enforcers. However, the judicial representatives cannot assess the cases of crimes or misconduct on their own perceptions or rules. There has to be a single system or a document that acts as a standard to all the decision making process and the penalizing norms. Such a document exists in all countries and in case of India, it is referred to as The Indian Penal Code. The Indian Penal Code is applicable to all the citizens of India who commit crimes or actions suggesting misconduct in the Indian territory. The document is applicable to ships as well as aircrafts within the Indian seas or the airspace as well.

Indian penal code is the skeleton of the Indian criminal justice system.

There are certain questions that are frequently asked by a layperson for basic understanding of rights for example,

  1. What exactly Indian Penal code is?
  2. How and when did it originate?
  3. What is its applicability?
  4. How does it work?
  5. To what extend it helps the law enforcement agencies?
  6. What is modus operandi of judges while applying the relevant sections?

These questions are answered as follows;Indian Penal Code is a document that has been formulated to counter crimes of various natures and breach of law. IPC traces its roots to theBritish colonial rule in India.IPC covers any Indian citizen or a person of Indian origin with the exceptions to any kind of military or the armed forces crimes, which are handled by a dedicated list of armed force acts.

The most important feature of the Indian Penal Code is the impartial nature of judgments promoted by the document. The Indian Penal Code does not include any special favors for any special person at some position. Thus, the Indian Penal Code stands alike for government employees, as for a common man, and even for a judicial officer. This builds up the faith of the common citizens in the law making and enforcing bodies in the country and prevents any sort of corruption or misuse of power on the part of the people in power.

All in all, the Indian Penal Code of the present day has done away with almost all its flaws and has evolved into a modern law enforcing document that takes into consideration the humane side of the personalities of culprits as well. This has escalated and improved the Indian system of Law to greater heights and has led to a firm respect for it in every citizen of the country.

Importance of The Penal Code

Indian Penal Code is a very important set of regulation which is very important for the system to be operated in a proper way. It is the main criminal code of India. They are various offences that are made under this law. The Indian Penal Code includes all the relevant criminal offences dealing with offences against the state, offenses for public, offences for armed forces, kidnapping, murder, and rape. It deals with offense related to religion, offences against property and it has an important section for offences for marriage, cruelty from husband or relatives, defamation and so on so forth. This was an general over view of the structure of Indian Penal Code. It is not only important for India but every country should have an Penal Code in order for its system to be operated in a systematic way. This document majorly covers all the basic offences which are highlighted in the society.

Full text of "Indian Penal Code 1960" available here

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