280 IPC

Submitted by:

DHANRAJ SINGH

Batch 2021-26, BA LLB.

PRN: 21010223074

Symbiosis Law School, NOIDA

Symbiosis International (Deemed University), Pune

In

March 2022

Under the Direction of

Miss Charvi Kumar

Professor

Symbiosis Law School NOIDA

 CERTIFICATE

The project on section 280 IPC is presented to the Symbiosis Law School, NOIDA for
Legal and Logical Reasoning as part of Internal Continuous this assessment is based on
my own research done under Miss Charvi Kumar’s supervision. The material used in the
research that was acquired from other sources has been properly acknowledged.

I am aware of fact that if plagiarism is detected later, I may be held liable and
accountable.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

First and foremost, I'd want to express my heartfelt gratitude to Miss Charvi Kumar for
her assistance and role as my project's guiding light. They gave me with significant
knowledge that helped me comprehend all of the fundamentals of this project and
answered any questions I had about it.

I'd also want to express my gratitude to the library department and academic support at
Symbiosis Law School, Noida, for offering me with a variety of research sources and
resources to aid in the creation of an unique study.

I'd also want to express my gratitude to Symbiosis Law School, Noida, for presenting me
with this assignment so that I could understand the fundamentals of section 280 IPC
quickly, effectively, and entirely with full detail.
INDEX

Sl. Particulars Page. No.

No.
1 Certificate 2
2 Acknowledgement 3
3 Introduction and Illustration 4
4 Analysis 6
5 Conclusion 6
Introduction
Section 280 of the Indian Penal Code 1860 states: "Whoever navigates any water boat or vessel
in a rash or negligent manner as to endanger human life, or as to be likely to cause harm or
serious injuries to any other individual, shall be penalized with imprisonment for a period for an
imprisonment which may extend to six months, or with fine which may extend to one thousand
rupees, or with the both."
Following Illustrations will make clear the concept of Section 280 IPC
Illustration 1
Between 25.6.2008 and 26.6.2008, a family of four, including the husband, wife, and two minor
girls, went on a tour to Mahabaleshwar. Tapiola, a lake in Mahabaleshwar, is a popular tourist
destination. Shiv Sagar Boat Club is located on the shore of the aforementioned lake. They had
gone boating in the said lake on the 25th of June, 2008 at 4 p.m. They hired boat number 8 for
Rs.380/- in hire fees. The accused-appellant was in control of the boat in this case. It started
pouring shortly after they booked the boat, and because boat no.8 did not have a roof, they asked
the accused if he could arrange for a boat with a roof. As a result, the guilty requested the victim
Prem Doshi and his relatives to sit in boat number one, which had a roof, and then, with the
assistance of another staff of boat -3, they sailed away. Ganesh Kadam replaced the motor in
boat no.8 with one from boat no.1 and then sailed the boat into the lake. The boat capsized at
some point due to extreme turbulence caused by the strong wind. Three relatives were able to
escape, but their 5-year-old daughter perished in the incident, and her body was discovered two
hours later. The police initially recorded an unintentional case, after which they conducted
further investigation. The panchnama for the inquest was prepared, and the dead body was
referred for Postmortem. In postmortem report doctor concluded that the death of child was due
to water logging in her lungs and chocking of her respiratory system. A case was registered
under section 280 of The Indian Penal Code, against Shiv Sagar Boat club and two staffs were
identified as clear accused in this case. Police conducted its investigation was found that the
accused has navigated boat in a negligent and rash manner which led to endanger the life of four
family members along with death of a 5-year-old child.
Honorable court after going through all evidences and police investigation held that both the
accused were to be held liable under section 280 of Indian Penal Code and imposed a fine of one
thousand rupees and an imprisonment of six months.
Illustration 2
On September 30, 2019, at approximately 4.25 p.m., the Kerala State Tourism Development
Corporation's "Jala Kanyaka" took more than 75 visitors on board and set off from Thekkady.
Pratham Srivastava, the first accused, was in charge of the boat. Amit, the second accused, was
the boat's lascar. When the boat returned to the landing spot, it appeared that several wild
creatures had been spotted on the beach. According to one theory, some of the passengers
relocated their seats to that side of the boat, causing the boat to tilt. Another version claims that
the driver, after decelerating the boat for a while, abruptly maneuvered the boat to the left side at
high speed, losing control. Whatever caused the boat to capsize, it did so. A total of 45 people
were killed. According to the prosecution, the first suspect, Pratham Srivastava, steered the boat
in a reckless and careless manner, disregarding safety regulations. It is a case in which Accused
no. 1 was steering a boat with passengers when it capsized in the lake, resulting in the deaths of
two people. The petitioner is the owner of the boat. The petitioner owns and operates an island
resort. He allegedly gave the boat to Accused 1, who had little experience navigating it, and the
speed boat crashed as a result. A case was registered under section 280 of The Indian Penal Code
was registered against both the accused, police investigated the same and relying upon many eye
witnesses concluded that Pratham Srivastava that is accused no. 1 was accelerating and driving
the vessel in a rash and negligent manner and the accused no.2 Amit was staff of that boat.
In this matter Honorable Court held that the person who was driving the vessel in negligent and
rash manner will be held liable under section 280 of The Indian Penal Code not that person who
is staff of the boat that is Amit accused no. 2 because he was not at driving position.
Also, the owner of the boat that is the petitioner will not be charged with the offence under
Section 280 IPC as a result of the above facts. The individual who is alone in the boat can be
charged under Section 280 of the Indian Penal Code.

Analysis
In this context, Sections 280 of the Indian Penal Code provide for a light penalty for navigating a
vessel in such a negligent and rash manner as to endanger a human life, as well as for
intentionally or unintentionally conveying or affecting to be imparted for hire any individual by
water in any vessel, when that vessel is in such a state or so loaded as to negatively affect the
person's life. Sections 280 and 282 provide for either imprisonment for up to six months or a fine
of up to one thousand rupees, or both. Tourism-related activities have increased. Several
disasters involving life and limb have occurred.
Illustration 2 can be identified as one of the landmark judgements related to section 280 of IPC
as it made clear that only person who is at driving position can be made liable in this section, not
anyone who is accompanying him, also not the owner of vessel or boat.

Conclusion
I believe it is past time to strengthen the penalties for crimes under Sections 280 of the Indian
Penal Code and make them non-bailable. This is a subject for Parliament to examine rather than
the courts to decide. As day by day with the increase in tourism in many parts of India and craze
for water rafting or boating this section should be made more stringent.