M.A.

, CRIMINOLOGY AND
CRIMINAL JUSTICE
ADMINISTRATION
First Year – Non-Semester

MCCJN - 12

CRIMINAL LAW AND SPECIAL LAWS

TAMIL NADU OPEN UNIVERSITY

SCHOOL OF CRIMINOLOGY AND
CRIMINAL JUSTICE ADMINISTRATION
577, ANNA SALAI, SAIDAPET, CHENNAI – 15
JANUARY 2022
JANUARY 2022

Course Writer:

Dr.Anantharamakrishnan Senthivel ,M.Sc., PhD.,

Assistant Professor
School of Criminology and Criminal Justice Administration
Tamil Nadu Open University
577, Anna Salai, Saidapet - 600015
Chennai ,Tamil Nadu.

© School of Criminology and Criminal Justice Administration

Tamil Nadu Open University

All rights are reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or

transmitted in any form without a written permission from Tamil Nadu
Open University 577, Anna Salai, Saidapet, Chennai-600015.

www.tnou.ac.in
MCCJN – 12 – CRIMINAL LAW AND SPECIAL LAWS

Syllabus

BLOCK I - INTRODUCTION

UNIT – 1 Definitions – Vices, sin, tort and crime - Need and

Objectives - Nature and scope of Criminal Law

UNIT – 2 History of criminal law in India - Indian Penal Code –

Code of Criminal Procedure

UNIT – 3 Constitution, Indian Penal Code - Conventional laws vs.

Special and local laws - Fundamental elements of crime –
Stages of crime: Intention, preparation, attempt and
commission

UNIT – 4 Indian Evidence Act – Nature and Scope - Special laws

vs. local laws in India - Indian Evidence Act – Doctrine of
Actus Reus and Mens Rea.

BLOCK 2 Salient Features of Constitution of India

UNIT – 5 Constitution of India and its Supremacy - Historyof

Constitution of India - Right to Freedom - Freedom of
Speech and expression

UNIT – 6 History of Constitution of India – Preamble – Citizenship –

Fundamental Rights - Constitution of India and its
Supremacy - Test for infringement of Fundamental Rights
- Definition of Law - Amendment of law

UNIT – 7 Directive Principles of State Policy - Freedom of the

Person - Right of the accused - ex post facto laws -
 Double jeopardy – right against self-Incrimination - right to
life and liberty

UNIT – 8 Executive, Legislature and Judiciary - Directive Principles

of State Policy - Nature, content and justiciability

BLOCK 3 Selected Sections of Indian Penal Code (IPC)

UNIT – 9 Abetment – Criminal Conspiracy – Offences against the

State: Waging or attempting to wage war against the
state, Sedition

UNIT – 10 Offences against public tranquility: Unlawful assembly,

rioting and affray – Offences relating to religion

UNIT – 11 Offences affecting the human body: Murder, suicide, hurt,

kidnapping and rape – Offences against Property: Theft,
Extortion, Robbery, Dacoity, Forgery, False document,
Criminal breach of trust

UNIT – 12 Offences relating to marriage: Cruelty by husband,

bigamy, adultery and defamation – Criminal intimidation –
Insult and annoyance

BLOCK 4 Selected Sections of Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC)

UNIT – 13 Definitions under Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 –

Organizational set up of judiciary in India – Constitution of
criminal courts and officers – Jurisdiction and powers of
criminal courts – Court of Sessions – Judicial magistrates
– Executive magistrates – Public Prosecutors.

UNIT – 14 Informal courts Nyaya Panchayat and Lok Adalats –

Complaint – Inquiry – Investigation – Police report –
 Public prosecutor – Defence counsel – Arrest – Bail –
Search – Seizure – Trialprocesses

UNIT – 15 15.1 - Selected Sections of Indian Evidence Act

Definitions – Concepts – Fact in issue – Relevant fact –
Evidence: Proved, disproved, admissibility and relevancy
– Relevant evidence in statement form: Admission
confessions, dying declarations and expert opinions
Conspiracy evidence

UNIT – 16 Approver evidence – Presumptions of law Presumptions

of fact – Burden of proof – Examination in-chief – Cross-
examination and re-examination – Impeaching the credit
of witness

BLOCK 5 Special Laws

UNIT – 17 Need and Objectives – Special laws vs. local laws –

Conventional laws vs. Special and local laws

UNIT – 18 The Juvenile Justice (Care & Protection of Children)

Amendment Act, 2015, The Protection of Children from
Sexual Offences Act, 2012

UNIT – 19 The SC and ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989 – The

Protection of Human Rights Act, 1993

UNIT – 20 Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005 –

– Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace
(Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013

References for MCCJ-12 Criminal Law and Special Laws

1. Gaur, K. D. (2013). Criminal law: Cases and materials (7th ed.).

Gurgaon, Haryana, India: LexisNexis.
2. Hall, J. (1960). General principles of criminal law (2nd ed.).
Indianapolis: Bobbs- Merrill.

3. Nigam, R. C. (1965). Law of crimes in India. Asia Pub. House.

4. Thakore, D. (2011). Ratanlal & Dhirajlal’s the Indian Penal Code

(Act XLV of 1860) (33rd ed.). Gurgaon, Haryana, India: LexisNexis
Butterworths Wadhwa Nagpur.

5. Vibhute, K. I. (2012). P. S. A. Pillai’s criminal law (11th ed.). Lexis

Nexis. Legal Texts

6. The Indian Penal Code, 1860

7. Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973

8. Bare acts of all special laws

CRIMINAL LAW AND SPECIAL LAWS

BLOCK 1 - INTRODUCTION TO CRIMINAL LAWS

DEFINITIONS

Vices

Vice can be defined as a fault, flaw, defect, or imperfection. Immoral conduct,

practice, or habit. A term used in the civil law, by which is meant a defect in a
thing; an imperfection. For example, epilepsy in a slave, roaring and crib-
biting in a horse, are vices. Redhibitory vices are those for which the seller
will be compelled to annul a sale, and take back the thing sold.

A vice crime is any type of immoral and illegal activity, such as prostitution,
the sale of Drugs and Narcotics, and gambling. Vice crimes are those that
offend the morals of the community, such as prostitution and pornography.
The responsibilities and duties of those who enforce laws against vice crimes
include, but are not limited to conducting moderate to complex undercover
surveillances and investigations which target prostitution, lewd public sex acts,
adult entertainment, gambling and alcohol offenders in both city and county
jurisdictions.

Law enforcement officers who deal with vice crimes may, among other duties,
be responsible for conducting the background investigations on permit
applicants of massage establishments, massage technicians, bingo
establishments, card rooms and their employees and cabaret permits.

Sin

A sin is an offense against religious or moral law. It is an action that is or is

felt to be highly reprehensible.

The word derives from "Old English" syn(n), for original *sunjō... The stem
may be related to that of Latin sons, sont-is guilty. In Old English there are
examples of the original general sense, ‘offence, wrong-doing, misdeed'". The
English Biblical terms translated as "sin" or "syn" from the Biblical Greek and
Jewish terms sometimes originate from words in the latter languages denoting
the act or state of missing the mark; the original sense of New Testament
Greek ἁμαρτία hamartia "sin", is failure, being in error, missing the mark,
especially in spear throwing Hebrew hata "sin" originates in archery and
literally refer to missing the "gold" at the centre of a target, but hitting the
target, i.e. error

Tort

A tort is a wrongful act that injures or interferes with another's person or

property. A tort case is a civil court proceeding. The accused is the
"defendant" and the victim is a "plaintiff." The charges are brought by the
plaintiff. If the defendant loses, the defendant has to pay damages to the
plaintiff.

Tort, means the violation of legal right vested in other person or in other words
its a breach of a legal duty which the wrongdoer owed towards the victim.
Thus the presence of legal right and failure to obey the legal duty to protect
that right constitute tort.

Tort is a civil wrong but all civil wrongs do not come within the ambit of tort.
There are other kind of civil wrongs also, like breach of contract, breach of
trust. So whenever a civil wrong is there we must see, whether the wrong is
covered by any specific law, if not then it would be covered by law of torts.
Where a single action of the wrongdoer results in two or more torts, as well as
covered under any of the specific law, provided for recognized category of
civil wrong, the victim can get redress either under torts or claim under any
other specific law provided therein. It is notable that claimant can not claim
twice under different branch of law, if cause of action is a single civil wrong.
The main characteristics of tort are:

1. Civil Wrong:

Tort is a civil wrong in the sense that it is a wrong against the person and
not the society at large. However tort is different from other civil wrongs
such as breach of contract or breach of trust. Remedy under law of torts is
based on common law and not on any specific statue. In case wrongful act
of a person results in tort as well as criminal wrongs then both remedies
would be available to the victim.

2. Infringement of a legal right:

It is essential that there should be a violation of a legally protected right.

Social and moral wrongs do not constitute a tort. Thus if there is a
violation of legally protected right then the aggrieved party can put the
legal machinery in motion to claim compensation from the wrong doer.

3. Remedy:

Remedy is the gist of tort and it is available in the form of unliquidated

damages. Except that it's remedy in the form of injunction and restitution
is also available in suitable cases.

Crime

A crime is a wrongdoing classified by the state or Congress as a felony or

misdemeanor.

A crime is an offence against a public law. This word, in its most general
sense, includes all offences, but in its more limited sense is confined to felony.

A crime is an act committed or omitted, in violation of a public law, either

forbidding or commanding it; a breach or violation of some public right or
duty due to a whole community, considered as a community.
Crimes are defined and punished by statutes and by the common law. Most
common law offences are as well known and as precisely ascertained as those
which are defined by statutes; yet, from the difficulty of exactly defining and
describing every act which ought to be punished, the vital and preserving
principle has been adopted; that all immoral acts which tend to the prejudice of
the community are punishable by courts of justice.

Crimes are 'mala in se,' or bad in themselves, and these include all offences
against the moral law; or they are 'mala prohibita,' bad because prohibited, as
being against sound policy which, unless prohibited, would be innocent or
indifferent.

HISTORY OF CRIMINAL LAW

The criminal law and criminal justice system have evolved over a period of
thousands of years. From Pontius Pilate’s refusal to crucify Jesus Christ to the
sensational Watergate trial of President Richard Nixon, criminal law has
evolved significantly over the past 2,000 years. Tribalism established a
commitment to one’s own tribe, land and friends while the introduction of
feudalism developed a society that lacked the initial resource comfort provided
by tribal communities. The era of Enlightenment uncovered a different method
of thinking that sought to understand why people exhibited criminal behavior.
The establishment of penal codes and a juvenile justice system during the 19th
century changed the face of crime and the criminal justice system.

Criminal law during early times was the result of a shift from tribalism loyalty
to a tribe or friends to feudalism a societal structure focused on owning land in
exchange for labor. In England during the 2nd century BC, the first jail
appeared resulting from an increased use of trial and grand jury systems.
Royalty established jails to house individuals retained for criminal violations.
Early jailing systems allowed commoners to observe and taunt offenders. In
addition, necessities, such as food or clothing, required payment from the
offender; if they could not afford these items, they went without them.

The decline of feudalism led to a revision of the justice system during the 16th
and 17th centuries. Criminal justice authorities moved to punish the accused
by locking up offenders and forcing them into labor. Despite the difficult
conditions, jailers and authorities sought to incorporate rehabilitative methods
by delivering the skills necessary to obtain work through forced labor. This
would hopefully change an accused person’s situation.

 England’s increase in merchant activity led to the resolving of

disputes using a criminal charge process.

 Gallery slavery involved the gathering of vagrants and thieves from

the streets and the forcing of individuals into lifetime servitude.

The United States owes much of its early legal processes to England. The
Enlightenment a major intellectual movement spurred change in how people
examined human behavior. During the late 18th century, what we consider
classic criminological theory fully developed. In the United States, colonists
used religion as a foundation for understanding crime. In addition, slavery
contributed significantly to the evolution of criminal law.

Corporal punishments were prominent, although people began implementing

punishments that “fit the crime.” Democracy and capitalism increased and the
economic statuses and demographics of everyday citizens began to change, as
America became its own country. In addition, the church and religion began to
have less informal control over how citizens conducted their lives.
Consequently, the introduction of a new criminal system was required.

 Police forces for the new republic were not created during the
Constitutional Convention in Pennsylvania in 1787.
  Colonists treated crime as sin, but this changed when the new
republic came about.

From the mid-19th century to the late 19th century in the United States, the
justice system evolved using established legal codes and practices. Jim Crow
laws established a method to reconcile slavery of the past. The country began
to rely significantly on criminal justice procedures. Today, more than six
million people have received rehabilitative measures, including incarceration,
for crimes, including petty theft, drug abuse and murder. Today’s “war on
drugs” causes the incarceration of juveniles and adults alike. Criminal justice
professionals insist that incarceration will not change drug behavior. Today,
citizens and criminal justice specialists consider the benefits of a criminal
justice system that does not include a punitive component for specific types of
crime.

The Evolution of Law

If we look back at the history of law in many societies, we can discern the
same evolution taking place in the same sequence.

 First, people live in family units with rule by the patriarch.

 Second, a patriarchal sovereign, who is usually heroic, issues rulings

in individual cases after the fact.

 Third, customs grow up from the sovereign's rulings.

 Fourth, a code is created. This code bears on relationships between

families or between the patriarchs of the families.

 Fifth, the code begins to bear on individuals rather than families.

 Sixth, more relationships are defined by contracts, i.e., "a movement

from Status to Contract."
Accustomed as we are to legal systems with voluminous codes and well
defined procedures for contracts, many of these don't sound like much of a
legal system to our ears. But for most of the existence of humans, these are the
systems they lived under.

The Patriarch

In the earliest records and in the observations of more primitive cultures by

more advanced, the earliest stage of development is characterized by people
living in small groups based on kinship and ruled by the eldest male. Usually
the ruler was determined by very strict customs of descent through the eldest
sons from the "original" ancestor. Often his rule was quite complete and
almost always included property, earnings, and contract. This was entirely at
the caprice of the patriarch, with the ruled having none of what we would think
of as rights. But the patriarch did have a customary responsibility to provide
for his family. And males having obtained the age of majority could free
themselves from the rule of their father and even start their own patriarchy.

The Sovereign

Later there develops a sovereign ruling over a collection of families. This rule
is in the style of the patriarch: he issues rulings after the fact and without
reference to any established rules. Primitive man at this stage supposed that the
gods (Themis to the Greeks) dictated to the king what to award. Themistes was
the name for the awards. Note that these are not laws but judgments. By a
pattern of themistes, a custom was created (as opposed to the theory that the
laws embody the customs of a previous era).

Customary Law

Usually the initial kings were heroic, but often feebler monarchs followed.
Often an oligarchy would grow up around the monarch. These aristocrats
became the depository and administrators of the law. This was the epoch of
customary law. English common law pretends to be of this type (at one time,
the judges relied on rules, principles, and distinctions not fully known to
lawyers or the public), but it is today based on written precedents.

A Legal Code

Finally a legal code is written down. This usually occurs just after the
invention of writing. Often the initial code mixes civil, religious, and moral
issues. But at last we have arrived at a stage where the legal system becomes
regonizable. Usually the initial code retains the flavor of the earlier patriarchal
era and primarily deals with relationships between families or between the
patriarchs of the families.

In English history, this occurred in 800 when King Alfred the Great declared
that the law would be written before the fact so that people could know what
the law was. (I date the beginning of the Libertarian revolution from this
point.)

Individuals

Next, the legal code begins to deal with individuals rather than just the
patriarch. It even begins to regulate relations within the family.

Contractual Relationships

Finally, relationships within a legal system begin to be determined more by

contracts than by the status of the actors. The most obvious is employment,
which becomes a matter of contract between parties rather than master and
slave. This process can be observed in historical times and is still proceeding
today.

Ancient Legal Codes

One of the most important steps a society takes is reducing its legal structure
to a written code. It provides three important protections to a society:
 a) It reduces the likelihood and the magnitude of the excesses of the
legal oligarchy.

b) It helps reduce the degradation of national traditions.

c) It reduces the likelihood of superstitious extension of the prohibitions

in the original code.

Methods of Legal Improvements

Western European civilization is a rare exception in the history of the world.

Most societies have not had the objective of improving their legal system.
Where societies have attempted to be progressive, social necessities and social
opinion are usually ahead of the law. The happiness of the people depends on
how quickly the gap is narrowed. The improvements usually come in three
ways, and they usually develop in this order: First, legal fictions bridge over
problems. Second, equity courts provide a means of relief. Third, legislation
brings the law nearer the improved social opinion.

A legal fiction is an assumption that changes the operation of a law without

changing the letter of the law. For example, an adoption allows a family tie to
be created even though the child was not born into the family.

Equity courts' reason for existence is that they supersede civil law on the
grounds of superior sanctity, often expressed as providing more just decisions.

Legislation includes any agency for changing the code, from rulings by a
despot to representative assembly deliberations. Two of these steps, legal
fictions and equity courts, need more explanation.

Legal Fictions

Legal fictions usually come into being when a change is needed but no one
wants to appear to be making changes. In the English common law system,
before a decision is reached the theory is that any case can be decided on
existing precedents, but after the decision is handed down, this case affects all
future cases that are similar. The Roman Responsa Prudentum operated in a
similar manner, except for three details of procedure: the proceedngs could
consider hypothetical cases; decisions were made by lawyers rather than
judges; and entry to the bar (and therefore to the ability to render decisions)
was open to anyone.

Equity Courts and the Appearance of the Law of Nature

The equity court of England is the Court of Chancery. It received its guidance
from Canon Law (religious), from Roman law, and from the mixture of
jurisprudence and morals in the Low Countries. The equity court of Rome was
the Jus Gentium. The need for this court grew from the presence of many
foreigners and their subsequent legal needs. Rome was unwilling to allow
them to use the system set up for Roman citizens. An alien could not use the
normal Roman law courts or make contracts. The lawyers got around this by
creating a new law: Jus Gentium. In theory this law was supposedly composed
of those laws common to all nations (actually just the other Italian tribes,
because that was all they knew at the time). It was not held in high regard at
the time of its creation, but was forced by political and commercial necessity.

The theory of the Law of Nature came from Greece later; the Stoic philosophy
was very popular among lawyers. This led to Prætors wanting their Edicts to
restore an assumed natural law. Thus Jus Gentium gained respect. The Prætor
was the supreme justice of Rome, but held office for only one year. The
Prætors were drawn from lawyers or controlled by lawyers. At the beginning
of his term, the new Prætor explained what he intended to do in an Edict; such
an Edict was usually a minor modification of his predecessor's.
Law of Nature

The idea behind the Law of Nature confuses past and future. It implicitly
assumes a past state of nature ruled by a natural law. It assumes society can
change toward a perfect future an idea picked up from Christianity. It has been
very important to the evolution of thought. Roman lawyers worked to perfect
the "elegance" of their law. But the Law of Nature has much influenced
modern law. Even though France had a very confusing law, with different laws
for different people and different laws for different jurisdictions, the Law of
Nature provided a theory and an article of faith for lawyers.

Then in the middle of the 18th century there occurred the most important event
in the evolution of the Law of Nature: the writings of Rousseau. He widely
influenced many levels of people. Rousseau held, in the words of Sir Henry
Maine, that "A perfect social order could be evolved from natural state."
Unfortunately, in disdaining the superstitions of the priests, the adherents of
natural law "flung themselves headlong into a superstition of the lawyer." This
led to many of the disappointments of the French Revolution: "its tendency is
to become distinctly anarchical." It also gave birth to International Law and
the Law of War. International Law came from the idea that nations are equal
(even if one is overwhelmingly more powerful than the other).

Primitive Society and Ancient Law

Legal writing

Much of legal writing has been a restatement of the Roman thesis of natural
law. There are some exceptions: Montesquieu's Esprit des Lois stated that laws
come from local circumstance, that the nature of man is entirely plastic. He
underrates the stability of the race and the inherited qualities of individuals. He
doesn't realize that, in Maine's words, "An approximation of truth may be all
that is attainable with our present knowledge, but there is no reason for
thinking that [truth] is so remote or (what is the same thing) that it requires so
much future correction, as to [make our present knowledge] be entirely useless
and uninstructive." Bentham held that societies modify laws for general
expediency. Most legal theories have not examined antiquity; yet we have
always had evidence of early social states from three sources: accounts by
contemporaries of less advanced civilizations; records by primitive societies of
their history; and ancient law texts. Today we would have to add archaeology
and anthropology.

Patriarchy

From ancient law we get the Patriarchal Theory. In the earliest history of most
societies the Father ruled the entire family. Earliest states dealt with families,
not individuals. Adoption was used to include outsiders who wanted to join the
society. When recruitment by adoption stopped and outsiders were still drawn
to a society, the growth of aristocracy began. Although these societies were
very restrictive, adult males were able to withdraw from the family. Lineage
followed males only, as the Scottish clans still do. This implies reduced rights
for women. But after the Law of Nature became fashionable in Rome, women
began having equal rights. Dark ages reduced women's status again. Slavery
also is illustrative of primitive legal thinking. Slaves were considered members
of the family, because the slave was subject to the commands of the head of
the family. By contrast, English common law (which came later) regarded
slaves as chattel property.

The Early History of Property

Because Roman law referred to certain ways of obtaining property as natural,

people have assumed those were "natural" ways; but if we look further back
we see a different pattern. Similar to other aspects of ancient law, property
rights were held by family units. In India, villages (family groups) held
property in common; in Russia, the serf communities held property in
common.
Roman Property

Under Roman law, three elements were necessary for possession: occupancy,
adverse possession (holding for exclusive use), and prescription (keeping over
a period of time). Many legal systems divide property into classes, e.g., land
property (which for the Romans included slaves and work animals) versus
other property; ownership of land was usually harder to transfer. Over time,
easier methods of transfer are worked out. Sometimes there is a system of dual
ownership. For instance, in Rome, both the landlord and the tenant had rights
in the property. Under feudalism, both the lord and the liegeman had rights.

The Early History of Contract

The history of contract in other places is unknown. In Rome, the earliest

contracts were in the form of conveyances of land. Gradually, they began to be
different. Conveyances were given a new name. Contracts then developed into
four types. The least formal — consensual — was much like ours.

Constitution

The present constitution is drafted by a committee of seven members under the

Chairmanship of Dr. B R Ambedkar. The committee held 11 sessions and took
2 years, 11 months and 18 days to complete the draft of the Constitution of
India. It was finally adopted by the Constituent Assembly on November 26,
1949 and came into force on January 26, 1950.

According to the traditional classification followed by the political scientists,

constitutions cane be either unitary or federal. In a unitary constitution, the
powers of the Government are centralized in one government viz. the Central
Government. The Provinces are subordinates to the Centre. In a federal
constitution, on the other hand, there is a division of powers between the
Federal and the State Governments and both are independent in their own
spheres.
The Indian constitution is neither purely federal nor purely unitary, but it is a
combination of both.

Find notes on the Constitution of India on : http://examresource.in/general-

knowledge-quick-revision-notes/quick-revision-notes-constitution/

Indian Penal Code

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.

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.

The Indian Evidence Act

The Indian Evidence Act, originally passed in India by the Imperial

Legislative Council in 1872, during the British Raj, contains a set of rules and
allied issues governing admissibility of evidence in the Indian courts of law.

The Indian Evidence Act, identified as Act no. 1 of 1872, and called the Indian
Evidence Act, 1872, has eleven chapters and 167 sections, and came into force
1 September 1872. At that time, India was a part of the British Empire. Over a
period of more than 125 years since its enactment, the Indian Evidence Act has
basically retained its original form except certain amendments from time to
time.

Amendments:

The Criminal Law Amendment Act, 2005

Questions

1. Define tort

2. Compare vices and crime

3. Trace the history of Criminal Law

4. Write A Note On Constitution, Indian Penal Code and Indian Evidence

Act
BLOCK 2 - SALIENT FEATURES OF CONSTITUTION OF INDIA

Constitution of India and Its Supremacy

The Constitution of India is the supreme law of India. It lays down the
framework defining fundamental political principles, establishes the structure,
procedures, powers and duties of government institutions and sets out
fundamental rights, directive principles and the duties of citizens. It is the
longest written constitution of any sovereign country in the world. B. R.
Ambedkar, the chairman of the Drafting Committee, is widely considered to
be its chief architect.

It imparts constitutional supremacy and not parliamentary supremacy, as it is

not created by the Parliament but, by a constituent assembly, and adopted by
its people, with a declaration in its preamble. Parliament cannot override the
constitution.

It was adopted by the Constituent Assembly on 26 November 1949, and came

into effect on 26 January 1950. With its adoption, the Union of India became
the modern and contemporary Republic of India replacing the Government of
India Act, 1935 as the country's fundamental governing document. To ensure
constitutional autochthony, the framers of the constitution repealed the prior
Acts of the British Parliament via Article 395 of the constitution. India
celebrates its coming into force on 26 January each year, as Republic Day.

It declares India a sovereign, socialist, secular, democratic republic, assuring

its citizens of justice, equality, and liberty, and endeavours to promote
fraternity among them.

Constitution is the fundamental law of the Country and it has defined the
authority and jurisdiction of the all the three organs (Legislature, Executive,
Judiciary) of the Government. Hence, the parliament has to act within its
limits.
Though the Parliament can make laws and amend the Constitution, it cannot
alter its basic structure. There were differences between the Judiciary and the
parliament regarding this and a landmark judgement was delivered in
kesavanada bharathi case. Kesavananda Bharati v. State of Kerala.

Article 13 restricts parliament from making any laws contradicting with

Fundamental Rights. Page on constitution.org Once again, Constitution
supremacy is maintained.

Both SC and HC can strike down (Judicial Review) any laws made by
parliament if it it contravene with any provisions of the constitution. SC strikes
down ‘draconian’ Section 66A. This restricts the supremacy of the parliament.

Our Constitution has checks and balances to allow all the three organs to
operate independently and at the same time, to have reasonable limits so that
no one becomes so powerful.

History of Constitution of India

The Constitution of India came into force on 26 January 1950. Since then, the
day is celebrated as Republic Day. However, before 1950, 26 January was
called Independence Day. Since 26 January 1930, it was the day on which
thousands of people, in villages, in mohallas, in towns, in small and big groups
would take the independence pledge, committing themselves to the complete
independence of India from British rule. It was only fitting that the new
republic should come into being on that day, marking from its very inception
the continuity between the struggle for independence and the adoption of the
Constitution that made India a Republic.

The process of the evolution of the Constitution began many decades before
26 January 1950 and has continued unabated since. Its origins lie deeply
embedded in the struggle for independence from Britain and in the movements
for responsible and constitutional government in the princely states.
On 19 February 1946, the British government declared that they were sending
a Cabinet Mission to India to resolve the whole issue of freedom and
constitution making. The Cabinet Mission, which arrived in India on 24 March
1946, held prolonged discussions with Indian leaders. On 16 May 1946,
having failed to secure an agreement, it announced a scheme of its own. It
recognized that the best way of setting up a constitution-making machinery
would 'be by election based on adult franchise; but any attempt to introduce
such a step now would lead to a wholly unacceptable delay in the formulation
of the new constitution. Therefore, it was decided that the newly-elected
legislative assemblies of the provinces were to elect the members of the
Constituent Assembly on the basis of one representative for roughly one
million of the population. The Sikh and Muslim legislators were to elect their
quota based on their population.

It was only after this process had been completed that the representatives of all
the provinces and those of the princely states were to meet again to settle the
Constitution of the Union. The Congress responded to the Cabinet Mission
scheme by pointing out that in its view the Constituent Assembly, once it came
into being, would be sovereign. It would have the right to accept or reject the
Cabinet Mission's proposals on specifics.

The Constituent Assembly was to have 389 members. Of these, 296 were to be
from British India and 93 from the princely Indian states. Initially, however,
the Constituent Assembly comprised only of members from British India.
Elections of these were held in July-August 1946. Of the 210 seats in the
general category. Congress won 199. It also won 3 out of the 4 Sikh seats from
Punjab. The Congress also won 3 of the 78 Muslim seats and the 3 seats from
Coorg, Ajmer-Merwara, and Delhi. The total Congress tally was 208. The
Muslim League won 73 out of the 78 Muslim seats.
At 11 a.m., on 9 December 1946, the Constituent Assembly of India began its
first session. For all practical purposes, the chronicle of independent India
began on that historic day. Independence was now a matter of dates. The real
responsibility of deciding the constitutional framework within which the
government and people of India were to function had been transferred and
assumed by the Indian people with the convening of the Constituent
Assembly. Only a coup d'etat could now reverse this constitutional logic.

207 members attended the first session. The Muslim League, having failed to
prevent the convening of the Assembly, now refused to join its deliberations.
Consequently, the seventy-six Muslim members of the League stayed away
and the four Congress Muslim members attended the session. On 11
December, Dr Rajendra Prasad was elected the permanent Chairman; an office
later designated as President of the Assembly.

The third session was held from 28 April to 2 May 1947 and the League still
did not join. On 3 June, the Mountbatten Plan was announced which made it
clear that India was to be partitioned. With India becoming independent on 15
August 1947, the Constituent Assembly became a sovereign body, and also
doubled as the legislature for the new state. It was responsible for framing the
Constitution as well as making ordinary laws. The work was organized into
five stages: first, committees were asked to present reports on basic issues;
second, B.N. Rau, the constitutional adviser, prepared an initial draft on the
basis of the reports of the reports of these committees and his own research
into the constitutions of other countries; third, the drafting committee, chaired
by Dr Ambedkar presented a detailed draft constitution which was published
for public discussion and comments; fourth, the draft constitution was
discussed and amendments proposed; fifth, and lastly the constitution was
adopted.
Preamble

The Constitution of India begins with a Preamble which describes the nature
of the Indian State and the objectives it is committed to secure. K.M. Munshi
describes the Preamble as the political horoscope of the constitution. Thakur
Dass Bhargawa says Preamble is the most precious part and the soul of the
constitution.

The Preamble reads:

We, the People of India having solemnly resolved to constitute India into a
Sovereign, Socialist, Secular, Democratic, Republic and to secure to all its
citizens;

Justice, social, economic, political;

Liberty of thought, expression, belief, faith and worship;

Equality of status and opportunity; and to promote among them all;

Fraternity, assuring the dignity of the individual and the unity and integrity of
the nation ;

In our Constituent Assembly this, twenty sixth day of November 1949 do

hereby Adopt, Enact and Give to ourselves this Constitution.

The words ‘Socialist ‘Secular” and ‘Integrity were initially not there in the
Preamble. These were added by the 42nd Amendment (1976) of the
Constitution.

Preamble: Features:

I. The Source of Authority:

Popular Sovereignty:

The Preamble categorically accepts the principle of Popular Sovereignty. It

begins with the words: ‘We the people of India’. These words testify to the
fact that the people of India are’ the ultimate source of all authority. The
Government derives its power from them.

II. Nature of State:

The Preamble describes five cardinal features of the Indian state:

1. India is a Sovereign State:

The Preamble proclaims that India is a sovereign state. Such a

proclamation denotes the end of rule over India. It testifies to the fact that
India is no longer a dependency or colony or possession of British Crown.
As a sovereign independent state, India is free both internally and
externally to take her own decisions and implement these for her people
and territories.

2. India is a Socialist State:

In 1976, the Preamble was amended to include the word ‘Socialism’. It is

now regarded as a prime feature of the State. It reflects the fact that India
is committed to secure social, economic and political justice for all its
people. India stands for ending all forms of exploitation as well as for
securing equitable distribution of income, resources and wealth. This has
to be secured by peaceful, constitutional and democratic means. The term
‘India is a Socialist state’ really means, ‘India is a democratic socialist
state.’

3. India is a Secular State:

By the 42nd Amendment, the term ‘Secular’ was incorporated in the

Preamble. Its inclusion simply made the secular nature of the Indian
Constitution more explicit. As a state India gives special status to no
religion. There is no such thing as a state religion of India. India
guarantees equal freedom to all religions. All religions enjoy equality of
status and respect.
4. India is a Democratic State:

The Preamble declares India to be a Democratic State. The Constitution of

India provides for a democratic system. The authority of the government
rests upon the sovereignty of the people. The people enjoy equal political
rights. The people freely participate in the democratic process of self rule.

They elect their government. For all its acts, the government is responsible
before the people. The people can change their government through
elections. The government enjoys limited powers. It always acts under the
Constitution which represents the supreme will of the people.

5. India is a Republic:

The Preamble declares India to be a Republic. Negatively, this means that

India is not ruled by a monarch or a nominated head of state. Positively, it
means that India has an elected head of state who wields power for a fixed
term. President of India is the elected sovereign head of the state. He holds
a tenure of 5 years. Any Indian citizen can get elected as the President of
India.

III. Four Objectives of the Indian State:

The Preamble lists four cardinal objectives which are to be “secured by the
state for all its citizens”.

These are:

1. Justice:

India seeks to secure social, economic and political justice for its people.

i. Social Justice:

Social Justice means the absence of socially privileged classes in the

society and no discrimination against any citizen on grounds of
 caste, creed, colour, religion, sex or place of birth. India stands for
eliminating all forms of exploitations from the society.

ii. Economic Justice:

Economic Justice means no discrimination between man and man on

the basis of income, wealth and economic status. It stands for
equitable distribution of wealth, economic equality, end of
monopolistic control over means of production and distribution,
decentralisation of economic resources, and securing of adequate
opportunities to all for earning their livelihoods.

iii. Political Justice:

Political Justice means equal, free and fair opportunities to the people
for participation in the political process. It stands for the grant of
equal political rights to all the people without any discrimination.
The Constitution of India provides for a liberal democracy in which
all the people have the right and freedom to participate.

2. Liberty:

The Preamble declares liberty to be the second cardinal objective to be

secured. It includes liberty of thought, expression, belief, faith and
worship. The grant of Fundamental Rights (Part III) including the right to
freedom is designed to secure this objective. Liberty of faith and worship
is designed to strengthen the spirit of secularism.

3. Equality:

The Preamble declares Equality as the third objective of the Constitution.

Equality means two basic things:

i. Equality of status i.e. natural equality of all persons as equal and free
citizens of India enjoying equality before law.
 ii. Equality of opportunity i.e. adequate opportunities for all to develop.
For securing the equality of status and opportunity, the Constitution
of India grants and guarantees the fundamental Right to Equality.

4. Fraternity:

Promotion of Fraternity among the people is the fourth objective is to

promote Fraternity among all the people. Fraternity means the inculcation
of a strong feeling of spiritual and psychological unity among the people.
It is designed to secure dignity of the individual and unity and integrity of
the nation.

IV. Date of Adoption and Enactment:

In its final paragraph, the Preamble specifies the important historical fact that
the Constitution was adopted on 26 November, 1949. It was on this day that
the Constitution received the signatures of the President of the Constituent
Assembly and was declared passed.

V. Self-made Constitution:

The Constitution of India is an adopted, enacted and self-made constitution. It

was adopted and enacted by the Constituent Assembly acting as the elected
representative body of the people of India. The Preamble states the
philosophical foundations of the Constitution India and enumerates its
objectives.

It constitutes a Key for the interpretation of the Constitution. It is a part of the

Basic Structure of the Constitution. Through, it’s Preamble, the Constitution a
commits itself to Democracy, Republicanism, Socialism, Secularism,
Liberalism and Welfare State. The Preamble states the objectives which the
Constitution is committed to secure for all the people of India.
Citizenship

Citizenship constitutes the indispensable foundational principle of democratic

polity. According to Merriam-Webster Dictionary, a citizen means a person
owing allegiance to and entitled to the protection of a sovereign state.
Citizenship provides rights such as right to vote, and are also subjected to
duties or obligation, such as paying taxes. Citizenship is covered in Part II of
the constitution, within articles 5-11. It took an enormous amounts of drafts
and took two years to be finalized.

Part II of the Constitution of India (Articles 5-11) deals with the Citizenship of
India. Article 5 speaks about citizenship of India at the commencement of the
Constitution (Nov 26, 1949). Article 11 gave powers to the Parliament of India
to regulate the right of citizenship by law. Thus Citizenship Act 1955 was
enacted by the Parliament. It is an act to provide for the acquisition and
termination of Indian citizenship, and the same acts speaks about citizenship of
India after the commencement of the Constitution.

Article 5 : Citizenship at the commencement of the Constitution

At the commencement of this Constitution, every person who has his domicile
in the territory of India and

(a) who was born in the territory of India; or

(b) either of whose parents was born in the territory of India; or

(c) who has been ordinarily resident in the territory of India for not less
than five years immediately preceding such commencement, shall
be a citizen of India.
Article 6 : Rights of citizenship of certain persons who have migrated to
India from Pakistan

Notwithstanding anything in article 5, a person who has migrated to the

territory of India from the territory now included in Pakistan shall be deemed
to be a citizen of India at the commencement of this Constitution if –

(a) he or either of his parents or any of his grand-parents was born in India as
defined in the Government of India Act, 1935 (as originally enacted); and

(b) (i) in the case where such person has so migrated before the nineteenth
day of July, 1948, he has been ordinarily resident in the territory of
India since the date of his migration, or

(ii) in the case where such person has so migrated on or after the
nineteenth day of July, 1948, he has been registered as a citizen of
India by an officer appointed in that behalf by the Government of
the Dominion of India on an application made by him therefor to
such officer before the commencement of this Constitution in the
form and manner prescribed by that Government:

Provided that no person shall be so registered unless he has been resident in

the territory of India for at least six months immediately preceding the date of
his application.

Article 7 : Rights of citizenship of certain migrants to Pakistan

Notwithstanding anything in articles 5 and 6, a person who has after the first
day of March, 1947, migrated from the territory of India to the territory now
included in Pakistan shall not be deemed to be a citizen of India:

Provided that nothing in this article shall apply to a person who, after having
so migrated to the territory now included in Pakistan, has returned to the
territory of India under a permit for resettlement or permanent return issued by
or under the authority of any law and every such person shall for the purposes
of clause (b) of article 6 be deemed to have migrated to the territory of India
after the nineteenth day of July, 1948.

Article 8: Rights of citizenship of certain persons of Indian origin residing

outside India

Notwithstanding anything in article 5, any person who or either of whose

parents or any of whose grand-parents was born in India as defined in the
Government of India Act, 1935 (as originally enacted), and who is ordinarily
residing in any country outside India as so defined shall be deemed to be a
citizen of India if he has been registered as a citizen of India by the diplomatic
or consular representative of India in the country where he is for the time
being residing on an application made by him therefor to such diplomatic or
consular representative, whether before or after the commencement of this
Constitution, in the form and manner prescribed by the Government of the
Dominion of India or the Government of India.

Article 9: Persons voluntarily acquiring citizenship of a foreign State not

to be citizens

No person shall be a citizen of India by virtue of article 5, or be deemed to be a

citizen of India by virtue of article 6 or article 8, if he has voluntarily acquired
the citizenship of any foreign State.

Article 10 : Continuance of the rights of citizenship

Every person who is or is deemed to be a citizen of India under any of the

foregoing provisions of this Part shall, subject to the provisions of any law that
may be made by Parliament, continue to be such citizen.
Article 11: Parliament to regulate the right of citizenship by law

Nothing in the foregoing provisions of this Part shall derogate from the power
of Parliament to make any provision with respect to the acquisition and
termination of citizenship and all other matters relating to citizenship.

Fundamental Rights

Meaning of the Fundamental Rights : In every Democratic State, all the

citizens have got some rights for the development of life. These rights are
given to them by the constitution of that State.

They have the force of law behind them. No government can take them away.
And if, any government tries to do so, citizens can go to the court to get
justice. Only such rights are called 'Fundamental Rights'. A man's
development is not possible without these rights.

Importance of the Fundamental Rights:

The fundamental rights are of great importance as stated below :

1. These rights are necessary for the development of man's life. They
assure him of his physical, mental and moral development.

2. Without these rights, we cannot make our life happy and prosperous.

3. The importance of these rights lies in the fact that they have been
guaranteed by the Constitution of India. If any government tries to
snatch them away, we can go to the court to get justice.

Classification of Fundamental Rights: The citizens of India enjoy the

following fundamental rights:

1. Right to Equality (Article 14 to 18): According to this right all

citizens of the country are equal in eyes of law. Everyone has the
equal opportunity to get the government job. The untouchability has
been abolished. All other types of titles also have been abolished
except the educational degrees.
2. Right to Freedom (Article 19 to 22): According to this right every
Indian citizen enjoys the following seven fundamental freedoms :

(i) Freedom of speech and expression.

(ii) Freedom of assembly peacefully and without arms.

(iii) Freedom to form associations and unions.

(iv) Freedom of movement.

(v) Freedom to reside in any part of India.

(vi) Right to buy, keep and dispose of property.

(vii) Freedom of profession.

3. Right against Exploitation (Article 23 to 24): According to this right

no one can sell or purchase any man or woman, no one can take
work from others without paying the money for his labour and
children below 14 years cannot be employed in a factory or mine or
any other dangerous work.

4. Right to Freedom of Religion (Article 25 to 28): India has been

declared a secular State. The State itself has no religion. According
to this right, freedom of the religion has been granted to every
individual. Any one can follow, practise and preach any religion he
likes and has faith in the same.

5. Cultural and Educational Right (Article 29 to 30): According to this

right the people of any part of India, whose language or culture is
separate have the right to protect and develop it. Every citizen has
the right to get admission to any government aided educational
institution.

6. Right to Constitutional Remedies: The right to constitutional

remedies is a most important fundamental right for the citizens of
India. According to this right all the citizens have the right to move
 to the Supreme Court or to any of the High Court in India. With this
right the citizens are able to protect their all the fundamental rights.
While protecting the fundamental rights these courts can issue the
following writs:

(a) The Writ of Habeas Corpus.

(b) The Writ of Mandamus.

(c) The Writ of Quo Warranto.

(d) The Writ of Prohibition.

(e) The Writ of Ceritiorari.

Directive Principles of Policy

 To secure the right of all men and women to an adequate means of

livelihood;

 To ensure equal pay for equal work;

 To make effective provision for securing the right to work, education

and to public assistance in the event of unemployment old age,
sickness and disablement;

 To secure to workers a living wage, humane conditions of work, a

decent standard of life, etc;

 To ensure that the operation of the economic system does not result in
the concentration of wealth;

 To provide opportunities and facilities for children to develop in a

healthy manner;

 To provide free and compulsory education for all children up to 14

years of age;
  To promote educational and economic interest of scheduled castes,
scheduled tribes and other weaker sections;

 To organize village panchayats ;

 To separate judiciary from the executive;

 To promulgate a uniform civil code for the whole country;

 To protect national monuments ;

 To promote justice on a basis of equal opportunity;

 To provide free legal aid;

 To protect and improve environment and forests and wildlife;

 To promote international peace and security;

 To promulgate a uniform civil code for the whole country;

 To settle international disputes by arbitration.

Executive, Legislature and Judiciary

While framing the Indian constitution the Constituent Assembly was working
meticulously to frame a system of Governance in which the powers conferred
by the people won't be vested on a single person/institution. Hence they
devised the principle of 'Separation of powers' among the three pillars of
democracy !

 Executive

 Legislature

 Judiciary

Executive:

Prime Minister along with his council of ministers is called the Temporary
Executives. They implement the policies framed by the legislature. They are
elected for every five years and hence called as Temporary Executives. These
executives are drawn from the legislature.

Civil servants and other officers, staffs working under the government of India
are called the Permanent Executives. They are assigned the task of policy
implementation.

Legislature:

It is the policy making body of India. Each and every bill proposed by the
executive has to be initiated, discussed, reviewed, amended and voted upon in
the legislature. So ultimately it is the legislature that decides which bills should
be passed. The Executive can bypass the legislature through Ordinance. But
the validity of this ordinance is six months only and it has to be ratified by the
legislature.

Judiciary:

Judiciary is the adjudicating body.

Indian judiciary is an integrated and independent judiciary meaning Supreme

court is at the helm of the judiciary and all other courts comes below the
Supreme court and the Judiciary is independent of the executive and the
legislature.

Judiciary has the power to review any law passed by the Parliament and can
declare a law null and void if it violates the constitution.

Questions

1. What are the Salient features of the Constitution of India?

2. Explain the Seperation of Powers

3. Directive Principles of State Policy

4. Executive, Legislature and Judiciary

BLOCK 3 - SELECTED SECTIONS OF INDIAN PENAL CODE (IPC)

Abetment

Abetment is the term used to refer to the inducement, influencing or forcing a

person to do a crime. It can take place under the following methods.

1. Abetment by Instigation

2. Abetment by Conspiracy

3. Abetment by Intentional Aiding

Abettor is a person who abets another to commit an offence.

A French word combined of two words "a" and ."beter" to bait or excite an
animal.

A person abets the doing of a thing, who-

First: -Instigates any person to do that thing; or

Secondly: -Engages with one or more other person or persons in any

conspiracy for the doing of that thing, if an act or illegal omission takes place
in pursuance of that conspiracy, and in order to the doing of that thing; or

Thirdly: -Intentionally aids, by any act or illegal omission, the doing of that
thing.

Explanation1:- A person who, by wilful misrepresentation, or by wilful

concealment of a material fact which he is bound to disclose, voluntarily
causes or procures, or attempts to cause or procure, a thing to be done, is said
to instigate the doing of that thing.

Illustration

A, a public officer, is authorized by a warrant from a Court of Justice to

apprehend Z. B, knowing that fact and also that C is not Z, willfully represents
to A that C is Z, and thereby intentionally causes A to apprehend C. Here B
abets by instigation the apprehension of C.

Explanation 2: - Whoever, either prior to or at the time of the commission of

an act, does anything in order to facilitate the commission of that act, and
thereby facilitates the commission thereof, is said to aid the doing of that act.

Criminal Conspiracy

Criminal Conspiracy – Definition – Section 120A

When two or more persons agree to do, or cause to be done

(1) an illegal act, or

(2) an act which is not illegal by illegal means, such an agreement is

designated a criminal conspiracy.

Provided that no agreement except an agreement to commit an offense shall

amount to a criminal conspiracy unless some act besides the agreement is
done by one or more parties to such agreement in pursuance of thereof.

Though Conspiracy was initially was considered as only a civil wrong, but
later on it was brought under the ambit of Indian Criminal Law. Conspiracy
was not an offence under the Indian Penal Code (IPC) until the Criminal Law
Amendment Act of 1913 was passed which added the sections 120-A and 120-
B to the IPC.

However, the following definition has been suggested by the Law Commission
of India for Criminal Conspiracy

When two or more persons agree to commit an offense punishable with death,
imprisonment for life, or imprisonment of either description for a term of two
years or upwards, or to cause such an offense to be committed, the agreement
in designated a criminal conspiracy.
Explanation of this section- 120A

The main thing on which criminality lies, under this section, is the
“agreement”, which requires at least two persons. Here ‘Agreement’ is not
merely the stage of intention which is not culpable, but is much more than that.

It is a plan or a design to bring in action. The plot is an act in itself. It is not

necessary that all the members of the conspiracy must be aware of each detail
of the conspiracy, but it is essential and required that there has to be a common
design among them and every conspirator from his end of the design must
carry out into effect or execute the plan.

However, every conspirator will be aware of the major and important details of
the conspiracy if not the minutest details.

For example- If there is a conspiracy of committing a murder amongst some

persons, each of the conspirators will have to be aware of the major detail of
the conspiracy in order to execute the plan properly. Major details here would
be, who is to be murdered and how, when he is to be murdered and by whom,
even though the other minute details might not be known to each of them.

Punishment for Criminal Conspiracy – Section 120B

1) Whoever is a party to a criminal conspiracy to commit an offence

punishable with death, imprisonment for life or rigorous imprisonment for
a term of two years or upwards, shall, where no express provision is made
in this Code for the punishment of such a conspiracy, be punished in the
same manner as if he had abetted such offence.

2) Whoever is a party to a criminal conspiracy other than a criminal

conspiracy to commit an offence punishable as aforesaid shall be punished
with imprisonment of either description for a term not exceeding six
months, or with fine or with both.
Offences against the State

Section 121: Waging or Attempting to Wage a War against the State

Whoever wages war against the Government of India, or attempts to wage

such war, or abets the waging of such war, shall be punished with death, or
imprisonment for life and shall also be liable to fine.

Illustration

A joins an insurrection against the Government of India. A has committed the

offence defined in this section.

Section 121A: Conspiracy to commit offences punishable by Sec121

Whoever within or without India conspires to commit any of the offences

punishable by section 121, or conspires to overawe, by means of criminal
force or the show of criminal force, the Central Government or any State
Government , shall be punished with imprisonment for life, or with
imprisonment of either description which may extend to ten years, and shall
also be liable to fine.

Explanations

To constitute a conspiracy under this section, it is not necessary that any act or
illegal omission shall take place in pursuance thereof.

Section 124A : Sedition

Whoever by words, either spoken or written, or by signs, or by visible

representation, or otherwise, brings or attempts to bring into hatred or
contempt, or excites or attempts to excite disaffection towards, the
Government established by law in India, a shall be punished with
imprisonment for life, to which fine may be added, or with imprisonment
which may extend to three years, to which fine may be added, or with fine.
Explanations

1) The expression “disaffection” includes disloyalty and all feelings of

enmity.

2) Comments expressing disapprobation of the measures of the Government

with a view to obtain their alteration by lawful means, without exciting or
attempting to excite hatred, contempt or disaffection, do not constitute an
offence under this section.

3) Comments expressing disapprobation of the administrative or other action

of the Government without exciting or attempting to excite hatred,
contempt or disaffection, do not constitute an offence under this section.

Offences against public tranquility

Offences against public tranquility

Section 141: Unlawful Assembly

1) An assembly of five or more persons is designated an “unlawful

assembly”, if the common object of the persons composing that assembly
is:

2) To overawe by criminal force, or show of criminal force, 1the Central or

any State Government or Parliament or the Legislature of any State, or
any public servant in the exercise of the lawful power of such public
servant; or

3) To resist the execution of any law, or of any legal process; or

4) To commit any mischief or criminal trespass, or other offence; or

5) By means of criminal force, or show of criminal force, to any person to

take or obtain possession of any property, or to deprive any person of the
enjoyment of a right of way, or of the use of water or other incorporeal
 right of which he is in possession or enjoyment, or to enforce any right or
supposed right; or

6) By means of criminal force, or show of criminal force, to compel any

person to do what he is not legally bound to do, or to omit to do what he is
legally entitled to do.

Explanations

1) An assembly which was not unlawful when it assembled, may

subsequently become an unlawful assembly.

Section 146: Rioting

Whenever force or violence is used by an unlawful assembly, or by any

member thereof, in prosecution of the common object of such assembly, every
member of such assembly is guilty of the offence of rioting.

Section147: Punishment for Rioting

Whoever is guilty of rioting, shall be punished with imprisonment of either

description for a term which may extend to two years, or with fine, or with
both.

Section 148: Rioting with deadly weapon

Whoever is guilty of rioting, being armed with a deadly weapon or with

anything which, used as a weapon of offence, is likely to cause death, shall be
punished with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend
to three years, or with fine, or with both

Section 159: Affray

When two or more persons, by fighting in a public place, disturb the public
peace, they are said to “commit an affray”.

Section 160: Punishment for committing Affray

Whoever commits an affray, shall be punished with imprisonment of either
description for a term which may extend to one month, or with fine which may
extend to one hundred rupees, or with both.

Offences relating to Religion

Section 295: Injuring or defiling a place of worship with intent to insult the
religion of any class

Whoever destroys, damages or defiles any place of worship, or any object held
sacred by any class of persons, with the intention of thereby insulting the
religion of any class of persons, or with the knowledge that any class of
persons is likely to consider such destruction, damage or defilement as an
insult to their religion, shall be punished with imprisonment for a term which
may extend to 5 years, or with fine, or with both.

Section 296: Disturbing a religious assembly

Whoever voluntarily causes disturbance to any assembly lawfully engaged in

the performance of religious worship or religious ceremonies, shall be
punished with imprisonment for a term which may extend to 3 years, or with
fine, or with both.

Section 297: Trespassing on burial places, etc.

Whoever, with the intention of wounding the feelings of any person, or of

insulting the religion of any person, or with the knowledge that the feelings of
any person are likely to be wounded, or that the religion of any person is likely
to be insulted thereby, commits any trespass in any place of worship or on any
place of sepulture or any place set apart for the performance of funeral rites, or
as a depository for the remains of the dead, or offers any indignity to any
human corpse, or causes disturbance to any persons assembled for the
performance of funeral ceremonies, shall be punished with imprisonment for a
term which may extend to 3 years, or with fine, or with both.
Section 298: Uttering words, etc., with deliberate intent to wound the religious
or racial feelings of any person

Whoever, with deliberate intention of wounding the religious or racial feelings

of any person, utters any word or makes any sound in the hearing of that
person, or makes any gesture in the sight of that person, or places any object in
the sight of that person, or causes any matter however represented to be seen
or heard by that person, shall be punished with imprisonment for a term which
may extend to 3 years, or with fine, or with both.

Section 298A: Promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of

religion or race and doing acts prejudicial to maintenance of harmony
Whoever
a. By words, either spoken or written, or by signs or by visible
representations or otherwise, knowingly
b. Promotes or attempts to promote, on grounds of religion or race,
disharmony or feelings of enmity, hatred or ill-will between different
religious or racial groups; or
b. Commits any act which he knows is prejudicial to the maintenance of
harmony between different religious or racial groups and which disturbs
or is likely to disturb the public tranquility,
c. Shall be punished with imprisonment for a term which may extend to 3
years, or with fine, or with both.

Offences affecting the Human Body

Murder

1. MURDER-DEFINITION & MEANING OF MURDER-SECTION- 300

Except in the case hereinafter expected, Culpable Homicide is Murder, if the

act by which the death is caused is done with the intention of causing the death
of the person, or-
Secondly- If it is done with the intention of causing such type of bodily injury
as the offender knows to be likely to cause the death of the person to whom the
harm of such injury is caused, or-

Thirdly- 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-

Fourthly- If the person committing the act knows that it is so imminently

dangerous that it must, in all probability, cause the 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.

 Illustrations-

1. A shoots Z with the intention of killing him. Z dies in consequence. A

commits murder.

2. A intentionally gives Z a sword-cut or club-wound sufficient to cause the

death of a man in the ordinary course of nature. Z dies in consequence.
Here, A is guilty of murder, although he may not have intended to cause
Z’s death.

3. A without any excuse fires a loaded cannon into a crowd of persons and
kills one of them. A is guilty of murder, although he may not have had a
premeditated design to kill any particular individual.

Exceptions of Murder-

Exception-1- When Culpable homicide is not a murder-

Culpable homicide is not a murder when the offender, whilst deprived of the
power of self-control by grave and sudden provocation, causes the death of the
person who gave the provocation or causes the death of any other person by
mistake or accident.
The above exception is subject to the following provisos-

First- That the provocation is not sought or voluntarily provoked by the

offender as an excuse for killing. or doing harm to any person.

Secondly- That the provocation is not given by anything done in obedience to

the law, or by a public servant in the lawful exercise of the powers of such
public servant.

Thirdly- That the provocation is not given by anything done in the lawful
exercise of the right of private defense.

Exception 2-

Culpable homicide is not murder if the offender, in the exercise of good faith
of the right of private defense of a person or property, exceeds the power given
to him by law and causes the death of that person against whom he is
exercising such right of defense without premeditation, and without any
intention of doing more harm than is necessary for the purpose of such
defense.

Illustration-

Z attempts to horsewhip A, not in such a manner as to cause grievous hurt to

A. A draws out a pistol. Z persists in the assault. A believing in good faith that
he can by no other means prevent himself from being horsewhipped, shoots Z
dead. A has not committed murder, but only culpable homicide.

Exception 3-

Culpable homicide is not murder if the offender, being a public servant or

aiding. a public servant acting for the advancement of public justice, exceeds
the powers given to him by law, and causes death by doing an act which he, in
good faith, believes to be lawful and necessary for the due discharge of his
duty as such public servant and without ill-will towards the person whose
death is caused.

Exception 4.-

Culpable homicide is not murder if it is committed without premeditation in a

sudden fight in the heat of passion upon a sudden quarrel and without the
offender having taken undue advantage or acted in a cruel or unusual manner.

Explanation- It is immaterial in such cases which party offers the provocation

or commits the first assault.

Exception 5-

Culpable homicide is not murder when the person whose death is caused,
being above the age of eighteen years, suffers death or takes the risk of death
with his own consent.

Illustration

A, by instigation, voluntarily causes, Z, a person under eighteen years of age to

commit suicide. Here, on account of Z’s youth, he was incapable of giving
consent to his own death; A has therefore abetted murder.

2. PUNISHMENT FOR MURDER- SECTION 302-

A Person guilty with the crime of Murder shall be punished with death or
imprisonment for life and shall also be liable to fine.

Suicide

In India, attempt to commit suicide is punishable u/s 309 of the Indian Penal
Code. Section 309 of the Indian Penal Code thus reads as:

“Whoever attempts to commit suicide and does any act towards the
commission of such offence shall be punished with simple imprisonment for a
term which may extend to one year or with fine or with both.”
The above section has been the subject of controversy in many cases,
especially over the last two decades. Most notably, the subject was under
scrutiny in the cases of P. Rathinam v. Union of India and Smt. Gian Kaur v.
State of Punjab. In the former case, the Division Bench of two judges of the
Supreme Court held section 309 as ultra vires of the fundamental rights
enshrined in Article 21 of the Constitution. In the latter case, a Division Bench
of three judges of the Supreme Court had to decide correctiveness of P.
Rathinam. The earlier decision of Supreme Court in P. Rathinam was
overruled and the court held that section 309 was neither violative of Article
21 nor Article 14 of the Constitution.

It is also important to note that the Law Commission of India has also
recommended decriminalizing of attempt to commit suicide in its 42nd and
210th reports. So far, the law on attempt to commit suicide is still based on the
ruling of Supreme Court in Gian Kaur.

Suicide

Interestingly, the term ‘suicide’ is not defined in the Indian Penal Code.
However, a quick reference of Clift v. Schwabe gives an apt definition of this
term, “to ‘commit suicide’ is for a person voluntarily do an act (or, as it is
submitted, to refrain from taking bodily sustenance), for the purpose of
destroying his own life, being conscious of that probable consequence, and
having, at the time, ‘sufficient mind to will the destruction of life.” Emphases
here are on the words ‘voluntary act’ and ‘being conscious of that
consequence.’ This means intention is the essential ingredient. It can be
observed that, while, there is no punishment for the completed act but the law
makes sure that the individuals who are not able to accomplish the act are
punished. This implies a person who is highly depressed or diseased, someone
who has lost all hope to live, decides to end his life and his attempt is
unsuccessful, the penal procedures would make sure that he is punished for the
unsuccessful attempt.

One perspective on the above illustration would evoke sympathy towards the
survivor; such a person needs help and counseling. He needs emotional
support. The other perspective is that punishment for suicide would act as
deterrence. This aspect would also be dealt with further in the paper when the
number of suicides in the recent years is analyzed.

Another argument is that a person accused for offence such as human

trafficking, drug trafficking or murder and other crimes, tries to end his life by
committing suicide, this provision would make sure that he is tried under this
section atleast if he escapes the other charges. But is this reason strong enough
to advocate continuing with section 309 in Indian Penal Code?

Further, declaring attempt to commit suicide as a crime presents another

problem. In countries like United States of America and Canada, practice of
using the words ‘died by suicide’ rather than ‘committed suicide’ is slowly
developing. The reason for that is, crimes are committed by criminals and
suicide is not a crime (not even attempt to commit suicide is a crime in these
countries). Therefore, ‘committed suicide’ and similarly ‘attempt to commit
suicide’ are not appropriate terms in modern times.

Kidnap

Kidnapping and Abduction for different purpose( section 363 to 373) : As per
section 363talks about punishments for kidnapping Whoever kidnaps any
person from India or from lawful guardianship, shall be punished with
imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to seven
years, and shall also be liable to fine. In Chandrakala v. Vipin Menon. The
supreme court declined to convict the father, who was accused of kidnapping
his minor daughter who was living with her maternal grand father due to
strained relationship between her parents, on the ground that the accused was
the natural guardian of the child.

And as per section 359 defined as kidnapping, Kidnapping is of two type:

kidnapping from India, and kidnapping from lawful guardianship.

As per section 360 talks about kidnapping from India and section 361 talks
about Kidnapping from lawful guardianship. In State of Haryana v. Raja Ram,
in this case the prosecutrix was a young girl of 14 years. She became friendly
with a person called Jai Narain, aged 32, who was a frequent visitor. When Jai
narain was forbidden by prosecutrix’s father from coming home, he sent
massage through a Raja ram. She was constantly persuaded to leave the house
and come with jai Narain, who would keep her in a lot of material comfort.
One night, the prosecutrix arranged to meet Jai Narain in his house and went to
meet him where she was seduced by Jai Narain.

Held: It was held that Jai Narain was liable under section 376 for rape and
Raja Ram under section 366.

As per section 364 talks about punishment, it means this section provides that
Kidnapping or abducting in order to murder, it means Whoever Kidnaps or
abducts any person in order that such person may be murdered or may be so
disposed of as to be put in danger of being murdered, shall be punished with
imprisonment for life or rigorous imprisonment for a term which may extend
to ten years, and shall also be liable to fine.

Illustration: ‘A’ kidnaps ‘Z’ from India, intending or knowing it to be likely

that ‘Z’ may be sacrificed to an Idol. ‘A’ has committed offence in this
section.

So, this section apply if a person has been abducted with intention that he be
murdered. (In Upendra Nath v. Emperor.) The actual muder of the person is
not required. It is sufficient that there was abduction with intent to murder.
As per 364A. Kidnapping for ransom, etc.—Whoever kidnaps or abducts any
person or keeps a person in detention after such kidnapping or abduction and
threatens to cause death or hurt to such person, or by his conduct gives rise to a
reasonable apprehension that such person may be put to death or hurt, or
causes hurt or death to such person in order to compel the Government or any
foreign State or international inter-governmental organization or any other
person to do or abstain from doing any act or to pay a ransom, shall be
punishable with death, or imprisonment for life, and shall also be liable to fine.

As per section 365Kidnapping or abducting with intent secretly and

wrongfully to confine person.- Whoever kidnaps or abducts any person with
intent to cause that person to be secretly and wrongfully confined, shall be
punished with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend
to seven years, and shall also be liable to fine.

As per section 366 kidnapping, abducting or inducing woman to compel her

marriage, etc.-

Whoever kidnaps or abducts any woman with intent that she may be
compelled, or knowing it to be likely that she will be compelled, to marry any
person against her will, or in order that she may be forced or seduced to illicit
intercourse, or knowing it to be likely that she will be forced or seduced to
illicit intercourse shall be punished with imprisonment of either description for
a term which may extend to ten years, and shall also be liable to fine; 1[and
whoever, by means of criminal intimidation as defined in this Code or of abuse
of authority or any other method of compulsion, induces any woman to go
from any place with intent that she may be, or knowing that it is likely she will
be, forced or seduced to illicit intercourse with another person shall be
punished as aforesaid.

As per section 366A procreation of minor girl.—Whoever, by any means

whatsoever, induces any minor girl under the age of eighteen years to go from
any place or to do any act with intent that such girl may be, or knowing that it
is likely that she will be, forced or seduced to illicit intercourse with another
person shall be punishable with imprisonment which may extend to ten years,
and shall also be liable to fine.

As per section 366B Importation of girl from foreign country- Whoever

imports into2[India] from any country outside India or from the State of
Jammu and Kashmir] any girl under the age of twenty-one years with intent
that she may be, or knowing it to be likely that she will be, forced or seduced
to illicit intercourse with another person, shall be punishable with
imprisonment which may extend to ten years and shall also be liable to fine.

As per section 367 Kidnapping or abducting in order to subject person to

grievous hurt, slavery, etc.- Whoever kidnaps or abducts any person in order
that such person may be subjected, or may be so disposed of as to be put in
danger of being subject to grievous hurt, or slavery, or to unnatural lust of any
person, or knowing it to be likely that such person will be so subjected or
disposed of, shall be punished with imprisonment of either description for a
term which may extend to ten years, and shall also be liable to fine.

As per section368 Wrongfully concealing or keeping in confinement,

kidnapped or abducted person- Whoever, knowing that any person has been
kidnapped or has been abducted, wrongfully conceals or confines such person,
shall be punished in the same manner as if he had kidnapped or abducted such
person with the same intention or knowledge, or for the same purpose as that
with or for which he conceals or detains such person in confinement.

As per section 369 Kidnapping or abducting child under ten years with intent
to steal from its person- Whoever kidnaps or abducts any child under the age
of ten years with the intention of taking dishonestly any movable property
from the person of such child, shall be punished with imprisonment of either
description for a term which may extend to seven years, and shall also be
liable to fine.

As per section 370 Buying or disposing of any person as slaves– Whoever

imports, export, removes, buys, sells or disposes of any person as a slave, or
accepts, receives or detains against his will any person as slave, shall be
punished with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend
to seven years and shall also be liable to fine.

As per section 371 talks about Habitual dealing in slaves– Whoever habitually
imports, exports, removes, buys, sells, traffics or deals in slaves, shall be
punished with 1[imprisonment for life] or with imprisonment of either
description for a term not exceeding the years, and shall also be liable to fine.

As per section 372selling minor for purpose of prostitution, etc.-Whoever

sells, lets to hire, or otherwise disposes of any person under the age of eighteen
years with intent that such person shall at any age be employed or used for the
purpose of prostitution or illicit intercourse with any person or for any
unlawful and immoral purpose, or knowing it to be likely that such person will
at any age be] employed or used for any such purpose, shall be punished with
imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to ten years,
and shall be liable to fine.

Explanation I

When a female under the age of eighteen years sold, let for hire, or otherwise
disposed of to a prostitute or to any person who keeps or manages a brothel,
the person so disposing of such female shall, until the contrary is proved, be
presumed to have disposed of her with the intent that she shall be used for the
purpose of prostitution.
Explanation II

For the purposes of this section “illicit intercourse” means sexual intercourse
between persons not united by marriage or by any union or tie which, though
not amounting to a marriage, is recognized by the personal law or custom of
the community to which they belong or, where they belong to different
communities, of both such communities, as constituting between them a quasi
-marital relation.

As per section 373 talks about Buying minor for the purpose of prostitution
etc.- Whoever buys, hires or otherwise obtains possession of any 1[person
under the age of eighteen years with intent that such person shall at any age be
employed or used for the purpose of prostitution or illicit intercourse with any
person or for any unlawful and immoral purpose, of knowing it to be likely
that such person will at any age be] employed or used for any purpose, shall be
punished with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend
to ten years, and shall also be liable to fine.

Explanation I Any prostitute or any person keeping or manag¬ing a brothel,

who buys, hires or otherwise obtains possession of a female under the age of
eighteen years shall, until the con¬trary is proved, be presumed to have
obtained possession of such female with the intent that she shall be used for
the purpose of prostitution.

1. Homicide for dowry, dowry deaths or their attempts discussed under

section 302 and 304-B and also under section 174(3) of CrPc:

As per section 304B. Dowry death.(1) Where the death of a woman is caused
by any burns or bodily injury or occurs otherwise than under normal
circumstances within seven years of her marriage and it is shown that soon
before her death she was subjected to cruelty or harassment by her husband or
any relative of her husband for, or in connection with, any demand for dowry,
such death shall be called “dowry death”, and such husband or relative shall be
deemed to have caused her death.

Explanation– For the purpose of this sub-section, “dowry” shall have the same
meaning as in section 2 of the Dowry Prohibition Act, 1961 (28 of 1961). (2)
Whoever commits dowry death shall be punished with imprisonment for a
term which shall not be less than seven years but which may extend to
imprisonment for life.

As per section 302 talks about punishment for murder it means Whoever
commits murder shall be punished with death, or [imprisonment for life] and
shall also be liable to fine.

1. Sexual Harassment : As per section 509 talks about Word gesture or act
intended to insult the modesty of a woman.

 Importation of girls (up to 21yearsage): section 366B of IPC talks

about Importation of girls.

2. Torture, both mental and physical: As per section 498-A talks about
Torture, both mental and physical.

Rape

INDIAN PENAL CODE, 1860:

Rape (section 375-377)

Sexual offences: as per section 375 to 377 of IPC talks about sexual offences
as per section 375 defined as Rape, this term is derived from the Laitn term
rapio, which means to seize. Thus rape literally means a forcible seizure and
that is essential characteristics of offence. We can also say that intercourse
with a women without her consent.
As per section 375 : A man is said to commit “rape” who, except in the case
hereinafter excepted, has sexual intercourse with woman under circumstances
falling under any of the six following descriptions:-

Firstly– Against her will.

Secondly– Without her consent.

Thirdly– With her consent, when her consent has been obtained by putting her
or any PS 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 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.

Sixth- With or without her consent, when she is under age of sixteen years.

Explanation: Penetration is sufficient to constitute the sexual intercourse

necessary to the offence of rape.

Exception: Sexual intercourse by man with her consent his own wife, the wife
not being under fifteen years of age, is not rape.

Essentials ingredients of section of 375:

 There must be sexual intercourse with a woman by a man;

 Such a sexual intercourse should be under any of the following
circumstances:
 Against her will;

 Without her consent;

 With consent obtained under fear of death or hurt;
 With consent given under misconception of fact that the man is her
husband;
 Consent given by reason of unsoundness of mind, intoxication or under
influence of any stupefying or unwholesome substance;
 With women under 16 years of age, with or without consent.

Punishment for Rape:

Section 376. Punishment for rape.(1) Whoever, except in the cases provided
for by sub-section (2), commits rape shall be punished with imprisonment of
either description for a term which shall not be less than seven years but which
may be for life or for a term which may extend to ten years and shall also be
liable to fine unless the woman raped is his own wife and is not under twelve
years of age, in which cases, he shall be punished with imprisonment of either
description for a term which may extend to two years or with fine or with both:

Provided that the court may, for adequate and special reasons to be mentioned
in the judgment, impose a sentence of imprisonment for a term of less than
seven years.

(2) Whoever:

(a) being a police officer commits rape-

   Within the limits of the police station to which he is appointed; or

   In the premises of any station house whether or not situated in the

police station to which he is appointed; or

   On a woman is his custody or in the custody of a police officer

subordinate to him; or

(b) Being a public servant, takes advantage of his official position and
commits rape on a woman in his custody as such public servant or in
the custody of a public servant subordinate to him; or
 (c) Being on the management or on the staff of a jail, remand home or
other place of custody established by or under any law for the time
being in force or of a woman’s or children’s institution takes
advantage of his official position and commits rape on any inmate of
such jail, remand home, place or institution; or

(d) Being on the management or on the staff of a hospital, takes

advantage of his official position and commits rape on a woman in
that hospital; or

(e) Commits rape on a woman knowing her to be pregnant; or

(f) Commits rape when she is under twelve years of age; or

(g) Commits gang rape,

Shall be punished with rigorous imprisonment for a term which shall not be
less than ten years but which may be for life and shall also be liable to fine:

Provided that the court may, for adequate and special reasons to be mentioned
in the judgment, impose a sentence of imprisonment of either description for a
term of less than ten years.

Explanation 1 Where a woman is raped by one or more in a group of persons

acting in furtherance of their common intention, each of the persons shall be
deemed to have committed gang rape within the meaning of this sub-section.

Explanation 2 “Women’s or children’s institution “means an institution,

whether called an orphanage or home for neglected women or children or a
widows’ home or by any other name, which is established and maintained for
the reception and care of women or children

Explanation 3 “Hospital” means the precincts of the hospital and includes the
precincts of any institution for the reception and treatment of persons during
convalescence or of persons requiring medical attention or rehabilitation.
Offences against Property

Section 378: Theft

Whoever, intending to take dishonestly any movable property out of the

possession of any person without that person’ consent, moves that property in
order to such taking, is said to commit theft.

Explanations

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.

2. A moving effected by the same act which effects the severance may be a
theft.

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.

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.

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.

Section 379: Punishment for Theft

Whoever commits theft shall be punished with imprisonment of either

description for a term which may extend to three years, or with fine, or with
both.
Section 383:Extortion

Whoever intentionally puts any person in fear of any injury to that person, or
to any other, and thereby dishonestly induces the person so put in fear to
deliver to any person any property, or valuable security or anything signed or
sealed which may be converted into a valuable security, commits “extortion”.

Illustrations

a. A threatens to publish a defamatory libel concerning Z unless Z gives him

money. He thus induces Z to give him money. A has committed extortion.

b. A threatens Z that he will keep Z’ child in wrongful confinement, unless Z

will sign and deliver to A a promissory note binding Z to pay certain
monies to A to Z sings and delivers the note. A has committed extortion.

c. A threatens to send club-men to plough up Z’ field unless Z will sign and

deliver to B a bond binding Z under a penalty to deliver certain produce to
B, and thereby induces Z to sign and deliver the bond. A has committed
extortion.

d. A, by putting Z in fear of grievous hurt, dishonestly induces Z to sign or

affix his seal to a blank paper and deliver it to A. Z sings and delivers the
paper to A. Here, as the paper so signed may be converted into a valuable
security A has committed extortion.

Section 384: Punishment for Extortion

Whoever commits extortion shall be punished with imprisonment of either

description for a term which may extend to three years, or with fine, or with
both.

Section 390: Robbery

In all robbery there is either theft or extortion.

When theft is robbery – Theft is “robbery” if, in order to the committing of the
theft, or in committing the theft, or in carrying away or attempting to carry
away property obtained by the theft, the offender, for that end, voluntarily
causes or attempts to cause to any person death or hurt or wrongful restraint, or
fear of instant death or of instant hurt, or of instant wrongful restraint.

When extortion is robbery – Extortion is “robbery” if the offender, at the time

of committing the extortion, is in the presence of the person put in fear, and
commits the extortion by putting that person in fear of instant death, of instant
hurt, or of instant wrongful restraint to that person or to some other person,
and, by so putting in fear, induces the person, so put in fear then and there to
deliver up the thing extorted.

Explanations

 The offender is said to be present if he is sufficiently near to put the

other person in fear of instant death, of instant hurt, or of instant
wrongful restraint.

Illustrations

a. A holds Z down, and fraudulently takes Z’ money and jewels from Z’

clothes, without Z’ consent. Here A has committed theft, and, in order to
the committing of that theft, has voluntarily caused wrongful restraint to
Z. A has therefore committed robbery.

b. A meets Z on the high road, shows a pistol, and demands Z’ purse. Z, in

consequence, surrenders his purse. Here A has extorted the purse from Z
by putting him in fear of instant hurt, and being at the time of committing
the extortion in his presence. A has therefore committed robbery.

c. A meets Z and Z’ child on the high road. A takes the child, and threatens
to filing it down a precipice, unless Z delivers his purse. Z, in
 consequence, delivers his purse. Here A has extorted the purse from Z, by
causing Z to be in fear of instant hurt to the child who is there present. A
has therefore committed robbery on Z.

d. A obtains property from Z by saying- “Your child is in the hands of my

gang, and will be put to death unless you send us ten thousand rupees”.
This is extortion, and punishable as such: but it is not robbery, unless Z is
put in fear of the instant death of his child.

Section 392: Punishment for Robbery

Whoever commits robbery shall be punished with rigorous imprisonment for a

term which may extend to ten years, and shall also be liable to fine; and, if the
robbery be committed on the highway between sunset and sunrise, the
imprisonment may be extended to fourteen years.

Section 391: Dacoity

When five or more persons conjointly commit or attempt to commit a robbery,

or where the whole number of persons conjointly committing or attempting to
commit a robbery, and persons present and aiding such commission or attempt,
amount to five or more, every person so committing, attempting or aiding, is
said to commit “dacoity”.

Section 395: Punishment for Dacoity

Whoever commits dacoity shall be punished with imprisonment for life, or

with rigorous imprisonment for a term which may extend to ten years, and
shall also be liable to fine.

Section 463: Forgery

Whoever makes any false document or part of a document with intent to cause
damage or injury, to the public or to any person, or to support any claim or
title, or to cause any person to part with property, or to enter into any express
or implied contract, or with intent to commit fraud or that fraud may be
committed, commits forgery.

Section 465:Punishment for Forgery

Whoever commits forgery shall be punished with imprisonment of either

description for a term which may extend to two years, or with fine, or with
both.
Section 464: Making False Document

A person is said to make a false document:

 Who dishonestly or fraudulently makes, signs, seals or executes a

document or part of a document, or makes any mark denoting the
execution of a document, with the intention of causing it to be
believed that such document or part of a document was made, signed,
sealed or executed by or by the authority of a person by whom or by
whose authority he knows that it was not made, signed, sealed or
executed, or at a time at which he knows that it was not made, signed,
sealed or executed; or

 Who, without lawful authority, dishonestly or fraudulently, by

cancellation or otherwise, alters a document in any material part
thereof, after it has been made or executed either by himself or by any
other person, whether such person be living or dead at the time of
such alteration; or

 Who dishonestly or fraudulently causes any person to sign, seal,

execute or alter a document, knowing that such person by reason of
unsoundness of mind or intoxication cannot, or that by reason of
deception practised upon him, he does not know the contents of the
document or the nature of the alteration
Illustrations

 A has a letter of credit upon B for rupees 10,000, written by Z. A, in

order to defraud B, adds cipher to the 10,000, and makes the sum
1,00,000 intending that it may be believed by B that Z so wrote the
letter. A has committed forgery.

 A without Z’ authority, affixes Z’ seal to a document purporting to be

a conveyance of an estate from Z to A, with the intention of selling
the estate to B and thereby of obtaining from B the purchase-money.
A has committed forgery.

 A picks up a cheque on a banker signed by B, payable to bearer, but

without any sum having been inserted in the cheque. A fraudulently
fills up the cheque by inserting the sum of ten thousand rupees. A
commits forgery.

 A leaves with B, his agent, a cheque on a banker, signed by A,

without inserting the sum payable and authorizes B to fill up the
cheque by inserting a sum not exceeding ten thousand rupees for the
purpose of making certain payments. B fraudulently fills up the
cheque by inserting the sum of twenty thousand rupees. B commits
forgery.

 A draws a bill of exchange on himself in the name of B without B’

authority, intending to discount it as a genuine bill with a banker and
intending to take up the bill on its maturity. Here, as A draws the bill
with intent to deceive the banker by leading him to suppose that he
had the security of B, and thereby to discount the bill, A is guilty of
forgery.

 Z’ will contains these words-“I direct that all my remaining property

be equally divided between A, B and C.” A dishonestly scratches out
 B’ name, intending that it may be believed that the whole was left to
himself and C. A has committed forgery.

 A endorses a Government promissory note and makes it payable to

Z< for his order by writing on the bill the words “Pay to Z or his
order” and signing the endorsement. B dishonestly erases the words
“Pay to Z or his order”, and thereby converts the special endorsement
into a blank endorsement. B commits forgery.

 A sells and conveys an estate to Z. A afterwards, in order to defraud Z

of his estate, executes a conveyance of the same estate to B, dated six
months earlier than the date of the conveyance to Z, intending it to be
believed that he had conveyed the estate to B before he conveyed it to
Z. A has committed forgery.

 Z dictates his will to A. A intentionally writes down a different

legatee named by Z, and by representing to Z that he has prepared the
will according to his instructions, induces Z to sign the will. A has
committed forgery.

 A writes a letter and signs it with B’ name without B’ authority,

certifying that A is a man of good character and in distressed
circumstances from unforeseen misfortune, intending by means of
such letter to obtain alms from Z and other persons. Here, as A made
a false document in order to induce Z to part with property, A has
committed forgery.

 A without B’ authority writes a letter and signs it in B’ name

certifying to A’ character, intending thereby to obtain employment
under Z. A has committed forgery inasmuch as he intended to deceive
Z by the forged certificate, and thereby to induce Z to enter into an
express or implied contract for service.
Explanations

 A man’s signature of his own name may amount to forgery.

Illustrations

 A signs his own name to a bill of exchange, intending that it may be

believed that the bill was drawn by another person of the same name.
A has committed forgery.

 A writes the word “accepted” on a piece of paper and signs it with Z’

name, in order that B may afterwards write on the paper a bill of
exchange drawn by B upon Z, and negotiate the bills as though it had
been accepted by Z. A is guilty of forgery; and if B, knowing the fact,
draws the bill upon the paper pursuant to A’ intention, B is also guilty
of forgery.

 A picks up a bill of exchange payable to the order of a different

person of the same name. A endorses the bill in his own name,
intending to cause it to be believed that it was endorsed by the person
to whose order it was payable; here A has committed forgery.

 A purchases an estate sold under execution of a decree against B. B,

after the seizure of the estate, in collusion with Z, executes a lease of
the estate to Z at a nominal rent and for a long period and dates the
lease six months prior to the seizure, with intent to defraud A, and to
cause it to be believed that the lease was granted before the seizure.
B, though he executes the lease in his own name, commits forgery by
antedating it.

 A, a trader, in anticipation of insolvency, lodges effects with B for A’

benefit, and with intent to defraud his creditors; and in order to give a
colour to the transaction, writes a promissory note binding himself to
 pay to B a sum for value received, and antedates the note, intending
that it may be believed to have been made before A was on the point
of insolvency. A has committed forgery under the first head of the
definition.

Explanations

 The making of a false document in the name of a fictious person,

intending it to be believed that the document was made by real
person, or in the name of a deceased person, intending it to be
believed that the document was made by the person in his lifetime,
may amount to forgery.

Illustrations

 A draws a bill of exchange upon a fictious person, and fraudulently

accepts the bill in the name of such fictitious person with intent to
negotiate it. A commits forgery.

Section 470: Forged Document

A false document made wholly or in part by forgery is designated “a forged

document”.

Criminal breach of trust.

This offence is defined in section 405 and its punishment is detailed in section
406 of the code.

The main ingredients to complete the offence are ;

a. Entrusting any person with property;

b. The person so entrusted;

(i) Either dishonestly misappropriates or converts that property to his

own use;
 (ii) Dishonestly using or disposing of that property in violation of;

(iii) any direction of law in which such trust is to be discharged; or

(iv) Any legal contract made touching the discharge of such trust, this
offence can be committed by carrier, whar-finger, ware housekeeper,
clerk, servant, public servant, banker, merchant, agent, broker,
attorney and the like.

Offences related to Marriage

Section 498A: Cruelty by Husband

Whoever, being the husband or the relative of the husband of a woman,

subjects such woman to cruelty shall be punished with imprisonment for a
term which may extend to three years and shall also be liable to fine.

Explanations

 For the purposes of this section, “cruelty” means:

  any willful conduct which is of such a nature as is likely to drive the

woman to commit suicide or to cause grave injury or danger to life,
limb or health (whether mental or physical) of the woman; or

  harassment of the woman where such harassment is with a view to

coercing her or any person related to her to meet any unlawful
demand for any property or valuable security or is on account of
failure by her or any person related to her to meet such demand.

Section 497: Adultery

Whoever has sexual intercourse with a person who is and whom he knows or
has reason to believe to be the wife of another man, without the consent or
connivance of that man, such sexual intercourse not amounting to the offence
of rape, is guilty of the offence of adultery, and shall be punished with
imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to five years,
or with fine, or with both. In such case the wife shall not be punishable as an
abettor.

Section 499: Defamation

Whoever by words either spoken or intended to be read, or by signs or by

visible representations, makes or publishes any imputation concerning any
person intending to harm, or knowing or having reason to believe that such
imputation will harm, the reputation of such person, is said, except in the cases
hereinafter excepted, to defame that person.

Explanations

 It may amount to defamation to impute anything to a deceased person, if

the imputation would harm the reputation of that person if living, and is
intended to be hurtful to the fellings of his family or other near relatives.

 It may amount to defamation to make an imputation concerning a

company or an association or collection of persons as such.

 An imputation in the form of an alternative or expressed ironically, may

amount to defamation.

 No imputation is said to harm a person’ reputation, unless that imputation

directly or indirectly, in the estimation of others, lowers the moral or
intellectual character of that person, or lowers the character of that person
in respect of his caste or of his calling, or lowers the credit of that person,
or causes it to be believed that the body of that person is in a loathsome
state, or in a state generally considered as disgraceful.

Illustrations

 A says-“Z is an honest man; he never stole B’ watch”, intending to cause

it to be believed that Z did steal B’ watch. This is defamation, unless it fall
within one of the exceptions.
 A is asked who stole B’ watch. A points to Z, intending to cause it to be
believed that Z stole B’ watch. This is defamation, unless it fall within one
of the exceptions.

 A draws a picture of Z running away with B’ watch, intending it to be

believed that Z stole B’ watch. This is defamation, unless it fall within one
of the exceptions.

Section 500: Punishment for Defamation

Whoever defames another shall be punished with simple imprisonment for a

term which may extend to two years, or with fine, or with both.

Section 501: Printing or engraving matter known to be defamatory

Whoever prints or engraves any matter, knowing or having good reason to

believe that such matter is defamatory of any person, shall be punished with
simple imprisonment for a term which may extend to two years, or with fine,
or with both.

Section 502: Sale of printed or engraved substance containing defamatory

matter

Whoever sells or offers for sale any printed or engraved substance containing
defamatory matter, knowing that it contains such matter, shall be punished
with simple imprisonment for a term which may extend to two years, or with
fine, or with both.

Section 503: Criminal Intimidation

Whoever threatens another with any injury to his person, reputation or

property, or to the person or reputation of any one in whom that person is
interested, with intent to cause alarm to that person, or to cause that person to
do any act which he is not legally bound to do, or to omit to do any act which
that person is legally entitled to do, as the means of avoiding the execution of
such threat, commits criminal intimidation.

Explanations

 A threat to injure the reputation of any deceased person in whom the

person threatened is interested, is within this section.

Illustrations

 A, for the purpose of inducing B to resist from prosecuting a civil suit,

threatens to burn B’ house. A is guilty of criminal intimidation.

Section 506: Punishment of Criminal Intimidation

Whoever commits the offence of criminal intimidation shall be punished with

imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to two years,
or with fine, or with both;

If threat be to cause death or grievous hurt, etc – and if the threat be to

cause death or grievous hurt, or to cause the destruction of any property by
fire, or to cause an offence punishable with death or imprisonment for life, of
with imprisonment for a term which may extend to seven years, or to impute
unchastity to a woman, shall be punished with imprisonment of either
description for a term which may extend to seven years, or with fine, or with
both.

Section 504: Intentional Insult with intent to provoke the breach of Peace

Whoever intentionally insults, and thereby gives provocation to any person,

intending or knowing it to be likely that such provocation will cause him to
break the public peace, or to commit any other offence, shall be punished with
imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to two years,
or with fine, or with both.
QUESTIONS

1. Define Criminal Conspiracy

2. Explain Offences against the State: Waging or attempting to wage war

against the state, Sedition

3. Write a note on Offences against public tranquility: Unlawful assembly,

rioting and affray

4. Elaborate Offences against Property

5. Elaborate Offences affecting the human body

BLOCK 4 - SELECTED SECTIONS OF CRIMINAL PROCEDURE
CODE (CRPC)

Definitions. In this Code, unless the context otherwise requires,-

(a) "bailable offence" means an offence which is shown as bailable in the

First Schedule, or which is made bailable by any other law for the time
being in force; and "non-bailable offence" means any other offence;

(b) "charge" includes any head of charge when the charge contains more
heads than one;

(c) "cognizable offence" means an offence for which, and "cognizable case"
means a case in which, a police officer may, in 812 accordance with the
First Schedule or under any other law for the time being in force, arrest
without warrant;

(d) "complaint" means any allegation made orally or in writing to a

Magistrate, with a view to his taking action under this Code, that some
person, whether known or unknown, has committed an offence, but does
not include a police report. Explanation.-A report made by a police officer
in a case which discloses, after investigation, the commission of a non-
cognizable offence shall be deemed to be a complaint; and the police
officer by whom such report is made shall be deemed to be the
complainant;

(e) "High Court" means,- (i) in relation to any State, the High Court for that
State ; (ii)in relation to a Union territory to which the juris- diction of the
High Court for a State has been extended by law, that High Court; (iii)in
relation to any other Union territory, the highest Court of criminal appeal
for that territory other than the Supreme Court of India;

(f) "India" means the territories to which this Code extends;

(g) "inquiry" means every inquiry, other than a trial, conducted under this
Code by a Magistrate or Court;

(h) "investigation" includes all the proceedings under this Code for the
collection of evidence conducted by a police officer or by any person
(other than a Magistrate) who is authorised by a Magistrate in this behalf;

(i) "judicial proceeding" includes any proceeding in the course of which

evidence is or may be legally taken on oath ;

(j) "local jurisdiction", in relation to a Court or Magistrate, means the local

area within which the Court or Magistrate may exercise all or any of its or
his powers under this Code 1*[and such local area may comprise the
whole of the State, or any part of the State, as the State Government may,
by notification, specify];

(k) "metropolitan area" means the area declared, or deemed to be declared,

under section 8, to be a metropolitan area;

(l) "non-cognizable offence" means an offence for which, and "non-

cognizable case" means a case in which, a police officer has no
authority to arrest without warrant;

(m) "notification" means a notification published in the Official Gazette ;

(n) "offence" means any act or omission made punishable by any law for the
time being in force and includes any act in respect of which a complaint
may be made under section 20 of the Cattle-trespass Act, 1871 ( 1 of
1871);

(o) "officer in charge of a police station" includes, when the officer in charge
of the police station is absent from the station house or unable from illness
or other cause to perform his duties, the police officer present at the
 station-house who is next in rank to such officer and is above the rank of
constable or, when the State Government so directs, any other police
officer so present ;

(p) "place" includes a house, building, tent, vehicle and vessel;

(q) "pleader", when used with reference to any proceeding in any Court,
means a person authorised by or under any law for the time being in force,
to practise in such Court, and includes any other person appointed with the
permission of the Court to act in such proceeding;

(r) "police report" means a report forwarded by a police officer to Magistrate

under sub-section (2) of section 173;

(s) "police station" means any post or place declared generally or specially by
the State Government, to be a police station, and includes any local area
specified by the State Government in this behalf;

(t) "prescribed" means prescribed by rules made under this Code;

(u) "Public Prosecutor" means any person appointed under section 24, and
includes any person acting under the directions of a Public Prosecutor;

(v) "sub-division" means a sub-division of a district;

(w) "summons-case" means a case relating to an offence, and not being a

warrant-case ; 814

(x) "warrant-case" means a case relating to an offence punishable with death,

imprisonment for life or imprisonment for a term exceeding two years;

(y) words and expressions used herein and not defined but defined in the
Indian Penal Code (45 of 1860) have the meanings respectively assigned
to them in that Code.
Organizational set up of Judiciary in India

Judicial
The Indian Judicial System is one of the oldest legal systems in the world
today. It is part of the inheritance India received from the British after more
than 200 years of their Colonial rule, and the same is obvious from the many
similarities the Indian legal system shares with the English Legal System. The
frame work of the current legal system has been laid down by the Indian
Constitution and the judicial system derives its powers from it.

Function of Judiciary:

 Responsible for administering the law

 Power to Interpret the law and make it unconstitutional

Constitution of criminal courts and officers

Part II of Cr. P.C. has two Chapters, namely,-

Chapter II (On the Constitution of Criminal Courts and offices) and

Chapter III (on power of courts).

Chapter II is further divided into six subjects, namely,

Jurisdiction and powers of criminal courts

A.Classes of Criminal Courts.

It has only one section i.e. section 6 which deals with Classes of Criminal
Courts.

B. Territorial Divisions.

It consists of two sections. i.e. sections 7 and 8.

Section 7 speaks of three things, namely the Sessions Divisions and districts,
powers to alter divisions and districts, and existing divisions and districts till
altered.
Section 8 speaks of the power to divide districts into sub-divisions and that the
existing sub-divisions maintained.

C. Courts and Offices.

It consists of ten sections, i.e. sections, 9 to 14 and Sections 14-A to section

17.
Section 9 speaks of Court of Sessions.

Section 10 speaksof District Magistrate.

Section 11 speaks of officers temporarily succeeding to vacancies in office of

District Magistrates.
Section12 speaks of Subordinate magistrates and local units of their
jurisdiction.
Section 13 speaks of Power to put Magistrate incharge of sub-division and also
delegation of power to District Magistrate.
Section 14 is on the subject of Special Magistrates.

Section 14-A deals with the appointment of Special magistrates.

Section 15 deals with Benches of Magistrates and the Power exercisable by

Bench in absence of special direction.

Section 16 deals with Power to frame rules for guidance of Benches.

Section 17 deals with Subordination of Magistrates and Benches to District

Magistrate and Subordination of Assistant Sessions Judges to Sessions Judges

D.Courts of Presidency Magistrates [ was consisting four sections, namely,

sections 18 to 21 which have since been Omitted by A.O. 1949].

E. Justice of the Peace.

It has six sections.

Section 22 which deals with Appointment of Justice of the Peace.

Section 22-A deals with the power of Justice of the Peace.

Section 22-B deals with the duties of Justice of the Peace,

Sections 23 and 24 have since been repealed by Act XII of 1923.

Section 25 deals with Ex-officio Justice of the Peace,

F. Suspension and Removal [contained sections 26 and 27 which have since

been repealed by A.O. 1937]

Chapter III is divided into four is also further divided into four subjects,
namely,-

A. Description of Offences cognizable by each Court.

It consists of five sections.

Section 28 deals with offences under Penal Code.

Section 29 deals with other laws.

Section 29-A since omitted by Act II of 1950.

Section 29-B deals with the jurisdiction in the case of juveniles.

Section 30 deals with offences not punishable with death.

B. Sentences which may be passed by Courts of various Classes.

It has six sections.

Section 31 deals with the Sentences which High Court and Sessions Judges
may pass.

Section 32 deals with Sentences which Magistrates may pass.

Section 33 deals with Powers of Magistrates to sentence to imprisonment in

default of fine.

Section 34 deals with the High Powers of certain District Magistrate.

Section 34-A was omitted by Act II of 1950.

Section 35 deals with Sentence in case of conviction of several offences at one

trial and the maximum term of punishment.

C. Ordinary and Additional Powers.

It has three sections.

Section 36 deals with the Ordinary Powers of Magistrates.

Section 37 deals with Additional Powers conferrable on Magistrates. .

Section 38 deals with Control of District Magistrates investing power.

D. Conferment, Continuance and Cancellation of Powers.

It has three sections.

Section 39 which deals with the Mode of conferring powers.

Section 40 which deals with Powers of officers appointed.

Section 41 deals with “Powers may be cancelled”.

Court of Sessions

1. The State Government shall establish a Court of Session for every

sessions division.

2. Every Court of Session shall be presided over by a Judge, to be appointed

by the High Court.

3. The High Court may also appoint Additional Sessions Judges and
Assistant Sessions Judges to exercise jurisdiction in a Court of Session.

4. The Sessions Judge of one sessions division may be appointed by the

High Court to be also an

5. Additional Sessions Judge of another division, and in such case he may sit
for the disposal of cases at such place or places in the other division as the
High Court may direct.

6. Where the office of the Sessions Judge is vacant, the High Court may
make arrangements for the disposal of any urgent application which is, or
may be, made or pending before such Court of Session by an Additional
or Assistant Sessions Judge, or, if there be no Additional or Assistant
Sessions Judge, by a Chief Judicial Magistrate, in the sessions division;
and every such Judge or Magistrate shall have jurisdiction to deal with
any such application.

7. The Court of Sessions shall ordinarily hold its sitting at such place or
places as the High Court may, by notification, specify; but, if, in any
particular case, the Court of Session is of opinion that it will tend to the
 general convenience of the parties and witnesses to hold its sittings at any
other place in the sessions division, it may, with the consent of the
prosecution and the accused, sit at that place for the disposal of the case or
the examination of any witness or witnesses therein.

Explanation – For the purposes of this Code, “appointment” does not include
the first appointment, posting or promotion of a person by the Government to
any Service, or post in connection with the affairs of the Union or of a State,
where under any law, such appointment, posting or promotion is required to be
made by Government.

Judicial and Executive Magistrates

 For every High Court, the Central Government or the State Government
shall, after consultation with the High Court, appoint a Public Prosecutor
and may also appoint one or more Additional Public Prosecutor, for
conducting in such Court, any prosecution, appeal or other proceeding on
behalf of the Central Government or State Government, as the case may
be.

 The Central Government may appoint one or more Public Prosecutors for
the purpose of conducting any case or class of cases in any district, or
local area.

 For every district, the State Government shall appoint a Public Prosecutor
and may also appoint one or more Additional Public Prosecutors for the
district:

 Provided that the Public Prosecutor or Additional Public Prosecutor

appointed for one district may be appointed also to be a Public Prosecutor
or an Additional Public Prosecutor, as the case may be, for another
district.
 The District Magistrate shall, in consultation with the Sessions Judge,
prepare a panel of names of persons, who are, in his opinion fit to be
appointed as Public Prosecutor or Additional Public Prosecutors for the
district.

 No person shall be appointed by the State Government as the Public

Prosecutor or Additional Public Prosecutor for the district unless his name
appears in the panel of names prepared by me District Magistrate under
Sub-Section (4).

 Notwithstanding anything contained in Sub-Section (5), where in a State

there exists a regular Cadre of Prosecuting Officers, the State Government
shall appoint a Public Prosecutor or an Additional Public Prosecutor only
from among the persons constituting such Cadre:

 Provided that where, in the opinion of the State Government, no suitable

person is available in such Cadre for such appointment that Government
may appoint a person as Public Prosecutor or Additional Public
Prosecutor, as the case may be, from the panel of names prepared by the
District Magistrate under Sub-Section (4).

Informal Courts

In the legal system as it operates in India, any wrong is regarded as a matter of

course.[iii]The objective of ADR is to check litigation explosion, make the
justice system less expensive and easily accessible to the illiterate and
indigent.[iv] The focus is to avoid feuds and develop a harmonious
relationship between the disputing parties by settling the dispute through
process of arbitration, mediation, negotiation and the likes. The ADR system
can never be a complete alternative to the conventional system of dispute
resolution. For example, settling of criminal disputes can never be done
through the ADR mechanism. There is no substitute for Court decisions in
criminal law. Moreover, it is necessary for both the parties to be genuinely
interested in solving the dispute peacefully.

The Courts of law are confronted with four main problems which are as
follows :

i) The number of Courts and judges in all grades is alarmingly low.

ii) Increase in the number of cases owing to the various State and
Central acts

iii) The costs involved in prosecuting or defending a case. The Court fee,
the lawyer’s fee and the incidental charges amounts to quite a large
sum.

iv) The process is very cumbersome and time-consuming because of the

huge number of already pending cases.

LOK ADALATS:

Lok Adalat or the People’s Courts, decide the dispute with utmost expedition
to arrive at a compromise or settlement on the basis of principles of justice,
equity, fair play and other legal principles. When the Lok Adalat is not able to
arrive at a compromise or settlement, the record of the case is returned to the
Court, which initially referred the case to the Lok Adalats. The Lok Adalat is
presided over by a sitting or retired judicial officer as the chairman, with two
other members, usually a lawyer and a social worker.

NYAY PANCHAYATS

In villages, the administration is carried out by a Panchayat headed by village

headman that decides petty civil, criminal and revenue cases. The respectable
members of the village community form the Panchayat, where for those who
prefer it, disputes are resolved by a process of conciliation and mediation.
Complaint

It is a document submitted by the complainant to file a criminal complainant

against an accused. In layman’s language, it is simply the written allegations
of the complainant and it contains a summary of the facts of the case he seeks
to present and the relief he seeks for the same.

If you are filing a plaint, you are the ‘plaintiff’ and the person whom you are
filing against, is the ‘defendant’. There are certain regulations set by the
‘Limitation Act,1963’ for filing of plaints.

For instance, there is a time limit within which the plant should be filed, and it
differs for different courts.

The Plaint, as per the Act, should be filed within 90 days in High court and
within 30 days from the date of the crime that is being appealed against.

The details required to be mentioned in the plaint are:

A. The name of the court

B. The nature of the complaint

C. The name and addresses of both the parties.

All of this is normally typed in English, with double-line spacing.

It is also important to remember that it has to be filed within a certain time

limit of the occurrence of the act in question as prescribed by the Limitation
Act. A plaint filed after an unreasonable delay will not be entertained in the
court of law. It should also contain a verification from the complainant with an
assurance that all facts stated in the plaint are correct and true to his
knowledge.

As the plaint procedure is simple, and if you have enough proof in hand, you
can file them with the help of an expert in no time.
Criminal Complaint: Vakalatnama

This document is submitted by the complainant authorizing an advocate to

argue the case on his behalf. Although an individual can file their
Vakalatnama, the terms used are highly technical for a layman to understand,
and respond in case of queries. Hence, a vakalatnama is a document that gives
the advocate (who is appearing on your behalf) the authorization to fight for
justice, and handle all court procedures on your behalf.

It contains the terms and conditions of this authorization, and lists out the
rights of the advocate. The terms and conditions, mentioned in the
Vakalatnama include:

  The advocate will not be held responsible for any decisions taken by
him/her during the course of an investigation, in the best interests of
the clients.

  The advocate will be paid the requisite fees as well as the fees for the
court proceedings.

  The advocate can be disengaged at any time during the proceedings,

if the client wishes, and so on.

The basic idea of a Vakalatnama is to engage a lawyer to fight for the case in
the court, and to provide him the authorization to do it with the permission of
the plaintiff.

The vakalatnama is affixed with the plaint and submitted to the court by the
advocate authorized to represent the case.

Although no fees are paid for submission, some courts demand a stamp
‘Advocate Welfare Stamp’ to be pasted on it.
Criminal Complaint: Court Fees

The plaints are required to pay the court fees, as per the rules and regulations
set by the Court fees Stamp Act.

The nominal court fee is then paid by the Complainant as required by the
Court Fees Stamp Act. The court fees usually amount to a nominal percentage
of the value of a claim or the suit being made in the case filed and thus, differs
depending upon the case.

The advocate authorized to carry on with the dealings of the case will be able
to instruct about the procedures and also the court fees to be paid.

Inquiry and investigation

INQUIRY

  Inquiry is a process which is brought in motion for the purpose of

clearing a doubt, enhancing knowledge or finding a solution to a
problem

  An inquiry shall be conducted by a Magistrate or Court.

  The object of an Inquiry is to determine the truth.

  An Inquiry is a Judicial proceeding.

INVESTIGATION

  Investigation is a formal process to get to facts and truth.

  Investigation is conducted by a Police Officer or any person other

than a Magistrate or Court.

  The main object of an investigation is the collection of evidence.

  An Investigation is an executive proceeding.

POLICE REPORT

DEFINITION

A police report is the physical record of an incident deemed to be illegal or

potentially illegal. It is taken by a representative of a police department and
filed according to said department's procedure. It is also known as an "incident
report."

INCIDENT DATA

The incident data on a police report typically includes the type of crime
alleged (burglary, arson, rape, etc.), the place of occurrence, how it was
received and reported (over the phone as an assault), the date and time of the
report and the actual incident, any injuries sustained, and what officers are
involved.

REPORTING PARTY

The reporting party section records the name, physical appearance, ethnicity,
address, date of birth, social security number, marital status and relationship to
the perpetrator of the individual reporting the crime.

VICTIM

The victim section records the name, physical appearance, ethnicity, address,
date of birth, social security number, marital status and relationship to the
perpetrator of the individual reporting the crime. If damage has occurred to
property, or if any property (belonging to the victim or otherwise) is used in
the commission of a crime, then a separate section for notating that is used.

KNOWN SUSPECT

The known suspects section may be singular or multiple, depending upon how
many are accused of committing the crime. For each suspect, a thorough
physical description and any other known data (such as phone number, address
and possible whereabouts) are compiled for later apprehension.

NARRATIVE

The narrative section details the series of events leading to and resulting in the
incident. It is a first-hand account given by the victim and any witnesses.

PURPOSE OF A POLICE REPORT

The purpose of a police report is to provide an accurate written account of a

police officer's observations during the investigation of a criminal incident. A
police report can only be written by the officer(s) involved in the investigation
of an incident. Each officer who makes a report must swear to its accuracy by
signing it.

THE SIGNIFICANCE

The investigation of a criminal incident is very fact specific. Police reports are
used by prosecuting attorneys to determine if a criminal charge will be filed. If
a charge is filed, police reports are also made available to criminal defense
attorneys to help them understand what occurred and prepare their defense.
Police reports are also used for further investigation prior to trial and at trial as
a basis to cross-examine the police officer who filed the report.

Public Prosecutor

Duty Of The Public Prosecutor In The Criminal Justice System

An ideal Prosecutor must consider herself/himself as an agent of justice. In

India, we have a public prosecutor who acts in accordance with the directions
of the judge. Normally, the control of entire trial is in the hands of the trial
judge. Investigation is the prerogative of the police. However, it is generally
believed that traditional right of nulle prosequi is available to the prosecutor.
The public prosecutor in India does not seem to be an advocate of the state in
the sense that the prosecutor has to seek conviction at any cost. The prosecutor
must be impartial, fair and truthful, not only as a public executive but also
because the prosecutor belongs to the honourable profession of law, the ethics
of which demand these qualities.

In India, the criminal justice system should function within the framework of
the Indian Constitution. Succinctly speaking, the principles enunciated in the
Constitution are as infra :

1. Presumption of innocence: Accused presumed to be innocent 4.

Deprivation of life / personal liberty only in accordance with procedure
established by law (See Article 21 of the Indian Constitution)

2. Equality: The guarantee of equality before the law.

3. Equal Protection: Equal protection of the laws.

Beyond all reasonable doubt: The guilt must be proved beyond all
reasonable doubt

4. Double jeopardy: Protection against double jeopardy

Non-retrospective punishment

5. Prohibition of discrimination: Prohibition of discrimination imposed upon

the State

6. The right of the accused to remain silent

7. Arrest/detention must be in accordance with law and judicial guidelines.

8. Speedy trial.

Coming the Directorate of Prosecution is concerned, the objective behind

establishing the Directorate of Prosecutions was to exercise close supervision
and scrutiny of work relating to various prosecuting agencies at Sessions and
Assistant Sessions levels except at the High Court level. The Directorate of
Prosecutions in the State of Andhra Pradesh was created vide G.O.Ms.No.
323, Home (Courts-C), Department, dated: 26-5-1986 wherein all the
Prosecuting Officers were brought under the supervisory control of the
Director of Prosecutions. This Directorate is headed by a Director assisted by
other subordinate rank officials and ministerial staff. The major functions are:

Assistant Public Prosecutors - Assistant Public Prosecutor Officers scrutinise

charge sheets prepared by the investigating agency and submit discharge/
acquittal. They evaluate the evidence in each case and make their
recommendations for filing revision petitions or appeals against impugned
orders and judgments, as well as conduct cases in Courts of
MetropolitanMagistrates.

Additional Prosecutors - Additional Public Prosecutors conduct cases in

Sessions Courts

Chief Prosecutors - Chief Prosecutors supervise the work of Assistant Public

Prosecutors in the Courts of Metropolitan Magistrates

Public Prosecutor - Public Prosecutor is responsible for supervision of

prosecution work conducted by Additional Public Prosecutors in the Sessions
Courts

Director of Prosecution – The Director of Prosecution is the Head of Office.

The Director of Prosecution looks after the Establishment and Accounts
Branches and exercises overall control over officers of the Directorate

Defense Counsel

The name that is given to the trial lawyer who is the defendant's representative.

For fans of legal dramas that play out on television shows or in the cinema,
a defense counsel may appear to be simply somebody who gives impassioned
speeches on behalf of their clients. The media often depicts defense counsels
as either people of moral conviction upholding the rights of the wrongly
accused or as unscrupulous villains defending violent criminals for the sake of
their own career goals. The truth is, however, far more complex and nuanced
than what is seen in shows and movies. In fact, defense counsels are an
invaluable part of the justice system and the roles they play help ensure the
every citizen's rights are protected and upheld. Here are just a few of the most
important things a defense counsel does

Making a case

A defense counsel provides legal representation for a client, meaning that that
defense counsel's first job is to know as much about the client's case as is
possible. The only way for a defense counsel to successfully defend a client is
to gather evidence related to the case and to discuss the circumstances of the
case with the client. Attorney-client privilege makes such discussions
confidential, meaning clients can share information with their defense counsel
without worrying about whether that information will lead to new legal
problems.

Bargaining for their clients

Many criminal cases don't actually end up being fought out in the court room.
Defense attorneys have a job to weigh how likely a conviction or acquittal is
based on the facts of the case. If a conviction seems probable, then it is often
in the accused's interest to enter into a plea bargain with prosecutors. The
defense counsel negotiates with the prosecutor on the client's behalf. In some
cases, for example, the defense may accept a guilty plea on reduced charges in
exchange for the prosecutor dropping its more serious charges. In such a case,
the client may receive a lighter sentence than if he or she had been convicted
of the more serious charges.
Going to trial

Of course, many criminal cases do end up in the courtroom. The defense

counsel's role during a trial is multifaceted. A conviction in a criminal
case demands guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. As a result, a defense counsel
must challenge the prosecution's evidence not by trying to prove the
defendant's innocent, but merely by showing that reasonable doubt may exist.
During the trial, the defense counsel will help with juror selection (if it is a
jury trial) and with presenting evidence that casts doubt on the prosecutor's
evidence. Because the trial system is adversarial in nature, the defense
counsel's main duty is to convince the judge and/or jury that the prosecution's
evidence has failed to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.

Without defense counsels, those accused of a crime would largely be left to

navigate the complex legal system on their own, leading to many opportunities
for miscarriages of justice. Defense counsels provide legal representation to
defendants, thus ensuring that not only are their rights defended but that
the constitutional rights of all citizens are upheld.

Arrest

This term “Arrest” is very common term that we pick up a lot in our day today
life. Normally, we see a person, who do or have done something against the
law, get arrested. Generally, the term “arrest” in its ordinary sense, means the
apprehension or restraint or the deprivation of one’s personal liberty. Let’s
understand this term in Indian law, Criminal procedure Code, 1973 in its
chapter V (section 41 to 60) deals with Arrest of a person. Ironically, Code has
not defined the term “Arrest”. Every deprivation of liberty or physical restraint
is not arrest. Only the deprivation of liberty by legal authority or at least by
apparent legal authority, in a professionally competent and adept manner
amounts to arrest. Thus, we can say arrest means ‘apprehension of a person by
legal authority resulting in deprivation of his liberty’. An arrest consists of
taking into custody of another person under authority empowered by law for
the purpose of holding or detaining him to answer a criminal charge and
preventing the commission of a criminal offence. However, a person against
whom no accusation of crime has been made may be arrested /detained under a
statute for certain purposes like removal in safe custody from one place to
another, for example – removal of a minor girl from a brothel. One thing to be
noted is that ‘custody’ and ‘arrest’ don’t have same meaning. Taking of a
person into judicial custody is followed after the arrest of the person by
Magistrate on appearance or surrender. In every arrest there is custody but not
vice versa. Thus, mere taking into custody of a person an authority empowered
to arrest may not necessarily amount to arrest. This code propose two types of
arrests: (i) arrest made in pursuance of a warrant issued by a magistrate (ii)
arrest made without such a warrant but made in accidence with some legal
provision permitting such arrest.

WHO CAN ARREST?

Arrest can be made by police officer, Magistrate or any private person, like
you or me can also arrest a person but that can made only in accordance with
some legal provision permitting such arrest. The code exempts the members of
Armed forces from being arrested for anything done by them in discharge of
their official duties except after obtaining the consent of the government (Sec.
45).

Any private individual may arrest a person only when the person a proclaimed
offender and the person commits a non bailable offence and cognizable
offences in his presence (sec. 43). Any magistrate (whether Executive or
judicial) may arrest a person without a warrant (sec. 44). Under section 41,
Arrest by police officer can be made without warrant only in cognizable
offences (sec.2(c)) and with warrant in non- cognizable offence (sec 2 (l)).
Cognizable offences are of more serious nature as compare to non cognizable
offences i.e. Murder, kidnapping, theft, etc.

HOW ARREST IS MADE?

Sec. 46 describes the mode in which arrests are to be made (whether with or
without warrant). In making an arrest the police officer /other person making
the same actually touches or confines the body of the person to be arrested
unless there be a submission to custody by words or action. When the police
arrests a person in execution of a warrant of arrest obtained from a
magistrate, the person so arrested shall not be handcuffed unless the police
have obtained orders from the Magistrate in this regard. The person making
an arrest may use ‘all means’ necessary to make arrest if person to be arrested
resists or attempts to evade the arrest. A police officer may, for the purpose of
arresting without warrant any person whom is authorized to arrest, pursue such
person into any place in India (sec 48). Arrested person shall not be subjected
to unnecessary restraint and physical inconvenience unless it’s necessary to do
so to prevent his escape (sec. 49).

RIGHTS OF ARRESTED PERSONS:-

Arrest of a person is made in order to ensure his presence at the trial in

connection with any offences to which he is directly or indirectly connected or
to prevent the commission of a criminal offence. In law, there is principle of
“presumption of innocence till he has proven guilty” it requires a person
arrested to be treated with humanity, Dignity and respectfully till his guilt is
proof. In a free society like ours , law is quite careful toward one’s “personal
liberty” and doesn’t permit the detention of any person without legal
sanction. Even article 21 of our constitution provides : “No person shall be
deprived of his life or personal liberty except according to procedure
established by law”. The procedure contemplated by this article must be ‘right,
just and fair’ and not arbitrary, fanciful or oppressive. The arrest should not
only be legal but justified also, Even the Constitution of India also recognize
the rights of arrested person under the ‘Fundamental Rights ‘and here I will
inform you about those rights :-

 Right to be informed of the grounds of arrest under sec. 50 of crpc and

article 22 of Indian Constitution, it’s a fundamental right to be informed.
It is the duty of the police officer to inform you and also tell whether the
offence is bailable or non bailable. Normally, Bailable offences are those
where bailable can be granted and it is right of the person to be granted
bail and Non- bailable offences are where bailable can’t be granted
generally and it’s the discretion of the court.

 In non- cognizable cases ,arrest are made with warrant and the person
going to be arrested have a right to see the warrant under Sec. 75 of crpc.
Warrant of arrest should fulfill certain requirements such as it should be in
writing , signed by the presiding officer , should have seal of court , Name
and address of the accuse and offence under which arrest is made. If any
of these is missing, warrant is illegal.

 Under sec. 41 , police have a power to arrest a person without warrant as

prompt and immediate arrest is needed , no time to approach magistrate
and obtain a warrant for example in case where serious crime is has been
perpetrated by a dangerous person or where chances of that person
absconding unless immediately arrested. Section 41 got amended in
2008/2010 because of misuse of power conferred by this section to police
and amendments targeted the power conferred to police officer must be
exercised after reasonable care. Some clauses were put to this section such
as police officer must act reasonably that such arrest is necessary. Not in
all cases arrest in necessary, Notice of appearance before police officer
can be made if reasonable complaint has been made ,credible information
has been received and suspicion exits of cognizable offence and if concern
 person continues to comply with such notice and appears then arrest is not
necessary but he don’t, arrest can be made.( sec 41A)

 The police officer must be wearing a clear, visible and clear identification
of his name which facilitate easy identification. A memo of arrest must be
prepared at the time of arrest – (i) attested by least one witness, it can be
family member or member of locality where arrest is made (ii)counter
signed by arrested person.

 Right of arrested person to meet an advocate of his choice during

interrogation under sec. 41D and sec. 303 crpc.

 Arrested person have a right to inform a family member, relative or friend

his arrest U/ sec 50 of crpc.

 Arrested person have right not to be detained for more than 24hrs, without
being presented before magistrate, it is to prevent unlawful and illegal
arrests. This right is fundamental right under article 22 of Indian
constitution and supported under section 57 and 76 of crpc.

 Arrested person have right to be medically examined (Sec 54,55A) the

person who is arrested should be given the right to have his body
examined by the medical officer when is produced before a magistrate or
at any time under custody, with a view to enabling him to establish that
the offence with which he is charged was not committed by him or that he
was subjected to the physical torture. With the insertion of 55A, “it shall
be duty of a person having custody of an accused to take reasonable care
of the health and safety of the accused” and it attempt to take care of
“custodial violence”( torture, rape, death in police custody/lock-up) to
some extent.
 Arrested person have right to remain silent under Sec. 20(3) of Indian
constitution so that police can’t extract self – incriminating statement from
a person without will or without his consent.

SPECIAL PROTECTION TO FEMALES:-

 General rule is that Females are not be arrested without the presence of a
lady constable and further no female be arrested after sun-set but there are
exception in some cases, where crime is very serious and arrest is
important then arrest can be made with special orders and it depends on
facts and circumstances of each case. Separate lock ups to be provided for
them.

 The salutary principle that the medical examination of a female should be

made by female medical practitioner has been embodied in sec 53(2).

Bail

The Criminal Procedure Code, 1973 or Cr.P.C. talks in details about the bail
process and how it is obtained. However, it does not define bail. To get a
glimpse of the law, we need to go deeper to section 2(a) Cr.P.C. wherein it
says that bailable offense means an offense which is shown as bailable in the
First Schedule or which is made bailable by any other law for the time being
enforce, and non-bailable offense means any other offense.

Thus, section 2(a) Cr.P.C. talks about schedule which refers to all the offenses
under the Indian Penal Code and puts them into bailable and on bailable
categories which have been determined according to the nature of the crime.
For instance, all serious offenses like offenses punishable with imprisonment
for three years or more have seen considered as non bailable offenses, all other
offenses have been kept bailable offenses.
Later part of the Cr.P.C. talks about the process of bail under sections 436 to
450 wherein it has the provisions for the grant of bail and bonds in criminal
cases and also talks about the amount of security that is to be paid by the
accused to secure his release has not been mentioned in the Cr.P.C. However,
still a lot of discretionary power has been vested into the court to put a
monetary cap on the bond.

The Supreme Court of India has delivered several cases wherein it has
reminded that the basic rule is bail and not jail. One such instance came in
State Of Rajasthan, Jaipur vs Balchand @ Baliay case which the apex court
decided on 20 September, 1977 and held that the basic rule is bail, not jail,
except-where there are circumstances suggestive of fleeing from justice or
thwarting the course of justice or creating other troubles in the shape of
repeating offences or intimidating witnesses and the like by the petitioner who
seeks enlargement on bail from the court.

The bench of Krishnaiyer, V.R. had observed that when considering the
question of bail, the gravity of the offence involved and the heinousness of the
crime which are likely to induce the petitioner to avoid the course of justice
must weigh with the court. Taking into consideration the facts of the case the
apex court held that the circumstances and the social milieu do not militate
against the petitioner being granted bail.

What is the process of bail?

When you are an accused of some crime and arrested to record your statement
and take information like the name, residence address, birth place, charge filed
against you, etc. The police officer may also check back the criminal record if
any in the police station and ask for finger prints to files a case against you.
The crimes that are bailable and simple, you will be allowed to apply for bail
immediately.
However, if the crime is a little bit complex and non-bailable, you may wait
for 48 hours to claim your right to bail in the court wherein you are given a
hearing. Depending upon the facts of the case, the judge decides whether you
should get bail or not. Also, in situation you are given bail you are asked to
deposit money with the court. Generally, in certain smaller crime cases, a
standard amount is asked to be deposited for awarding the bail.

What are the usual bail conditions?

There are some conditions put under section 437 of the Cr.P.C. wherein you
can ask for bail even if you committed non-bailable offense. In non-bailable
cases, bail is not the right but the discretion of the judge if regards the case as
fit for the grant of bail, it regards imposition of certain conditions as necessary
in the circumstances. Section S. 437 (3) elaborates the conditions set by the
law to get bail in non-bailable offenses.

The sub-section says that when a person accused or suspected of the

commission of an offense punishable with imprisonment which may extend to
seven years or more or of an offense under Chapter VI, Chapter XVI or
Chapter XVII of the Indian Penal Code (45 of 1860) or abatement of, or
conspiracy or attempt to commit any such offense, is released on bail under
sub-section (1). However, for that the Court has power to impose any
condition which it considers necessary.

Some conditions that the court may place while granting bail are as follows:

In order to ensure that such person shall attend in accordance with the
conditions of the bond executed under this Chapter, or

In order to ensure that such person shall not commit an offence similar to the
offence of which he is accused or of the commission of which he is suspected,
or otherwise in the interests of Justice.
Search and Seizure

General Provision regarding search and seizure

Section 91 with the head note Process to Compel Production of Things of the
Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 states that:

1) Whenever any Court or any officer in charge of a police station consider

that the production of any document or other thing is necessary or
desirable for the purpose of any investigation, inquiry, trial or other
proceeding under this code by or before such court or officer, such court
may issue a summons, or such officer a written order, to the person in
whose possession or power such document or thing is believed to be,
requiring hm to attend and produce it, or to produce it, at the time and
place stated in the summons or order.

2) Any person required under this section merely to produce a document or

other thing shall be deemed to have complied with the requisition if he
causes such document or thing to be produced instead of attending
personally to produce the same.

Whereas section 93 When search warrant may be issued; in sub section (1)
provides that:

(1)(a) Where any court has reason to believe that a person to whom a
summons or order under section 91 or a requisition under sub section (1) of
section 92 has been, or might be, addressed, will not or would not produce the
document or thing as required by such summons or requisition, or (b) where
such thing or document is not known to the court to be in the possession of any
person, or (c) where the Court consider that the purpose of any inquiry, trial or
other proceeding under this code will be served by a general search or
inspection, it may issue a search- warrant; and the person to whom such
warrant is directed, may search or inspect in accordance therewith and
provisions hereinafter contained.

This means that an officer in charge of a police station can send a notice or a
court can issue a summon under section 91(1) to any person within whose
possession the officer or court thinks is the document or a thing necessary for
the purpose of investigation. But if the court or officer feels that the person to
whom the summons or notice is issued, will not produce the document or
thing, the court can issue a warrant of search to the officer, under section 93(1)
(a).

From time to time the constitutional validity of the warrant issued under
Section 93(1) (a), in context of Article 20(3) has been raised. The contentions
were raised that the term “any person” in section 91(1) not only includes
witnesses and other persons, but also includes the accused. Therefore if the
accused person do not obeys the summons, he will have to face a compelled
search in his house, and this itself shows the compulsion put on the accused.
Further, the compelled search made will be an intrusion into the privacy. Also
there will be a prosecution for the offence committed under section 174 of the
Indian Penal Code, 1860. Therefore in light of all this the summons issued is a
compulsion on the accused person to produce self incriminating evidences,
thereby completely violating his fundamental right guaranteed under Article
20(3).

With regard to the first proposition about the process of issue of search warrant
under section 93(1) (a), the Honourable Supreme Court in the leading case of
M.P Sharma and Others v Satish Chandra, District Megistrate, Delhi and
Others, through Jaghandadas J. stated that:

“It may be mentioned in passing that the provision for the issue of general
search warrants appears for the first time in procedure Code of 1882 and even
there the issue of general warrants is not based on non compliance with a
previous summons for production. It is, therefore, clear that there is no basis in
the Indian law for the assumption that a search or seizure of a thing or
document is in itself to be treated as compelled production of the same. Indeed
a little consideration will show that the two are essentially different matters for
the purpose relevant to the present discussion. A notice to produce is addressed
to the party concerned and his productions in compliance therewith constitute
a testimonial act by him within the meaning as explained above. But search
warrant is addressed to an officer of the government, generally a police officer.
Neither the search nor the seizures are acts of the occupier of the searched
premises. They are acts of another to which he is obliged to submit and are,
therefore, not his testimonial acts in any sense.”

Which in whole means that the search conducted by the police officer or any
investigating officer will be valid only if it has been conducted without any
help (involuntary help) from the person, only if any formal accusation has
been levelled against the person.

However with regard to intrusion into the privacy, it has been settled that the
right to privacy is not an absolute right and is subject to reasonable restriction
whenever there are contravelling interest, which requires much weight age
than the right to privacy of the person, for the sake of justice.

Trial processes

India has a well-established statutory, administrative and judicial framework

for criminal trials. Indian Penal laws are primarily governed by

3 Acts:

1. The Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (Cr.P.C.);

2. The Indian Penal Code, 1960 (IPC);

3. The Indian Evidence Act, 1872 (IEA).

Cr.P.C. is a comprehensive and exhaustive procedural law for conducting a
criminal trial in India, including the manner for collection of

evidence, examination of witnesses, interrogation of accused, arrests,

safeguards and procedure to be adopted by Police and Courts, bail,

process of criminal trial, method of conviction, and the rights of the accused
for a fair trial. The procedure for a criminal trial in India, is

primarily, except as otherwise provided, governed by The Code of Criminal

Procedure, 1973 (Cr.P.C.). IPC is the primary penal law of

India, which is applicable to all offences, except as may be provided under any
other law in India. IEA is a detailed treaty on the law of “evidence”, which can
be tendered in trial, manner of production of the evidence in trial, and the
evidentry value, which can be attached to such evidence. IEA also deals with
the judicial presumtions, expert and scientific evidence. There are certain other
laws, which have been enacted to deal with criminality in special
circumstances.

It is also important to note that India follows the adversarial system, where
generally the onus of proof is on the State (Prosecution) to prove the case
against the accused, and until and unless the allegation against the accused are
proved beyond reasonable doubt, the accused is presumed to be innocent. In
certain exceptional cases, which may relate to terrorism, etc., the onus of proof
has been put on the accused person, who claims to be not guilty.

India has a highly developed criminal jurisprudence and prosecution system,

supported by judicial precedents, however, there may be certain issues or
concerns relating to the execution of the same by Police and implementation
by Judiciary. The courts in India, particularly High Courts and Supreme Court
have been proactively guarding the rights of the accused. Even Article 21 of
the Contusion of India has been interpreted in a highly dynamic manner to
protect the rights, life and liberty of the citizens, by also incorporating the
principles of natural justice. By the flowchart hereinbelow, an attempt is being
made to make the reader briefly understand the process of criminal
investigation and trial in India, as a lot of foreign companies and Ex-pats are
coming to India, and due to unfortunate circumstances, they may, at times find
themselves embroiled in unnecessary criminal cases. To appreciate the process
of Indian criminal law, it is necessary that to understand following important
terminology:

1. Bailable Offence, means an offence, which has been categorized as

bailable, and in case of such offence, bail can be claimed, subject to
fulfillment of certain conditions, as a matter of right under Section 436 of
the Cr.P.C. In case of bailable offences, the Police is authoised to give bail
to the accused at the time of arrest or detention.

2. Non-bailable Offence, means an offence in which the bail cannot be

granted as a matter of right, except on the orders of a competent court. In
such cases, the accused can apply for grant of bail under Section 437 and
439 of the Cr.P.C. It is important to note that the grant of bail in a non-
bailable offence is subject to judicial discretion of the Court, and it has
been mandated by the Supreme Court of India that “Bail, not Jail” should
be the governing and guiding principle.

3. Anticipatory Bail, under Section 438 of the Cr.P.C., means that a person
who apprehends arrest on a wrong accusation of committing a non-
bailable offence, can apply before a competent court for a direction to
police to immediately release such a person on bail in the event of arrest.
However, the grant of anticipatory bail is discretionary and dependant on
the nature and gravity of accusations, the antecedents of the applicant and
the possibility of the applicant fleeing from justice.
4. Cognizable Offence/case, has been defined under Section 2 (c) of Cr.P.C.,
as an offence/case in which a Police Office can arrest without a warrant.

5. Non-cognizable Offence/case, has been defined under Section 2 (l) of

Cr.P.C., as an offence/case in which a Police Officer has no authority to
arrest without a warrant.

6. Whether an offence/case is bailable or not bailable, and cognizable or

non-cognizable, has been qualified under the 1st Table of the 1st Schedule
of Cr.P.C., which relate to the offences under IPC.

7. F.I.R (first information report), is formal recordal of a complaint, by

police in case of commission of a cognizable offence, and can be
considered as a first step in the process of the investigation of a cognizable
offence by Police.

Offence Cognizable or Non- Bailable or Non-

Cognizable bailable

Punishable With Non-cognizable Bailable

Imprisonment For

 Less Than 3 Years

or with fine only

Punishable With Cognizable Non-Bailable

Imprisonment For

 3 Years or more

8. The Table II of the 1st Schedule of Cr.P.C., gives a general guideline to

determine whether an offence is bailable, nonbailable, cognizable or non-
cognizable. The criteria in the table below, is applicable in those cases
which are silent on this aspect. For easy understanding, the following
criteria may be understood:
9. The criminal investigation process and prosecution mechanism in India,
can be started in any of the following manner:

a. On complaint /reporting /knowledge of the commission of a

cognizable offence, any police officer, even without the orders of a
Magistrate, can investigate the cognizable case. [Section 156 (1) of
the Cr.P.C.]

b. In case of failure or inaction of a police officer to investigate a

cognizable offence, a criminal complaint can be filed before a
Magistrate under Section 190 of Cr.P.C., for taking cognizance of
such offence, and on such complaint, the Magistrate himself can take
cognizance of the case and do the enquiry, or in the alternative under
Section 156 (3) of the Cr.P.C., order Police to register an F.I.R and
investigate the offence.

c. In case of non-cognizable offence, Police is not obliged to investigate,

and the judicial process can be started by filing a criminal complaint
before the competent court, under Section 190 of the Cr.P.C.

Questions

1. Explain Organizational set up of judiciary in India

2. Define Constitution of criminal courts and officers

3. Write a note on Jurisdiction and powers of criminal courts

4. Indian Evidence Act,1872- Admissions

5. Evidence
Concepts

The Indian Evidence Act, 1872 is the Indian Law of Evidence. The Act is
contained in 167 sections and one schedule. The schedule is repealed using the
Repealing Act, 1938. Several amendments are later made to the act. The
updated Act contained 182 sections.

The Indian Evidence Act or The Law of Evidence is a subject which cannot
be understood without understanding these important features which forms the
basis of the Law of Evidence. For a good Lawyering skills and hands on the
subject these features are a must on tips. Only then can you jump on to the
next level to understand and study The Law of Evidence These important
features are-

Court

Court includes all Judges and Magistrates, and all persons except Arbitrators,
legally authorized to take evidence. A Court is a governmental institution with
the authority to decide legal disputes between the parties. All kinds of persons
are free to bring their disputes to the court and seek a fair judgement. The
Judiciary is the system who interprets and applies the Law. The place where
the court sists is known as a venue. The room where the court proceedings are
held is known as a Court room. A Court is constituted by a minimum of three
parties-

 The Plaintiff-is a person who complains for an injury caused to him.

 The Defandant-is a person who defences himself against the complaint

made by the plaintiff against the defendant and,

 The Judicial power-who is to examine the truth of the fact and deliver a
judgement.

Besides this Advocates of both the parties.

2) FACT- The term ‘’fact’’ means and includes-

1. Any thing, state of things,or relation of things, capable of being

perceived by the senses;

2. Any mental condition of which any person is conscious.

Example-

 That man heard or saw something, is a fact.

 That women has a certain reputation, is a fact.

 The jar kept on the table, is a fact.

 That a man holds a certain opinion, has a certain intention, acts in

good faith, acts fraudulently, or usese a word in a particular sense, or
is or was at a specified time conscious of a particular sensation, is a
fact.

 That girl has so and so name, is a fact.

Facts in issue-

The expression ‘fact in issue’ means and includes- Any fact from which, either
by itself or in connection with other facts, the existence, non-existence, nature
or extent of any right, liability, or disability, asserted or denied in any suit or
proceeding, necessarily follows. Example- A is accused for the murder of B.
At his trial in the court the following facts may be in issue-

 That A caused B’s death;

 That A intended to cause B’s death;

 That A, at the time of doing the act which caused B’s death, was by
reason,of unsound mind or incapable of knowing its nature.
Relavant fact-

A fact is said to be relavant to another when one fact is connected with the
other fact in any ways reffered to in the provisions of this act in the chapter of
relavancy of facts. Relavant fact-The word ‘relavant’ means that any two facts
to which it is applied are in such a way related to each other that,one,either
taken by itself or in connection with the other facts, proves or renders
probablity of the past, present or future existence or non-existence of the other.
‘Relavant’ means admissible in evidence. Of all the rules in evidence the most
important is that the evidence adduced should be confined only to the matters
which are in dispute,or which form the subject of investigation.

Document-

The term ‘’document’’ means any matter expressed or described upon any
substance by means of letters, figures or marks, or by more than one of those
means, intended to be used,or which may be used, for the purpose of recording
that matter.

Example-

 A writing is a document;

 Words printed, lithographed or photographed are documents;

 A map or plan is a document;

 An inscription on a metal plate or stone is a document;

 A caricature is a document.

The term document includes all material substances on which thoughts of the
people are expressed by writing or in any other way, by a mark or a symbol.
For instance, the wooden board on which the bakers, the milk men, indicate by
notches, the number of loaves of bread or liters of milk supplied to the
customers, are documents.

Evidence

Evidence means and includes-

 All statements which the court permits or requires to be made before it by

the witnesses, in relation to matters of fact under inquiry; such statements
are called oral evidence;

 All documents including electronic records produced for the inspection of

the Court, such documents are called documentary evidence.

The term Evidence covers (a) the evidence of witnesses, and (b) Documentary
evidence. Evidence can both be oral and documentary and electronic records
can be produced as evidence. The word ‘evidence’ does not includes
everything that is before a Court. There are other medium of proof as well. For
eg-

 The statement of parties,

 The result of investigations held,

 Any real or personal property been inspected in determining the question

at issue, such as weapons, tools or stolen property.

Proved

A fact is said to be proved when after considering the matters before it, the
Court either beleives it to exist or considers its existence so probable that a
prudent man ought, under the circumstances of the particular case, to act upon
the supposition that it exists. When the Court beleives it to exist, it means it is
proved beyond reasonable doubt. In the case of criminal proceeding the guilt
of the accused is to be proved beyond reasonable doubt. In civil proceedings
proving beyond reasonable doubt is not necessary, only balancing of
possibilities and probablities is sufficient. The meaning of proved means
positive findings.

Disproved

A fact is said to be disproved when, after considering the matters before it, the
Court either believes that it does not exist, or considers its non-existence so
probable that a prudent man ought, under the circumstances of the particular
case, to act upon the supposition that it does not exist. Disproved is contrary to
proved. It also means negative findings. In disproved the existence of such fact
is not proved but its non-existence is proved. 9) Not Proved- A fact is said
not to be proved when it is neither proved nor disproved. There is no positive
or negative findings. It is a situation where the parties fail to explain precisley,
how the matter stands.

Affidavit

An affidavit is a written statement made voulentarily made by an affiant or

deponent under an oath administered by a person who is legally authorized to
do so. Affidavits are confiened only to those facts which the deponent is able
of his own knowlegde to prove. An affidavit filed by a party cannot be termed
as evidence. Affidavits cannot be used in evidence. It can only be used if the
Court permits to be used for sufficient reasons.

Motive

A motive in law is the cause that moves the people to commit a certain act.
The motive is a very essential factor to be seen behind every act, specially a
criminal act committed. It can be explained with the help of an example-

 Rekha, who was the owner’s daughter was killed by the tenant dheeraj,
who had a evil eye on rekha. Dheeraj had tried to rape Rekha but Rekha
 managed to escape and told her mother about the incident on account of
which Rekha’s father abusingley told dheeraj to vacate the house
immediately. This may be taken as the motive of the Murder.

If the prosecution is able to prove the motive, then the Court has to consider it
and see whether it is adequate or not. Where there is a direct evidence, the
evidence of motive is not of much significance.

Circumstantial evidence-

It is one of the well established fact in law that the witness may lie but the
circumstances never lie. It is not necessary that a direct ocular evidence is
needed to prove that a person was behind the crime. The guilt of a person can
also be proved by circumstantial evidence. For conviction in the case of
circumstantial evidence the following conditions must be accomplished. They
are-

 The circumstances from which the conclusion of the guilt is to be drawn

should be fully established.

 The facts established should be consistent and they should not be

explainable on any other hypothesis except that the accused is guilty.

 The nature of the circumstances should be conclusive.

 They should include only the facts which are to be proved.

 There must be a chain of evidence completely showing that in all human

probability the act must have been done by the accused.

May Presume-

The term ‘’may presume’’ means that the Court has the authority to presume
the fact as proved,or to call upon for a confimatory evidence, as the
circumstances require. In such a case the presumption is not a hard and fast
presumption, incapable of rebuttal. Such presumptions in law are called as
‘juris et de jury’. The Court may presume a fact or regard such fact as proved,
unless it is disproved, or it may ask for its proof.

Shall Presume-

When a Court presumes a certain fact it has no other option except considering
the fact as proved unless an evidence is given to disprove that fact. The party
interested in disproving that fact can produce an evidence if he can. In such a
case the Court will have the power to allow the opposite party to disprove the
fact which is presumed as proved and if the opposite party is successful in
disproving the fact then the Court shall not presume the fact. The words ‘’shall
presume’’ indicates that presumption therein is unrebuttable.

Conclusive Proof-

When one fact is declared by this act to be conclusive proof of another, the
Court shall, on proof of the one fact, regard the other as proved, and shall not
allow evidence to be given for the purpose of disproving it.

Relevance

Legal Significance of Relevance

The concept of relevance plays a pivotal role in legal fact-finding. Thayer

(1898: 266, 530) articulates its significance in terms of two foundational
principles of the law of evidence: first, without exception, nothing which is not
relevant may be received as evidence by the court and secondly, subject to
many exceptions and qualifications, whatever is relevant is receivable as
evidence by the court. Thayer’s view has been influential and finds expression
in sources of law, for example, in Rule 402 of the Federal Rules of Evidence in
the United States.[6] Thayer claims, and it is now widely accepted, that
relevance is a “logical” and not a legal concept; in section 2.1.3, we will
examine this claim and the dissent expressed by Wigmore. Leaving aside the
dissenting view for the moment, we will turn first to consider possible
conceptions of relevance in the conventional sense of logical relevance.

Logical Relevance vs. Legal Relevance

“A reality which is sensibly applicable may not be lawfully pertinent under the
procurements of the Evidence Act, thus might be forbidden in proof. All
allowable confirmation is pertinent, yet all applicable proof is not so much
permissible. All certainties which are permitted by the procurements of the
Evidence Act to be demonstrated are important; be that as it may, however
pertinent a certainty may be, unless it is permitted to be demonstrated by the
procurements of the Evidence Act, it is not allowable.

A fact is said to be logically relevant to another when it bears such a causal

relation with the other as to render probable the existence or non-existence of
the latter. As stated above, all facts which are logically relevant are not legally
relevant. One fact is said to be legally relevant to another, only when the one is
connected with the other in any of the ways referred to in Ss. 5 to 55 of the
Evidence Act.

Logical relevancy is wider than legal relevancy; every fact which is legally
relevant is logically relevant, but every fact which is logically relevant is not
necessarily legally relevant. Thus, a confession made to a police officer may
appear to be logically relevant, but such a confession is not legally relevant,
for S. 25 of the Act declares that it cannot be used as evidence against the
person making it.

The Indian Evidence Act lays down, in Ss. 5-55, what facts are relevant; but
the mere fact of logical relevancy does not ensure the admissibility of a fact.
Very often, public considerations of fairness and the practical necessity for
reaching speedy decisions necessarily cause the rejection of much of the
evidence which may be logically relevant.

Thus, all evidence that is admissible is relevant, but all that is relevant is not
necessarily admissible. Relevancy is the genus of which admissibility is a
species. Thus, oral statements which are hearsay may be relevant, but not
being direct evidence, are not admissible.

Legal relevancy is, for the most part, based upon logical relevancy, but it is not
correct to say that all that is logically relevant is necessarily legally relevant
and vice versa. Certain classes of facts which, in ordinary life, are relied upon
as logically relevant are rejected by law as legally irrelevant. Cases of
exclusion of logically relevant facts by positive rules of law are:

(i) Exclusion of oral by documentary evidence: Ss. 91-99.

(ii) Exclusion of evidence of facts by estoppel: Ss. 115-117.

(iii) Exclusion of privileged communications, such as confidential

communications with a legal adviser, communication during marriage,
official communications, etc.: Ss. 121-130”

Admissibility

Admissibility means that the facts which are relevant are only admissible by
the Court.

According to section 136 of the Indian Evidence Act, 1872, however, the final
discretion on the admissibility of evidence lies with the judge. Section 136
states that:

“When either party proposes to give evidence of any fact, the Judge may ask
the party proposing to give the evidence in what manner the alleged fact, if
proved, would be relevant; and the Judge shall admit the evidence if he thinks
that the fact, if proved, would be relevant, and not otherwise. If the fact
proposed to be proved is one of which evidence is admissible only upon proof
of some other fact, such last- mentioned fact must be proved before evidence
is given of the fact first- mentioned, unless the party undertakes to give proof
of such fact, and the Court is satisfied with such undertaking. If the relevancy
of one alleged fact depends upon another alleged fact being first proved, the
Judge may, in his discretion, either permit evidence of the first fact to be given
before the second fact is proved, or require evidence to be given of the second
fact before evidence is given of the first fact.”

“The essential ingredients of the above section are:

  It is the judge who decides the questions of relevancy and

admissibility.

  When a party proposes to adduce evidence of any fact, the judge may
ask the party to clarify ‘in what manner’ the fact would be relevant.

  The judge would ‘admit’ the particular adduced fact only if he is

satisfied with the answer of the party that it is, indeed, relevant under
one or the other provisions of S. 6 to 55. Thus the consideration of
relevancy comes first and of admissibility later and the judge will
admit the fact only if it is relevant.”

In the recent case of Ram Bihari Yadav v. State of Bihar, the Supreme Court
observed that “More often the expressions ‘relevancy and admissibility’ are
used as synonyms but their legal implications are distinct and different from
for more often than not facts which are relevant are not admissible; so also
facts which are admissible may not be relevant, for example questions
permitted to put in cross examination to test the veracity or impeach the credit
of witnesses, though not relevant are admissible. The probative value of the
evidence is the weight to be given to it which has to be judged having regards
to the fact and circumstances of each case.”
Section 9 of the Law of Evidence Act, 1872, lays down some facts which can
be treated as relevant. In the case of Lakshmandas Chaganlal Bhatia v. State,
the court laid down the following to be “relevant facts:

  Facts necessary to explain or introduce a fact in issue or relevant fact;

  Facts which support or rebut an inference suggested by a fact in issue

or a relevant fact;

  Facts which establish the identity of anything or person whose

identity is relevant;

  Facts which fix the time and place at which any fact in issue or
relevant fact happened;

  Facts which show the relation of parties by whom any fact in issue or
relevant fact was transacted.”

Another section of the Evidence Act which deals with admissibility is the
Section 11. Section 11 deals with those facts which are not otherwise relevant
but become relevant if they are inconsistent with any relevant fact or they
make the existence or non-existence of any relevant fact highly probably or
improbable. In Sheikh Ketab-Uddin v. Nagarchand Pattak, it was held, that
where the executants of an archive holding presentations of boundaries of land
are alive and don’t give their evidence, such archives are not acceptable under
this segment.

In Ambikacharan v. Kumuk Mohan, Cummin and Mukherji held that as a

general rule, S.11 is controlled by S.32, “when the evidence consists of
statement of persons who are dead and the test whether such a statement is
relevant under S.11, though not relevant and admissible under S.32, is that it is
admissible under S.11, when it is altogether immaterial whether what said was
true or false, but highly material that it was said.”
In the case of Bibi Khaver v. Bibi Rukha the court held that “in order that a
collateral fact may be admissible as relevant under this section, the
requirements of the law are that:

  The collateral fact must itself be established by normally conclusive

evidence; and

  It must, when established, afford a reasonable presumption or

inference as to the matter in dispute.”

However, there are limitations to Section 11. According to R. v.

Prabhudas, “the court must use exercise a sound discretion and see that the
connection between the fact to be proved and the fact sought to be given under
S.11 to prove it, must be so immediate as to render the co-existence of the two
highly probable. The section makes admissible only those facts which are of
great weight in bringing the court to a conclusion one way or the other as
regards the existence or the non-existence of the fact in question. The
admissibility under this section must, in each case, depend on how near is the
connection of the facts sought to be proved with facts in issue and to what
degree do they render facts in issue probable or improbable when taken with
the other facts in case. There must always be room for the exercise of
discretion when the relevancy of the testimony rests upon its effect towards
making the affirmative or negative of a proposition ‘highly probable’, and,
with any reasonable use of the directions, the court ought not to interfere.”

Another limitation mentioned in the case Bela Rani v. Mahabir is that “s.11 is
also controlled by ss.17 to 39. And as to the admissibility of depositions made
by a person since deceased, it has been held that unless they are admissible
under ss.32 and 33, s.11 will not avail to make them evidence.”

Difference between relevancy and admissibility:-

 Relevancy
(i) When facts are so related as to
render the existence or non-
existence of other facts
probable according to common
course of events or human
conduct, they are called
relevant.
(ii) It is founded on logic and
human experience.
(iii) The question regarding
relevancy has been enunciated
in Sec.5 to Sec.55 of I.E.Act.
(iv) It signifies as to what facts are
necessary to prove or disprove
a fact in issue.
(v) It merely implies the relevant
facts.
(vi) It is the cause.
(vii) The court may apply its
discretion.
(viii) All admissible facts are
relevant.
ADMISSIONS
Section 17 of the Indian Evidence Act defines Admissions, according to which
an admission means a statement (oral or documentary or contained in
electronic from) which suggests any inference as to any fact in issue or
Admissibility
(i) When facts have been declared
to be legally relevant under
I.E. Act, they become
admissible.
(ii) It is founded on law not on
logic.
(iii) The question of admissibility
are provided in Sec.56 and the
following sections.
(iv) It is a decisive factor between
relevancy and proof.
(v) It implies what facts are
admissible and what are not
admissible.
(vi) It is the effect.
(vii) There is no scope for the court
to apply discretion.
(viii) All relevant facts are not
admissible. Only legally
relevant facts are admissible.
relevant fact, and which is made by any of the person and under the
circumstances mentioned under sections 18 to 23 of the Indian Evidence Act.

It is important for an admission to be clear, precise and not vague or

ambiguous. An admission is the best evidence that an opposite party can rely
upon, though not conclusive, it is nevertheless critical on the point unless
proved false or is validly allowed to be withdrawn.

Confession

A confession made by an accused person is irrelevant as regards admissible

evidence, if the making of the confession appears to the Court to have been
caused by any inducement, threat or promise, by the person in authority. If the
Court considers that the threat or inducement made is sufficient to make the
accused person believe that he would gain any advantage or avoid any evil in
reference to the proceeding against him. Obtaining an honest confession is
tricky business. And while it is highly important for an honest admission to be
obtained, the accused possesses all his rights until he is convicted, and even
then, he retains many rights. Therefore, in the interest of conducting a criminal
proceeding properly, confessions must be got according to the law. For that,
the confession has to be made when the authority has not induced him to make
that confession through a threat or a promise, in relation to the trial at hand.

For example, when the accused was in police custody, the police threatened to
harm his family by planting false charges on them if he did not confess. The
accused gave a confession under coercion. This is not a valid confession.

Dying Declaration

It essentially means a statement made by a person as to the cause of his death

or as to the circumstances of the transaction resulting in his death.
Point of Interest

The legal maxim “nemo moriturus proesumitur mentiri” translates to “a man

will not meet his maker with a lie in his mouth.”

Though a dying declaration is entitled to great weight, it is worthwhile to note

that the accused has no power of cross-examination. This is the reason Court
also insists that dying declaration should be of such a nature as to inspire the
full confidence of the Court in its correctness.

It cannot be laid down as an absolute rule of law that dying declaration cannot
form the sole basis of conviction unless it is corroborated.

For example, if a man declares to a doctor, just before his death, that he was
pushed from the top floor of a building to his demise, it is a dying declaration.

For example, if a newly married bride confides in her mother that her in-laws
are ill-treating her very badly and she dies under mysterious circumstances a
few days later, it is not a dying declaration.

Experts opinions

Sec. 45 to Sec.51 under Chapter-II of the Indian Evidence Act provide

relevancy of opinion of third persons, which is commonly called in our day to
day practice as expert’s opinion. These provisions are exceptional in nature to
the general rule that evidence is to be given of the facts only which are within
the knowledge of a witness. The exception is based on the principle that the
court can’t form opinion on the matters, which are technically complicated and
professionally sophisticated, without assistance of the persons who have
acquired special knowledge and skill on those matters. Conditions for
admitting an expert opinion are following:-

a) That the dispute can’t be resolved without expert opinion and

b) That the witness expressing the opinion is really an expert.

Who is an expert?

The definition of an expert may be referred from the provision of Sec.45 of

Indian Evidence Act that an ‘Expert’ means a person who has special
knowledge, skill or experience in any of the following----

1) foreign law,

2) science

3) art

4) handwriting or

5) finger impression and such knowledge has been gathered by him

a) by practice,

b) observation or

c) proper studies.

For example, medical officer, chemical analyst, explosive expert, ballistic

expert, fingerprint expert etc.

According to Sec.45, the definition of an expert is confined only to the five

subjects or fields as mentioned above. But practically there are some more
subjects or fields on which court may seek opinion an expert.

An expert witness is one who has devoted time and study to a special branch
of learning and thus he is specially skilled on those points on which he is asked
to state his opinion. His evidence on such points is admissible to enable the
court to come to a satisfactory conclusion.

Duty of the expert:-

a) An expert is not a witness of fact.

b) His evidence is of advisory character.

c) An expert deposes and does not decide.

d) An expert witness is to furnish the judge necessary scientific criteria for

testing the accuracy of the conclusion so as to enable the judge to form his
independent judgment by application of the criteria to the facts proved by
the evidence.

Value of expert opinion:-

The Expert evidence has two aspects ---

a) Data evidence [it can’t be rejected if it is inconsistent to oral evidence]

b) Opinion evidence [it is only an inference drawn from the data and it
would not get precedence over the direct eye-witness testimony unless the
inconsistency between the two is so great as to falsify the oral evidence] --
[Arshad v. State of A.P. 1996 CrLJ 2893 (para34) (AP)]

Expert evidence is opinion evidence and it can’t take the place of

substantive evidence. It is a rule of procedure that expert evidence must be
corroborated either by clear direct evidence or by circumstantial evidence.

It is not safe to rely upon this type of evidence without seeking

independent and reliable corroboration -- [S.Gopal Reddy v. State of A.P.
AIR 1996 SC2184 (Para27)]

Approver Evidence

At the outset it is important to define the subject itself. An approver is a person

involved with a certain crime, but he, at a later stage, confesses and offers to
serve as a witness for the prosecution. For his confession and testimony he
gets a reduced punishment or even a pardon. Such an understanding between
the perpetrator and the prosecutors allows for a water-tight case against the
accused and helps successful prosecution also it reduces the time taken for
investigation. As such, both parties stand to gain.
Technically, an approver is an accomplice. The accomplice is involved in
stages crucial to the crime’s commission, such as planning, execution, or
cover-up. In K.K. Dalmia v. Delhi Administartion an accomplice was defined
as someone who voluntarily co-operates with, and helps others in the
commission of the crime. He is said to be a particeps criminis – a participator
in the actual crime.

The definition of the approver has been lucidly put in the words of Sir
Subramania Ayyar in his judgement in Ramaswami Goundan v. R. “an
accomplice witness is one who is either being jointly tried for the same offence
and makes admissions which may be taken as evidence against a co-prisoner
and which make the confessing accused pro hac vice a sort of witness, or one
who has received a conditional pardon on the understanding that he is to tell
all he knows, and who may at any time be relegated to the dock if he fails in
his undertaking."

The accomplice may have known that the crime was going to happen and not
taken any steps to prevent it, or may have engaged in other activities which
were designed to make the crime easier to commit or less likely to be detected.
This gives the approver a rather unique insight on the crime, as he or she was
directly involved and makes his testimony of immense importance to the
prosecutors.

Having stated this, it must also be noted that is common practice to refer to
such testimony of fellow accused as ‘tainted’ without further
corroboration. The statements given by them, the accomplices are not
accorded the same weight as independent witnesses. There are primarily three
reasons for viewing such statements with an eye of suspicion: (a) because an
accomplice is likely to swear falsely in a bid to shift the guilt from himself; (b)
because an accomplice, as a participator in the crime, being presumed an
immoral person, is likely to disregard the oath; (c) because he gives his
evidence under promise of a pardon, if he discloses all he knows against those
with whom he acted criminally and this hope would lead him to favour the
prosecution. Therefore, corroboration of the evidence of an accomplice is
essential and shall be dealt with in detail in a later chapter.

Categories Of Accomplices

In order to be an accomplice, a person must participate in the commission of

the same crime and this he may do in various ways. Under English law, they
may be categorized as follows:

Prime Accused Of 1st Degree:

The person primarily responsible for the crime having actually committed it

Ex: ‘A’ killed ‘B’ with a knife. A is the prime accused of 1st degree.

Prime Accused Of 2nd Degree:

Persons ancillary to the crime’s commission – present while being committed

and assist in its commission.

Ex: When ‘A’ was trying to kill ‘B’, ‘B’s wife obstructed ‘A’. On that the
companion of A i.e. ‘D’ caught hold of B’s wife, thereby cleared the way to
‘A’ for murdering ’B’.

Here the acts of ‘D’ come under this category.

Accessories Before The Fact:

Abettors and conspirators who take part in the crime before the actual
occurrence of crime without being physically present at the scene of crime.

Accessories After The Fact:

These accomplices who join the hands of accused after the commission of
crime to screen the evidence and harbour the criminals from arrest,
punishment etc.
It must be noted that if an accessory’s participation is limited to the knowledge
that the crime is to be committed, he will not be considered as an
accomplice, [7] thus removed from the ambit of “approver".

Presumptions

presume”—.Whenever

it is directed by this Act that the Court shall presume afact, it shall regard
such fact as proved, unless and until it is disproved.

“Conclusive

proof”—When one fact is declared by this Act to be conclusive proof of

another, the Court shall, on proof of the one fact, regard the other as proved,
and sh allnot allow evidence to be given for the purpose of disproving it.

What is a presumption?

Presumption is an inference of fact drawn from other known or proved facts. It

is rule which treats an unknown fact as proved on proof or admission of
certain other fact. It means a rule of law that courts shall draw a particular
inference from a particular fact or from particular evidence, unless and until
the truth of such inference is disproved. Presumptions help in determining the
probative force of evidence by bringing the estimation of probative force under
some inflexible rules excluding judicial discretion. The following is
a classification of presumptions:

1. Presumptions of Fact or Natural Presumptions:-

These are inferences which the mind naturally and logically draws from given
facts without the help of legal directions. Such inferences are drawn not by
virtue of any rule of law, but by the spontaneous operation of our reasoning
faculty. These presumptions fall more properly within the provinceof logic and
do not constitute a branch of jurisprudence. They are always permissive,
rebuttable, and do not constitute a branch of Jurisprudence. They are indicated
in the Act by the expression ‘may presume’ (Ss. 86 to 88, 90 and 114)

2. Presumptions of Law or Artificial Presumptions:-

They are always obligatory, may be rebuttable or irrebuttable and constitute a

branch of Jurisprudence. (2a) Rebuttable

Presumptions of Law:-

They are indicated in the Act by the expression “shall presume” (Ss. 79 to85,
89 and 105)

(2b) Irrebuttable Presumptions of Law :-

They are indicated in the Act by the expression “conclusive proof (Ss. 41,112
and 113).Presumptions of fact :- The first two parts of section 4 deal with
presumption of fact. The first gives the court the discretionary power to
presume the existence of a fact, that is to say, that the court may regard the fact
as proved unless and until it is disproved. Where a doctor gave an injection for
determination of pregnancy which resulted in miscarriage and death of the
woman, it was held that the doctor could be presumed to know the side-effects
of the medicine as doctors are generally informed of such effects by the
manufacturers of medicines.’ The court may even require further proof of
the fact presumed. A presumption of this kind is wholly in the discretion of the
court. The Court may or may not presume the existence of the fact in question.
For example, where a person is shown to be in possession of stolen goods soon
after the theft, the court may presume that he was the thief himself or had
knowledge of the fact that the property in question was stolen. A presumption
can be drawn only from facts and not from other presumptions by a process of
probable and logical reasoning. The presumption of a conspiracy to commit
murder could not be drawn where the statements of the witnesses did not
afford any foundation for the same.
May Presume (Theft Cases):-

Presumptions of fact are permissive in the sense that the court has discretion to
draw or not to draw them? They are also rebuttable as their evidentiary value
may be negatived by contrary proof. Thus these presumptions afford a
provisional proof. That a person found in possession of stolen property soon
after the theft is either the thief or has received the goods knowing them to be
stolen is a presumption of this type. (Section114(a). For other illustrations of
presumptions of fact (see sections 86 to 88, 90 and 114).

Shall presume (Rape Cases) :-

There being presumptions of law are always obligatory; and a judge cannot
refuse to draw the presumption. Such presumptions are either (1) rebuttable or
(2) irrebuttable. Rebuttable presumptions of law are indicated by the
expression ‘shall presume’. They hold good unless and until there is contrary
evidence, e.g.,the Court shall presume the genuineness of every Government
publication. (Section 84).Section 79 to sec-85 deals with the presumption
of documents in all these court shall presume the authentication of the
document.

Burden of proof: The burden of producing evidence means that, in general,

the party that makes the claim also has the burden of producing the evidence to
prove these facts. However, in some exceptional cases, there may be laws that
say that the defendant has to prove that he did not perform the wrongful act.
This is known as shifting the burden of proof.

Tor example, under environmental law, under the precautionary principle, the
burden is on the hazardous industry to prove that it has not violated any
environmental norms when it undertakes a project.

For example, under the dowry prohibition law, if a woman who succumbed to
burns under mysterious circumstances, had been married for less than 7 years
and it can be proved that she was being harassed by her husband or in-laws for
dowry, the burden of proving that dowry death was not committed falls on the
husband and his family.

Definition

Whoever desires any Court to give judgment as to any legal right or liability
dependent on the existence of facts which he asserts, must prove that those
facts exist.

When a person is bound to prove the existence of any fact, it is said that he
burden of proof lies on that person.

Illustrations

(a) A desires a Court to give judgment that B shall be punished for a crime
which A says B has committed.

A must prove that B has committed the crime.

(b) A desires a Court to give judgment that he is entitled to certain land in the
possession of B, by reason of facts which he asserts, and which B denies,
to be true.

A must prove the existence of those facts.

Cross Examination and Re Examination

In Republic of India wherever sizable amount of complaints and cases are filed
in civil and criminal courts each day, delay in justice is common as pendency
of cases in courts are growing speedily. Examination of witnesses plays a
crucial role within the presentation of the proof in an exceedingly court of law
no matter civil or criminal case and acceptableness of proof is additionally a
crucial facet that has got to be set by the judges solely. Owing to that every
case are going to be looked upon clearly and it’ll take lasting to pass the
judgment by the court. The examination of witnesses is classified into 3
varieties as outlined underneath ‘Sec: 137’ of ‘Indian proof Act, 1872’ as
follows:-

Examination-in-chief means that the examination of witness by the party who

calls him shall be referred to as his examination-in-chief.

Cross-Examination means that the examination of witness by the adverse party

shall be referred to as his interrogation.

Re-Examination means that the examination of a witness, beyond the

interrogation by the party who referred to as him, shall be referred to as his re-
examination.

The art of interrogation plays a crucial role within the trial of every case that
involves exertions and talent of lawyers whereas providing justice to their
purchasers. an ideal professional ought to learn the art of interrogation not by
reading newspapers however the flourishing creator learns by doing it, or
observation others mate well; by reading trial and deposition transcripts or,
better yet, by conducting the examination in person. The lawyer should learn
additionally to adapt to explicit witnesses and completely different cases.

The right of interrogation is one in every of the foremost powerful

instrumentalities provided lawyers within the conduct of judicial proceeding.
One in every of the foremost vital functions of interrogation is to aim to
destroy the testimony or the credibleness of the opponent’s witnesses. Justice
isn’t served if a witness is unable to speak credibleness to a jury. The look for
truth is that the final and idealistic finish of all litigated matter in an
exceedingly court trial.

The main object of interrogation is to seek out the reality and detection of
falsehood in human testimony. It’s designed either to destroy or weaken the
force of proof that is already given by a witness. Interrogation of witness could
be a duty of each professional towards his shopper and not a matter of glory
and fame. It’s the foremost efficacious take a look at to get the reality and to
observe the false statements of the witness. It ought to be remembered that the
Justice shouldn’t be defeated by the improper interrogation. one in every of the
needs of interrogation is to asking queries relating to what the witness has
declared within the Examination-in-chief and therefore the answer is that the
reply by the witness to the question place by the advocate. Often, however,
one must pay time with the witness to develop many vital points to counter the
impact of the examination. Before initiating an interrogation of any witness,
the professional ought to clearly bear in mind those points he or she desires to
form thereupon witness. And then, he or she ought to write them down. These
points conjointly ought to be mentioned with those that are helping at trial.
Patience is that the virtue in interrogation and judges should offer likelihood to
each party to Cross-Examine the opposite party’s witness.

A professional ought to use leading queries i.e. “is that correct?” and “isn’t it a
fact” etc. at the time of Cross-Examining of the witness as a result of asking
solely leading queries is probably the oldest rule of interrogation. Its associate
previous rule as a result of it’s a decent one. Leading queries are simplest as a
result of the primarily enable the questioner to testify and therefore the witness
to formalize. The technique advances one in every of the vital dynamics of the
room is management. Asking leading queries permits the questioner to be
forceful, fearless, knowledgeable and informative. Sensible factor return from
leading queries. Sometimes bear in mind that leading queries can also grow
dull. nobody likes to listen to 100 queries in an exceedingly row that finish
with, “is that correct?” and every one the queries place throughout the trial of
interrogation should be lawful as permissible underneath ‘Sec: 146’ of ‘Indian
proof Act, 1872’.
Questions asked throughout the interrogation should be relevant to the
problem connected within the facts of the case and indecent & disgraceful
queries can even be asked by the advocate at the time of interrogation unless
they relate to the very fact in issue. Most significantly queries supposed to
insult or gravel ought to be verboten by the court though’ queries looks to be
correct.

The court who has authoritative power to determine the case will recall the
witness for the interrogation supported the facts and circumstances of the
actual case and an outline procedure doesn’t remove the rights of the parties to
Cross-Examine whereas each party has got to tend deal within the matter of
interrogation. There are sure details which may be thought of as chief heads of
the interrogation as follows:-

 To cause the witness to change or amend his proof by questioning

concerning his testimony.

 To switch the proof given underneath the Examination-in-chief, by

inflicting the witness to talk to supplementary facts to point out the
explanations and circumstances.

 To discredit the proof of witness by swing queries connected along with

his character.

 From reasons arising out of his proof by inflicting him to relinquish more
proof.

 To cause him to relinquish proof to be received as true

Impeaching credit of witness

The credit of a witness may be impeached in the following ways by the

adverse party, or, with the consent of the Court, by the party who calls him:-
(1) by the evidence of persons who testify that they, from their knowledge of
the witness believe him to be unworthy of credit;

(2) by proof that the witness has been bribed, or has 90[accepted] the offer of a
bride, or has received any other corrupt inducement to give his evidence;

(3) by proof of former statements inconsistent with any part of his evidence
which is liable to be contradicted;

(4) When a man is prosecuted for rape or an attempt to ravish, it may be

shown that the prosecutrix was of generally immoral character.

Explanation – A witness declaring another witness to be unworthy of credit

may not, upon his examination-in-chief, give reasons for his belief, but he may
be asked his reasons in cross-examination, and the answers which he gives
cannot be contradicted, though, if they are false, he may afterwards be charged
with giving false evidence.

Illustrations

(a) A sues B for the price of goods sold and delivered to B. C says that he
delivered the goods to B.

Evidence is offered to show that, on a previous occasion, he said that he

had delivered goods to B.

The evidence is admissible.

(b) A is indicated for the murder of B.

C says that B, when dying, declared that A had given B the wound of
which he died.

Evidence is offered to show that, on a previous occasion, C said that the

wound was not given by A or in his presence. The evidence admissible.
Questions

1. Write a elaborate note on Indian Evidence Act

2. Approver evidence

3. Explain Presumptions of law Presumptions of fact

4. Define Burden of proof

5. Note on Cross-examination and re-examination

6. Note on Impeaching the credit of witness

BLOCK 5 - SPECIAL AND LOCAL LAWS

Need and Objectives

Drugs are illegal in India. There is a minimum sentence of 6 months for

possession of small amounts deemed for personal consumption only. A 10-
year sentence for possession of other amounts applies. The judicial process is
slow and pre-trial detention lasting several years is normal.

It’s illegal to buy, sell, kill or capture any protected wild animal or trade its
parts without a licence. India has a strong legal framework to regulate and
restrict wildlife trade and is also a signatory to the Convention on International
Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES). If you’re
caught purchasing or trafficking such goods illegally, you will be prosecuted
and receive prison sentences or fines.

The laws governing alcohol vary from state to state. Consumption of alcohol is
prohibited in Bihar, Gujarat, Kerala, Manipur, Nagaland and the union
territory of Lakshadweep. Consumption or possession of alcohol in prohibited
states can lead to arrest without bail and charges which carry a sentence of 5 to
10 years. In some states foreign nationals and non-resident Indians are able to
buy 30-day alcohol permits. Seek advice from your local travel agent/hotel or
the authorities to ensure you’re aware of any alcohol prohibition in the state.

During major religious festivals, national holidays and elections a ban on the
sale of alcohol is often imposed.

Indian customs has strict rules about goods and currency that can be brought
into and taken out of the country. Failure to declare contents you’re carrying
which may be prohibited or subject to a tax or duty payment can lead to heavy
penalties including imprisonment.

You can find more information about the list of items and rules and regulations
on the Indian Customs website.
On 11 December 2013, the Indian Supreme Court set aside a 2009 ruling of
the Delhi High Court that decriminalised homosexuality. Although
prosecutions of gay people are rare, conviction for engaging in a homosexual
act could lead to a prison sentence. See our advice page for LGBT travellers.

British nationals have been arrested for bringing satellite phones into India
without prior permission from the Indian authorities. More information on the
use of satellite phones can be found on the Department of
Telecommunications’ website.

You may need prior permission from the Indian authorities to bring equipment
like listening or recording devices, radio transmitters, powerful cameras or
binoculars into India. Seek advice from the Indian High Commission in
London.

There may be very serious penalties for breaking a law which might seem
trivial to you, or for doing something which may not be illegal in the UK.
Hobbies involving cameras and binoculars, like bird-watching or plane
spotting, may be misunderstood particularly near military sites, government
buildings, airports and railway stations.

The penalties for paedophile offences are severe.

Indian family law is very different from UK law and particular caution is
needed when, for example, child custody becomes an issue.

On 30 November 2016, India’s supreme court ruled that the national anthem
must be played in every cinema before a film is screened. Audiences are
expected to stand when the anthem is played.

Protection of Civil Rights Act, 1955

An Act to prescribe punishment for the preaching and 2 practice of

"Untouchability" for the enforcement of any disability arising therefrom and
for matters connected therewith.
Be it enacted by Parliament in the Sixth Year of the Republic of India as
follows:

The Protection of Civil Rights Act, 1955 is an Act to prescribe punishment for
the preaching and practice of untouchability for the enforcement of any
disability arising therefrom Art. 17 of the Constitution of India specifies that
untouchability is abolished and its practice in any form is forbidden.2a Court is
left with no option and is bound to pass a sentence of imprisonment and also
fine while convicting accused under Section 4 of the Protection of Civil Rights
Act2b where it is proved that accused prevented Harijans from tarring water
on the ground of untouchability, Conviction was held to be justified.2c

1. Short title, extent and commencement:

(1) This Act may be called 1the Protection of Civil Rights Act, 1955.

(2) It extends3 to the whole of India.

(3) It shall come into force on such date4 as the Central Government
may, by notification in the Official Gazette, appoint.

2. Definitions:

In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires,-

5(a)"civil rights" means any right accruing to a person by reason of the

abolition of untouchability by Article 17 of the Constitution;

6(aa)"hotel" includes a refreshment room, a boarding house, a lodging house, a

coffee house and a cafe;

7 (b)"place" includes a house, building and other structure and premises, and
also includes a tent, vehicle and vessel;

(c)"place of public entertainment" includes any place to which the public are
admitted and in which an entertainment is provided or held;
Explanation:- "Entertainment" includes any exhibition, performance, game,
sport and any other form of amusement;

(d) "place of public worship" means a place by whatever name known, which
is used as a place of public religious worship or which is dedicated generally
to, or is used generally by persons professing any religion or belonging to any
religious denomination or any section thereof, for the performance of any
religious service or for offering prayers therein 8and includes-

(i) all lands and subsidiary shrines appurtenant or attached to any such place,

(ii) a privately owned place of worship which is, in fact allowed by the owner
thereof to be used as a place of public worship, and

(iii) such land or subsidiary shrine appurtenant to such privately owned place
of worship as is allowed by the owner thereof to be used as a place of public
religious worship;

9(da) "prescribed" means prescribed by rules made under this Act;

(db)"Scheduled Castes" has the meaning assigned to it in Clause (24) of Art,

366 of the Constitution;

(e) "shop" means any premises where goods are sold either wholesale or by
retail or both wholesale and by retail and includes-

(i) anyplace from where goods are sold bye hawker or vendor or from a mobile
van or cart;

(ii) a laundry and a hair-cutting saloon;

(iii)any other place where services are rendered to customers;

3. Punishment for enforcing religious disabilities:

Whoever on the ground of "untouchability" prevents any person-

(a) from entering any place of public worship which is open to other persons
professing the same religion or any section thereof as such person; or
(b) from worshipping or offering prayers or performing any religious service
in any place of public worship, or bathing in, or using the waters of, any sacred
tank, well, spring or water-course, river or lake or bathing at any that of such
tank, water course river or lake) in the same manner and to the same extent as
is permissible to the other person professing the same religion10 or any section
thereof, as such person;

11 shall be punishable with imprisonment for a term of not less than one
month and not more than six months and also with fine which shall be not less
than one hundred rupees and not more than five hundred rupees.

Explanation:- For the purposes of this Section and Section 4 persons

professing the Buddhist, Sikh and Jaina religion or persons professing the
Hindu religion in any of its forms or developments including Virashaivas,
Lingayats, Adivasis, followers of Brahmo, Prarthana, Arya Samaj end the
Swaminarayana Sampradaya shall be deemed to be Hindus.

4. Punishment for enforcing social disabilities:

Whoever on the ground of "untouchability" enforces against any person any

disability with regard to-

(i) access to any shop, public restaurant, hotel or place of public

entertainment; or

(ii) the use of any utensils, and other Articles kept in any public restaurant,
hotel, dharmasala, sarai or musafirkhana for the use of the general public
or of 12any section thereof; or

(iii) the practice of any profession or the carrying on of any occupation

trade 13or business or employment in any job; or

(iv) the use of, or access to, any river, stream, spiring, well, tank, cistern,
water-tap or other watering place, or any bathing ghat burial or cremation
 ground, any sanitary convenience, any road, or passage, or any other place
of public resort which other members of the public, or 14any section
thereof, have a right to use or have access to; or

(v) the use of or access to, any place used for a charitable or a public purpose
maintained wholly or partly out of State funds or dedicated to the use of
the general public or 14any section thereof; or

(vi) the enjoyment of the benefit under a charitable trust created for the benefit
of the general public or of 15any section thereof; or

(vii) the use of, or access to, any public conveyance; or

(viii) the construction, acquisition, or occupation of any residential premises in

any locality, whatsoever; or

(ix) the use of any dhammsala, sarai or musafirkhana which is open to the
general public, or to any section thereof; or

(x) the observance of any social or religious custom, usage or ceremony or

taking part in, or taking out, any religious, social or cultural processing; or

(xi) the use of jewellery and finery, shall be punishable with imprisonment for
a term of not less than one month and not more than six months and also
with fine which shall be not less than one hundred rupees and not more
than five hundred rupees.

16Explanation:- For the purposes of this Section, "enforcement of any

disability" includes any discrimination on the ground of "untouchability".

5. Punishment for refusing to admit persons to hospitals, etc .:

Whoever on the ground of "untouchability-

(a) refuses, admission to any person to any hospital, dispensary, educational

institution or any hotel 17x x x if such hospital, dispensary, educational
institution or hotel is established or maintained for the benefit of the
general public or any section thereof; or
(b) does any act which discriminates against any such persons after admission
to any of the aforesaid institutions;

18shall be punishable with imprisonment for a term of not less than one month
and not more than six months and also with fine which shall be not less than
one hundred rupees and not more than five hundred rupees.

6. Punishment for refusing to sell goods or render services:

Whoever an the ground of "untouchability" refuses to sell any goods or refuses

to render any service to any person at the same time and place and on the same
terms and conditions at/on which such goods are sold or services are rendered
to other persons in the ordinary course of business 19shall be punishable with
imprisonment for a term of not less than one month and not more than six
months and also with fine which shall be not less than one hundred rupees and
not more than five hundred rupees.

7. Punishment for other offences arising out of "untouchability":

(1) Whoever-

(a) prevents any person from exercising any right accruing to him by reason
of the abolition of "untouchability" under Article 17 of the Constitution;
or

(b) molests, injuries, annoys, obstructs or causes or attempts to cause

obstruction to any person in the exercise of any such right or molest,
injuries, annoys or boycotts any person by reason of his having exercised
any such right; or

(c) by words, either spoken or written, or by signs or by visible

representations or otherwise, incites or encourages any person or class of
persons or the public generally to practise "untouchability" in any form
whatsoever: 20or
21(d)insults or attempts to insult on the ground of "untouchability" a member
of a Scheduled Caste;

22shall be punishable with imprisonment for a term of not less than one month
and not more than six months, and also with fine which shall be not less than
one hundred rupees and not more than five hundred rupees.

23Explanation I: A person shall be deemed to boycott another person who-

(a) refuses to such other person or refuses to permit such other person, to use
or occupy any house or land or refuses to deal with, work for hire for, or
do business with, such other person or to render to him receive from him
any customary service, or refuses to do any of the said things on the terms
on which such things would be commonly done in the ordinary course of
business; or

(b) abstains from such social, professional or business relations as he would

ordinarily maintain with other person.

24Explanation II:- For the purpose of clause (c) a person shall be deemed to
incite or encourage the practice of 'untouchability'-

(i) if he, directly or indirectly, preaches "untouchability" or it practices in any

form; or

(ii) if he justifies whether an historical, philosophical or religious grounds or

on the ground of any trading of the caste system or on any other ground,
the practice of "untouchability" in any form.

(1-A)

Whoever commits any offence against the person or property of any individual
as a reprisal or revenge for his having exercised any right accruing to him by
reason of the abolition of "untouchability" under Article 17 of the Constitution,
shall, where the offence is punishable with imprisonment for a term exceeding
two years, be punishable with imprisonment for a term which shall be not less
than two years and also with fine.

(2) Whoever-

(i) denies to any person belonging to his community or any section thereof
any right or privilege to which such person would be entitled as a member
of such community or section; or

(ii) takes any part in the ex-communication of such person, on the ground that
such person has refused to practise "untouchability" that such person has
done any act in furtherance of the objects of this Act,

25shall be punishable with imprisonment for a term of not less than one month
and not more than six months, and also with fine which shall be not less than
one hundred rupees and not more than five hundred rupees.

267-A.Unlawful compulsory labour when to be deemed to be a practice of

"untouchability":

(1) Whoever compels any person, on the ground of "untouchability", to do

any scavenging or sweeping or to remove any carcass or to flay any
animal, or to remove the umbilical cord or to do any other job of a similar
nature shall be deemed to have enforced a disability arising out of
"untouchability"

(2) Whoever is deemed under sub-section (1) to have enforced a disability

arising out of "untouchability" shall be punishable with imprisonment for
a term which shall be not less than three months and not more than six
months and also with fine which shall be not less than one hundred rupees
and not more than five hundred rupees.

Explanation:- For the purposes of the section, "compulsion" includes a threat

of social or economic boycott.
8. Cancellation or suspension of licences in certain cases:

When a person who is convicted of an offence under Section 6, holds any

licence under any law for the time being in force in respect of any profession,
trade, calling or employment in relation to which the offence is committed, the
court trying the offence may, without prejudice to any other penalty to which
such person may be liable under that section, direct that the licence shall stand
cancelled or to be suspended for such period, as the Court may deem fit, and
every order of the Court so cancelling or suspending a licence shall have effect
as if it had been passed by the authority competent to cancel or suspend the
licence under any such law;

Explanation:- In this section, "licence" includes a permit or a permission.

9. Resumption or suspension of grants made by Government:

Where the manager or trustee of a place of public worship or any educational

institution 27or hostel which is in respect of a grant of land or money from the
Government is convicted of an offence under this Act and such conviction is
not reversed or quased in any appeal or revision, the Government may, if in its
opinion the circumstances of the case warrant such a Course, direct the
suspension or resumption of the whole or any part of such grant.

10. Abetment of offence:

Whoever abets any offence under this Act shall, be punishable with the
punishment provided for the offence.

28Explanation:- A public servant who wilfully neglects the investigation of

any offence punishable under this Act shall be deemed to have abetted an
offence punishable under this Act.

2910-A.Power to State Government to impose collective fine:

(1) If, after an inquiry in the prescribed manner, the State Government is
satisfied that the inhabitants of an area are concerned in, or abetting the
 commission of, any offence punishable under this Act, or harbouring
persons concerned in the commission of such offence or failing to render
all the assistance in their power to discover or apprehend the offender or
offenders or suppressing material evidence of the commission of such
offence, the State Government, may, by notification in the Official
Gazette, impose a collective fine on such inhabitants and apportion such
fine amongst the inhabitants who are liable collectively to pay it, and such
apportionment shall be made according to the State Government's
judgment of the respective means of such inhabitants and in making any
such apportionment the Government may assign a portion of such fine to a
Hindu undivided family to be payable by it:

Provided that the fine apportioned to an inhabitant shall not be realised

until the petition, if any, filed by him under sub-section (3) is disposed of.

(2) The notification made under sub-section (1) shall be proclaimed in the
area by beat of drum or in such other manner as the State Government
may think best in the circumstances to bring the imposition of the
collective fine to the notice of the inhabitants of the said area.

(3) (a)Any person aggrieved by the imposition of the collective fine under
sub-section (1) or by the order of apportionment, may, within the
prescribed period, file a petition before the State Government or such
other authority as that Government may specify in this behalf for being
exempted from such fine or for modification of the order of
apportionment:

Provided that no fee shall be charged for filing such petition.

(b) The State Government or the authority specified by it shall, after

giving to the petitioner a reasonable opportunity of being heard, pass
such order as it may think fit:
 Provided that the amount of the fine exempted or reduced under this
section shall not be realisable from any person, and the total fine
imposed on the inhabitants of an area under sub-section (1) shall be
deemed to have been reduced to that extent.

(4) Notwithstanding anything contained in sub-section (4), the State

Government may exempt the victims of any offence punishable under this
Act or any person who does not, in its opinion, fail within the category of
persons specified in sub-section (1), from the liability to pay the collective
fine imposed under sub-section (1), or any portion thereof.

(5) The portion of collective fine payable by any person (including a Hindu
undivided family) may be recovered in the manner provided by the Code
of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (2 of 1974), for the recovery of fines
imposed by a Court as if such portion were a fine imposed by a
Magistrate.

11. Enhanced penalty on subsequent conviction:

Whoever having already been convicted of an offence under this Act or of

an abetment of such offence is again convicted of any such offence or
abetment, 30shall, on conviction, be punishable-

(a) for the second offence, with imprisonment for a term of not less than
six months and not more than one year, and also with fine which shall
be not less than two hundred rupees and not more than five hundred
rupees;

(b) for the third offence subsequent to the third offence with
imprisonment for a term of not less than one year and not more than
two years, and also with fine which shall be not less than five hundred
rupees and not more than one thousand rupees.
12. Presumption by Courts in certain cases:

Where any act constituting an offence under this Act is committed in

relation to a member of a Scheduled Caste 31xx, the Court shall presume,
unless the contrary is proved, that such Act was committed on the ground
of "untouchability".

13. Limitation of Jurisdiction of Civil Courts:

(1) No Civil Court shall entertain or continue any suit or proceeding or

shall pass any decree or order or executive wholly or partially any
decree or order if the claim involved in such suit or proceeding or if
the passing of such decree or order or if such execution would, in any
way, be contrary to the provisions of this Act.

(2) No Court shall, in adjudicating any matter or executing any decree or

order, recognise any custom or usage imposing any disability on any
person on the ground of "untouchability".

Offences by companies:

(1) If the person committing an offence under this Act is a company,

every person who at the time the offence was committed was in-
charge of, and was responsible to, the company for the conduct of the
business of the company, shall be deemed to be guilty of the offences
and shall be liable to be proceeded against and punished accordingly:

Provided that nothing contained in this sub-section shall render any

such, person liable to any punishment, if he proves that the offence
was committed without his knowledge or that he exercised all due
diligence to prevent the commission of such offence.

(2) Notwithstanding anything contained in sub-section (1), where an

offence under this Act has been committed with consent of any
 director or manager, secretary or other officer of the company, such
director, manager, secretary or other officer shall also be deemed to
be guilty of that offence and shall be liable to be proceeded against
and punished accordingly.

Explanation:- For the purposes of this section

(a) "company" means anybody corporate and includes a firm or other

association of individuals; and

(b) "director" in relation to a firm means a partner in the firm.

14. Protection of action taken in good faith:

(1) No suit, prosecution or other legal proceeding shall lie against the
Central Government or a State Government for anything which is in
good faith done or intended to be done under this Act.

(2) No suit or other legal proceeding shall lie against the Central
Government or a State Government for any damage caused or likely
to be caused by anything which is in good faith done or intended to be
done under this Act.

3315.Offences to be cognizable and triable summarily:

(1) Notwithstanding anything contained in the Code of Criminal Procedure,

1973 (2 of 1974), every offence punishable under this Act shall be
cognizable and every such offence, except where it is punishable with
imprisonment for a minimum term exceeding three months, may be tried
summarily by a Judicial Magistrate of the first class or in a Metropolitan
area by a Metropolitan Magistrate in accordance with the procedure
specified in the said Code.

(2) Notwithstanding anything contained in the Code of Criminal Procedure,

1973 (2 of 1974), when any public servant is alleged to have committed
 the offence of abetment of an offence punishable under this Act, while
acting or purporting to act in the discharge of his official duty, no court
shall take cognizance of such offence of abetment except with the
previous sanction-

(a) of the Central Government, in the case of a person employed in

connection with the affairs of the Union; and

(b) of the State Government, in the case of a person employed in

connection with the affairs of a State.

15-A.Duty of State Government to ensure that the rights accruing from the
abolition of "untouchability" may be availed of by the concerned persons:

(1) Subject to such rules as the Central Government may make in this behalf,
the State Government shall take such measures as may be necessary for
ensuring that the rights from the abolition of "untouchability" or made
available to, and are availed of by, the persons subjected to any disability
arising out of "untouchability".

(2) in particular, and without prejudice to the generality of the provisions of

sub-section (1), such measures may include:-

(i) the provision of adequate facilities, including legal aid, to the persons
subjected to any disability arising out of "untouchability" to enable
them to avail themselves of such rights;

(ii) the appointment of officer for initiating or exercising supervision over

prosecution for the contravention of the provision of this Act;

(iii) the setting up of Special Courts for the trial of offences under this
Act;

(iv) the setting, up of Committees at such appropriate levels as the State

Government may think fit to assist the State Government in
formulating or implementating such measures;
 (v) provision for periodic survey of the working of the provisions of this
Act with a view to suggesting measures for the better implementation
of the provisions of this Act;

(vi) the identification of the areas where persons are under any disability
arising out of "untouchability" and adoption of such disability from
such areas.

(3) The Central Government shall take such steps as may be necessary to co-
ordinate the measures taken by the State Government under sub-section
(1).

(4) The Central Government shall, every year, place on the Table of each
House of Parliament, a report on the measures taken by itself and by the
State Governments in pursuance of the provisions of this section.

16.Act to override other laws:

Save as otherwise expressly provided in this Act, the provisions of this Act
shall have effect notwithstanding anything inconsistent/herewith contained in
any other law for the time being in-force, or any custom or usage or any
instrument having effect by virtue of any such law or any decree or order of
any Court or other authority.

3416-A.Probation of Offenders Act, 1958, not to apply to persons above the

age of fourteen years:

The provisions of the Probation of Offenders Act, 1958, (20 of 1958) shall not
apply to any person above the age of fourteen years who is found guilty of
having committed any offence punishable under this Act.

16-B.Power to make rules:

(1) The Central Government may by notification in the Official Gazette, make
rules to carryout the provisions of this Act.
(2) Every rule made by the Central Government under this Act, shall be laid,
as soon as may be after it is made, before each House of Parliament while
it is in session for a total period of thirty days which may be comprised in
one session or in two or more successive sessions, and if, before the
expiry of the session immediately following the session or the successive
sessions aforesaid, both Houses agree in making any modification in the
rule or both Houses agree that the rule should not be made; the rule shall
thereafter have effect only in such modified form or to be of no effect, as
the case may be; so however, that any such modification or annulment
shall be without prejudice to the validity of anything previously done
under that rule.

17. Repeal:

The enactments specified in the Schedule are hereby repealed to the extent to
which they or any of the provisions contained therein correspond or are
repugnant to this Act or to any of the provision contained therein

Immoral Traffic Prevantion Act, 1956

In 1950 the Government of India ratified the International Convention for the
Suppression of Immoral Traffic in Persons and the Exploitation of the
Prostitution of others. In 1956 India passed the Suppression of Immoral Traffic
in Women and Girls Act, 1956 (SITA). The act was further amended and
changed in 1986, resulting in the Immoral Traffic Prevention Act also know as
PITA. PITA only discusses trafficking in relation to prostitution and not in
relation to other purposes of trafficking such as domestic work, child labour,
organ harvesting, etc. The following is an outline of the provisions in this law
that pertains to children below the age of 18.

The act defines child as any person who has completed eighteen years of age.
The first section of the act has provisions that outline the illegality of
prostitution and the punishment for owning a brothel or a similar
establishment, or for living of earnings of prostitution as is in the case of a
pimp. Section five of the act states that if a person procures, induces or takes a
child for the purpose of prostitution then the prison sentence is a minimum of
seven years but can be extended to life. To ensure that the people in the chain
of trafficking are also held responsible the act has a provision that states that
any person involved in the recruiting, transporting, transferring, harbouring, or
receiving of persons for the purpose of prostitution if guilty of trafficking. In
addition any person attempting to commit trafficking or found in the brothel or
visiting the brothel is punishable under this law.

If a person if found with a child it is assumed that he has detained that child
there for the purpose of sexual intercourse and hence shall be punishable to
seven year in prison up to life imprisonment, or a term which may extend to
ten year and also a maximum fine of one lakh rupees. If a child is found in a
brothel and after medical examination has been found to have been sexually
abused, it is assumed that the child has been detained for the purpose of
prostitution.

Any person committing prostitution in public with a child shall be punishable

to seven year in prison up to life imprisonment, or a term which may extend to
ten year and also a maximum fine of one lakh rupees. If prostitution of a child
is being committed with knowledge of an establishment owner such as a hotel
the license of the hotel is likely to be cancelled along with the given prison
sentence and/or fines.

Any child found in a brothel or being abused for the purpose of prostitution
can be placed in an institution for their safety by a magistrate. Landlords,
leasers, owner, agent of the owner who unknowingly previously rented their
property to a person found guilty of prostituting a child, must get approval
from a magistrate before re-leasing their property for three years after the
order is passed.
In 2006, the Ministry of Women and Child Development proposed an
amendment bill that has yet to be passed. The amendment does not really
concern any of the provisions related to the child but has many important
consequences for the right of women sex workers.

The Immoral Traffic (Prevention) Act, 1956 is an Act which provides in

pursuance of the International Convention signed at New York on the 9th day
of May, 1950, for the prevention of immoral traffic. The Act intends to combat
trafficking and sexual exploitation for commercial purposes. While
prostitution is not an offence, practicing it in a brothel or within 200 m of any
public place is illegal.

The following Act leads to the codification of an Act that laws down rules and
regulations regarding the sensitive issue of prostitution. It protects women and
children from forceful flesh trade. This leads to reduction of objectification of
women and children. Through this Act, children can be further protected and
offenders who force children can be punished for the same.

The Act regularized prostitution and provides assistance to all women and
children who have been forced into the same. The provisions of the Act clearly
state that it is an offence to force any child for flesh trade or trafficking of a
child for various other purposes.

The State Government may in its discretion establish as many protective

homes and corrective institutions under this Act as it thinks fit and such homes
and institutions, when established, shall be maintained in such manner as may
be prescribed.

The Probation of Offenders Act, 1958 .

1. Short title, extent and commencement.

(1) This Act may be called the Probation of Offenders Act, 1958.
 (2) It extends to the whole of India except the State of Jammu and
Kashmir.

(3) It shall come into force in a State on such date as the State
Government may, by notification in the Official Gazette appoint, and
different dates may be appointed for different parts of the State.

2. Definitions.—In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires

(a) “Code” means the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1898 (5 of 1898) ;

(b) “probation officer” means an officer appointed to be a probation

officer or recognised as such under section 13;

(c) “prescribed” means prescribed by rules made under this Act;

(d) words and expressions used but not defined in this Act and defined in
the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1898 (5 of 1898), shall have the
meanings respectively assigned to them in that Code.

3. Power of court to release certain offenders after admonition.—When any

person is found guilty of having committed an offence punishable under
section 379 or section 380 or section 381 or section 404 or section 420 of
the Indian Penal Code, (45 of 1860) or any offence punishable with
imprisonment for not more than two years, or with fine, or with both,
under the Indian Penal Code, or any other law, and no previous conviction
is proved against him and the court by which the person is found guilty is
of opinion that, having regard to the circumstances of the case including
the nature of the offence, and the character of the offender, it is expedient
so to do, then, notwithstanding anything contained in any other law for the
time being in force, the court may, instead of sentencing him to any
punishment or releasing him on probation of good conduct under section 4
release him after due admonition. Explanation.—For the purposes of this
section, previous conviction against a person shall include any previous
order made against him under this section or section 4.
4. Power of court to release certain offenders on probation of good conduct.

(1) When any person is found guilty of having committed an offence not
punishable with death or imprisonment for life and the court by which
the person is found guilty is of opinion that, having regard to the
circumstances of the case including the nature of the offence and the
character of the offender, it is expedient to release him on probation
of good conduct, then, notwithstanding anything contained in any
other law for the time being in force, the court may, instead of
sentencing him at once to any punishment direct that he be released
on his entering into a bond, with or without sureties, to appear and
receive sentence when called upon during such period, not exceeding
three years, as the court may direct, and in the meantime to keep the
peace and be of good behaviour: Provided that the court shall not
direct such release of an offender unless it is satisfied that the
offender or his surety, if any, has a fixed place of abode or regular
occupation in the place over which the court exercises jurisdiction or
in which the offender is likely to live during the period for which he
enters into the bond.

(2) Before making any order under sub-section (1), the court shall take
into consideration the report, if any, of the probation officer
concerned in relation to the case.

(3) When an order under sub-section (1) is made, the court may, if it is of
opinion that in the interests of the offender and of the public it is
expedient so to do, in addition pass a supervision order directing that
the offender shall remain under the supervision of a probation officer
named in the order during such period, not being less than one year,
as may be specified therein, and may in such supervision order,
 impose such conditions as it deems necessary for the due supervision
of the offender.

(4) The court making a supervision order under sub-section (3) shall
require the offender, before he is released, to enter into a bond, with
or without sureties, to observe the conditions specified in such order
and such additional conditions with respect to residence, abstention
from intoxicants or any other matter as the court may, having regard
to the particular circumstances, consider fit to impose for preventing a
repetition of the same offence or a commission of other offences by
the offender.

(5) The court making a supervision order under sub-section (3) shall
explain to the offender the terms and conditions of the order and shall
forthwith furnish one copy of the supervision order to each of the
offenders, the sureties, if any, and the probation officer concerned.

5. Power of court to require released offenders to pay compensation and

costs.

(1) The court directing the release of an offender under section 3 or

section 4, may, if it thinks fit, make at the same time a further order
directing him to pay

(a) such compensation as the court thinks reasonable for loss or

injury caused to any person by the commission of the offence;
and

(b) such costs of the proceedings as the court thinks reasonable.

(2) The amount ordered to be paid under sub-section (1) may be

recovered as a fine in accordance with the provisions of sections 386
and 387 of the Code.
 (3) A civil court trying any suit, arising out of the same matter for which
the offender is prosecuted, shall take into account any amount paid or
recovered as compensation under sub-section (1) in awarding
damages.

6. Restrictions on imprisonment of offenders under twenty-one years of age.

(1) When any person under twenty-one years of age is found guilty of
having committed an offence punishable with imprisonment (but not
with imprisonment for life), the court by which the person is found
guilty shall not sentence him to imprisonment unless it is satisfied
that, having regard to the circumstances of the case including the
nature of the offence and the character of the offender, it would not be
desirable to deal with him under section 3 or section 4, and if the
court passes any sentence of imprisonment on the offender, it shall
record its reasons for doing so.

(2) For the purpose of satisfying itself whether it would not be desirable
to deal under section 3 or section 4 with an offender referred to in
sub-section (1) the court shall call for a report from the probation
officer and consider the report, if any, and any other information
available to it relating to the character and physical and mental
condition of the offender.

7. Report of probation officer to be confidential.—The report of a probation

officer referred to in sub-section (2) of section 4 or sub-section (2) of
section 6 shall be treated as confidential: Provided that the court may, if it
so thinks fit, communicate the substance thereof to the offender and may
give him an opportunity of producing such evidence as may be relevant to
the matter stated in the report.

8. Variation of conditions of probation. -

 (1) If, on the application of a probation officer, any court which passes an
order under section 4 in respect of an offender is of opinion that in the
interests of the offender and the public it is expedient or necessary to
vary the conditions of any bond entered into by the offender, it may,
at any time during the period when the bond is effective, vary the
bond by extending or diminishing the duration thereof so, however,
that it shall not exceed three years from the date of the original order
or by altering the conditions thereof or by inserting additional
conditions therein: Provided that no such variation shall be made
without giving the offender and the surety or sureties mentioned in
the bond an opportunity of being heard.

(2) If any surety refuses to consent to any variation proposed to be made

under sub-section (1), the court may require the offender to enter into
a fresh bond and if the offender refuses or fails to do so, the court
may sentence him for the offence of which he was found guilty.

(3) Notwithstanding anything hereinbefore contained, the court which

passes an order under section 4 in respect of an offender may, if it is
satisfied on an application made by the probation officer, that the
conduct of the offender has been such as to make it unnecessary that
he should be kept any longer under supervision, discharge the bond or
bonds entered into by him.

9. Procedure in case of offender failing to observe conditions of bond.—

(1) If the court which passes an order under section 4 in respect of an

offender or any court which could have dealt with the offender in
respect of his original offence has reason to believe, on the report of a
probation officer or otherwise, that the offender has failed to observe
any of the conditions of the bond or bonds entered into by him, it may
issue a warrant for his arrest or may, if it thinks fit, issue a summons
 to him and his sureties, if any, requiring him or them to attend before
it at such time as may be specified in the summons.

(2) The court before which an offender is so brought or appears may

either remand him to custody until the case is concluded or it may
grant him bail, with or without surety, to appear on the date which it
may fix for hearing.

(3) If the court, after hearing the case, is satisfied that the offender has
failed to observe any of the conditions of the bond or bonds entered
into by him, it may forthwith

(a) sentence him for the original offence; or

(b) where the failure is for the first time, then, without prejudice to
the continuance in force of the bond, impose upon him a penalty
not exceeding fifty rupees.

(4) If a penalty imposed under clause (b) of sub-section (3) is not paid
within such period as the court may fix, the court may sentence the
offender for the original offence.

10. Provision as to sureties. The provisions of sections 122, 126, 126A, 406A,
514, 514A, 514B and 515 of the Code shall, so far as may be, apply in the
case of bonds and sureties given under this Act.

11. Courts competent to make order under the Act, appeal and revision and
powers of courts in appeal and revision.

(1) Notwithstanding anything contained in the Code or any other law, an

order under this Act, may be made by any court empowered to try and
sentence the offender to imprisonment and also by the High Court or
any other court when the case comes before it on appeal or in
revision.
 (2) Notwithstanding anything contained in the Code, where an order
under section 3 or section 4 is made by any court trying the offender
(other than a High Court), an appeal shall lie to the court to which
appeals ordinarily lie from the sentences of the former court.

(3) In any case where any person under twenty-one years of age is found
guilty of having committed an offence and the court by which he is
found guilty declines to deal with him under section 3 or section 4,
and passes against him any sentence of imprisonment with or without
fine from which no appeal lies or is preferred, then, notwithstanding
anything contained in the Code or any other law, the court to which
appeals ordinarily lie from the sentences of the former court may,
either of its own motion or on an application made to it by the
convicted person or the probation officer, call for and examine the
record of the case and pass such order thereon as it thinks fit.

(4) When an order has been made under section 3 or section 4 in respect
of an offender, the Appellate Court or the High Court in the exercise
of its power of revision may set aside such order and in lieu thereof
pass sentence on such offender according to law: Provided that the
Appellate Court or the High Court in revision shall not inflict a
greater punishment than might have been inflicted by the court by
which the offender was found guilty.

12. Removal of disqualification attaching to conviction.—Notwithstanding

anything contained in any other law, a person found guilty of an offence
and dealt with under the provisions of section 3 or section 4 shall not
suffer disqualification, if any, attaching to a conviction of an offence
under such law: Provided that nothing in this section shall apply to a
person who, after his release under section 4 is subsequently sentenced for
the original offence.
13. Probation officers.

(1) A probation officer under this Act shall be

(a) a person appointed to be a probation officer by the State

Government or recognised as such by the State Government; or

(b) a person provided for this purpose by a society recognised in this

behalf by the State Government; or

(c) In any exceptional case, any other person who, in the opinion of
the court, is fit to act as a probation officer in the special
circumstances of the case.

(2) A court which passes an order under section 4 or the District

Magistrate of the district in which the offender for the time being
resides may, at any time, appoint any probation officer in the place of
the person named in the supervision order. Explanation.—For the
purposes of this section, a presidency-town shall be deemed to be a
district and chief presidency magistrate shall be deemed to be the
district magistrate of that district.

(3) A probation officer, in the exercise of his duties under this Act, shall
be subject to the control of the district magistrate of the district in
which the offender for the time being resides.

14. Duties of probation officers.—A probation officer shall, subject to such

conditions and restrictions, as may be prescribed,

(a) inquire, in accordance with any directions of a court, into the

circumstances or home surroundings of any person accused of an
offence with a view to assist the court in determining the most
suitable method of dealing with him and submit reports to the court;
 (b) supervise probationers and other persons placed under his supervision
and, where necessary, endeavour to find them suitable employment;

(c) advise and assist offenders in the payment of compensation or costs

ordered by the Court;

(d) advise and assist, in such cases and in such manner as may be
prescribed, persons who have been released under section 4; and

(e) perform such other duties as may be prescribed.

15. Probation officers to be public servants.—Every probation officer and

every other officer appointed in pursuance of this Act shall be deemed to
be public servants within the meaning of section 21 of the Indian Penal
Code (45 of 1860).

16. Protection of action taken in good faith.—No suit or other legal

proceeding shall lie against the State Government or any probation officer
or any other officer appointed under this Act in respect of anything which
is in good faith done or intended to be done in pursuance of this Act or of
any rules or orders made there under.

17. Power to make rules.

(1) The State Government may, with the approval of the Central
Government, by notification in the Official Gazette, make rules to
carry out the purposes of this Act.

(2) In particular, and without prejudice to the generality of the foregoing

power, such rules may provide for all or any of the following matters,
namely:

(a) appointment of probation officers, the terms and conditions of

their service and the area within which they are to exercise
jurisdiction;
 (b) duties of probation officers under this Act and the submission of
reports by them;

(c) the conditions on which societies may be recognised for the

purposes of clause (b) of sub-section (1) of section 13;

(d) the payment of remuneration and expenses to probation officers

or of a subsidy to any society which provides probation officers;
and

(e) any other matter which is to be, or may be, prescribed.

(3) All rules made under this section shall be subject to the condition of
previous publication and shall, as soon as may be after they are made,
be laid before the State Legislature.

18. Saving of operation of certain enactments.—Nothing in this Act shall

affect the provisions of section 31 of the Reformatory Schools Act, 1897
(8 of 1897), or sub-section

(2) of section 5 of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1947 (2 of 1947), or

of any law in force in any State relating to juvenile offenders or Borstal
Schools.

19. Section 562 of the Code not to apply in certain areas.—Subject to the
provisions of section 18 3 section 562 4 of the Code shall cease to apply to
the States or parts thereof in which this Act is brought into force

Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Act, 1986

The Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Act, 1986 is one the most
debated acts regarding children in India. It outlines where and how children
can work and where they can not. The provisions of the act are meant to be
acted upon immediately after the publication of the act, except for part III that
discusses the conditions in which a child may work. Part III can only come
into effect as per a date appointed by the Central Government (which was
decided as 26th of May, 1993).

The act defines a child as any person who has not completed his fourteenth
year of age. Part II of the act prohibits children from working in any
occupation listed in Part A of the Schedule; for example: Catering at railway
establishments, construction work on the railway or anywhere near the tracks,
plastics factories, automobile garages, etc. The act also prohibits children from
working in places where certain processes are being undertaken, as listed in
Part B of the Schedule; for example: beedi making, tanning, soap manufacture,
brick kilns and roof tiles units, etc. These provisions do not apply to a
workshop where the occupier is working with the help of his family or in a
government recognised or aided school.

The act calls for the establishment of a Child Labour Technical Advisory
Committee (CLTAC) who is responsible for advising the government about
additions to the Schedule lists.

Part III of the act outlines the conditions in which children may work in
occupations/processes not listed in the schedule. The number of hours of a
particular kind of establishment of class of establishments is to be set and no
child can work for more than those many hours in that particular
establishment. Children are not permitted to work for more than three hour
stretches and must receive an hour break after the three hours. Children are not
permitted to work for more than six hour stretches including their break
interval and can not work between the hours of 7 p.m. and 8 a.m. No child is
allowed to work overtime or work in more than one place in a given day. A
child must receive a holiday from work every week. The employer of the child
is required to send a notification to an inspector about a child working in their
establishment and keep a register of all children being employed for
inspection.
If there is a dispute as to the age of the child, the inspector can submit the child
for a medical exam to determine his/her age when a birth certificate is not
available. Notices about prohibition of certain child labour and penalties
should be posted in every railway station, port authority and
workshop/establishment.

The health conditions of work being undertaken by children shall be set for
each particular kind of establishment of class of establishments by the
appropriate government. The rules may cover topics such as cleanliness, light,
disposal of waste and effluents, drinking water, bathrooms, protection of eyes,
maintenance and safety of buildings, etc.

Section IV of the act outlines various remaining aspects such as Penalties. The
penalty of allowing a child to work in occupations/ processes outlined in the
schedule which are prohibited is a minimum of 3 months prison time and/or a
minimum of Rs. 10,000 in fines. Second time offenders are subject to jail time
of minimum six months. Failure to notify an inspector, keep a register, post a
sign or any other requirement is punishable by simple imprisonment and/or a
fine up to Rs. 10,000. Offenders can only be tried in courts higher than a
magistrate or metropolitan magistrate of the first class. Courts also have the
authority to appoint people to be inspectors under this act.

Rules of this act must be passed by the respective parliaments (state or

central). Any changes or added provisions must be passed by the parliament.
The establishment of this act also calls for a change in a number of other acts.
The Employment of Children Act of 1938 is repealed. The enactment of this
act changes the definition of child to one who has not completed his fourteenth
year of age. Hence under provisions of this act the age of a child is also
changed in the Minimum Wages Age 1948, the Plantations Labour Act 1951,
the Merchant Shipping Act 1958, and the Motor Tr`ansport Workers Act 1961.
Dowry Prohibition (amended) Act, 1986

THE DOWRY PROHIBITION (MAINTENANCE OF LISTS OF PRESENTS

TO THE BRIDE AND BRIDEGROOM) RULES, 1985

G.S.R. 664 (E), dated 19th August, 1985.

In exercise of the powers conferred by Sec.9 of the Dowry Prohibition Act,

1961 (28 of 1961), the Central Government hereby makes the following rules,
namely:

 Short title and commencement:

(1) These rules may be called the Dowry Prohibition (Maintenance of

Lists of Presents to the Bride and Bridegroom) Rules, 1985.

(2) They shall come into force on the 2nd day of October, 1985, being the
date appointed for the coming into force of the Dowry Prohibition
(Amendment) Act, 1984 (63 of 1984).

 Rules in accordance with which lists of presents are to be maintained:

1) The list of presents which are given at the time of the marriage to the
bride shall be maintained by the bride.

2) The list of present which are given at the time of the marriage to the
bridegroom shall be maintained by the bridegroom.

Every list of presents referred to in sub-rule (1) or sub-rule (2),-

  shall be prepared at the time of the marriage or as soon as possible

after the marriage:

  shall be in writing;

  shall contain,-

   a brief description of each present;

   the approximate value of the present;

  the name of the person who has given the present; and

  where the person giving the present is related to the bride or

bridegroom, a description of such relationship;

  shall be signed by both the bride and the bridegroom.

Explanation. 1.- Where the bride is unable to sign, she may affix her thumb
impression in lieu of her signature after having the list read out to her and
obtaining the signature on the list, of the person who has so read out the
particulars contained in the list.

Explanation 2.- Where the bridegroom is unable to sign he may affix his
thumb-impression in lieu of his signature after having the list read out to him
and obtaining the signature on the list of the person who has so read out the
particulars contained in the list.

(4) The bride or the bridegroom may, if she or he so desires, obtain on either
or both of the lists referred to in sub-rule (1) or sub-rule (2) the signature or
signatures of any relations of the bride or the bridegroom or of any other
person or persons present at the time of the marriage

The Consumer Protection Act, 1986

Consumer Protection Act, 1986 is an Act of the Parliament of India enacted in

1986 to protect the interests of consumers in India. It makes provision for the
establishment of consumer councils and other authorities for the settlement of
consumers' disputes and for matters connected therewith also.

This statute is regarded as the Magna Carta in the field of consumer protection
for checking the unfair trade practices and ‘defect in goods’ and ‘deficiencies
in services’ as far as India is concerned. It led to the establishment of a
widespread network of consumer forums and appellate courts all over India. It
has significantly impacted how businesses approach consumer complaints and
empowered consumers to a great extent. Consumer Protection Councils are
established at the national, state and district level to increase consumer
awareness. The Central Govt. shall by notification establish with effect from
such date as it may specify in such notification a Council to be known as the
Central Consumer Protection Council.

Objectives of Central Council

The objectives of the Central Council is to promote and protect the rights of
the consumers such as:-

  The right to be protected against the marketing of goods and services

which are hazardous to life and property.

  The right to be informed about the quality, quantity, potency, purity,

standard and price of goods or services, as the case may be so as to
protect the consumer against unfair trade practices;

  The right to be assured, wherever possible, access to a variety of

goods and services at competitive prices;

  The right to be heard and to be assured that consumer's interest will

receive due consideration at appropriate forums;

  The right to seek redressal against unfair trade practices or restrictive

trade practices or unscrupulous exploitation of consumers; and

  The right to consumer education.

Objectives of State Council

The objective of every State Council shall be to promote and protect within the
State the rights of the consumers laid down in clauses 1 to 6 in central council
objectives.
The Environmental (Protection) Act, 1986

An Act to provide for the protection and improvement of environment and for
matters connected there with:

WHEREAS the decisions were taken at the United Nations Conference on the
Human Environment held at Stockholm in June, 1972, in which India
participated, to take appropriate steps for the protection and improvement of
human environment;

AND WHEREAS it is considered necessary further to implement the decisions

aforesaid in so far as they relate to the protection and improvement of
environment and the prevention of hazards to human beings, other living
creatures, plants and property;

BE it enacted by Parliament in the Thirty-seventh Year of the Republic of

India as follows:-

3. POWER OF CENTRAL GOVERNMENT TO TAKE MEASURES

TO PROTECT AND IMPROVE ENVIRONMENT

(1) Subject to the provisions of this Act, the Central Government, shall
have the power to take all such measures as it deems necessary or
expedient for the purpose of protecting and improving the quality of
the environment and preventing controlling and abating
environmental pollution.

(2) In particular, and without prejudice to the generality of the provisions

of sub-section

(1), such measures may include measures with respect to all or any of
the following matters, namely:--

(i) co-ordination of actions by the State Governments, officers and

other authorities—
 (a) under this Act, or the rules made thereunder, or

(b) under any other law for the time being in force which is
relatable to the objects of this Act;

(ii) planning and execution of a nation-wide programme for the

prevention, control and abatement of environmental pollution;

(iii) laying down standards for the quality of environment in its

various aspects;

(iv) laying down standards for emission or discharge of

environmental pollutants from various sources whatsoever:

Provided that different standards for emission or discharge may

be laid down under this clause from different sources having
regard to the quality or composition of the emission or
discharge of environmental pollutants from such sources;

(v) restriction of areas in which any industries, operations or

processes or class of industries, operations or processes shall
not be carried out or shall be carried out subject to certain
safeguards;

(vi) laying down procedures and safeguards for the prevention of

accidents which may cause environmental pollution and
remedial measures for such accidents;

(vii) laying down procedures and safeguards for the handling of

hazardous substances;

(viii) examination of such manufacturing processes, materials and

substances as are likely to cause environmental pollution;
 (ix) carrying out and sponsoring investigations and research relating
to problems of environmental pollution;

(x) inspection of any premises, plant, equipment, machinery,

manufacturing or other processes, materials or substances and
giving, by order, of such directions to such authorities, officers
or persons as it may consider necessary to take steps for the
prevention, control and abatement of environmental pollution;

(xi) establishment or recognition of environmental laboratories and

institutes to carry out the functions entrusted to such
environmental laboratories and institutes under this Act;

(xii) collection and dissemination of information in respect of

matters relating to environmental pollution;

(xiii) preparation of manuals, codes or guides relating to the

prevention, control and abatement of environmental pollution;

(xiv) such other matters as the Central Government deems necessary

or expedient for the purpose of securing the effective
implementation of the provisions of this Act.

(3) The Central Government may, if it considers it necessary or expedient

so to do for the purpose of this Act, by order, published in the Official
Gazette, constitute an authority or authorities by such name or names
as may be specified in the order for the purpose of exercising and
performing such of the powers and functions (including the power to
issue directions under section 5) of the Central Government under this
Act and for taking measures with respect to such of the matters
referred to in sub-section (2) as may be mentioned in the order and
subject to the supervision and control of the Central Government and
the provisions of such order, such authority or authorities may
 exercise and powers or perform the functions or take the measures so
mentioned in the order as if such authority or authorities had been
empowered by this Act to exercise those powers or perform those
functions or take such measures.

4. APPOINTMENT OF OFFICERS AND THEIR POWERS AND

FUNCTIONS

(1) Without prejudice to the provisions of sub-section (3) of section 3, the

Central Government may appoint officers with such designation as it
thinks fit for the purposes of this Act and may entrust to them such of
the powers and functions under this Act as it may deem fit.

(2) The officers appointed under sub-section (1) shall be subject to the
general control and direction of the Central Government or, if so
directed by that Government, also of the authority or authorities, if
any, constituted under sub- section (3) of section 3 or of any other
authority or officer.

5. POWER TO GIVE DIRECTIONS

Notwithstanding anything contained in any other law but subject to the

provisions of this Act, the Central Government may, in the exercise of its
powers and performance of its functions under this Act, issue directions in
writing to any person, officer or any authority and such person, officer or
authority shall be bound to comply with such directions.3

Explanation--For the avoidance of doubts, it is hereby declared that the

power to issue directions under this section includes the power to direct—

(a) the closure, prohibition or regulation of any industry, operation or

process; or
 (b) stoppage or regulation of the supply of electricity or water or any
other service.

6. RULES TO REGULATE ENVIRONMENTAL POLLUTION

(1) The Central Government may, by notification in the Official Gazette,

make rules in respect of all or any of the matters referred to in section.

(2) In particular, and without prejudice to the generality of the foregoing

power, such rules may provide for all or any of the following matters,
namely:

(a) The standards of quality of air, water or soil for various areas and
purposes;

(b) The maximum allowable limits of concentration of various

environmental pollutants (including noise) for different areas;

(c) The procedures and safeguards for the handling of hazardous

substances;

(d) The prohibition and restrictions on the handling of hazardous

substances in different areas;

(e) The prohibition and restriction on the location of industries and

the carrying on process and operations in different areas;

(f) The procedures and safeguards for the prevention of accidents

which may cause environmental pollution and for providing for
remedial measures for such accidents.

Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988

The Prevention Of Corruption Act, 1988ACT NO. 49 OF 1988[9th September,

1988.]An Act to consolidate and amend the law relating to the prevention of
corruption and for matters connected therewith.
BE it enacted by Parliament in the Thirty-ninth Year of the Republic of India
as follows:—

Short title and extent.

(1)This Act may be called the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988.(2)It

extends to the whole of India except the State of Jammu and Kashmir and it
applies also to all citizens of India outside India.

This law defines who a public servant is and punishes public servants involved
in corruption or bribery. It also punishes anyone who helps him or her commit
the crime corruption or bribery.

What crimes are punished by this law?

  When a public servant accepts money or gifts over and above their
salary, in return for favoring a person in their official duty.

  When a public servant accepts gifts from a person with whom they
have a business or official relationship without paying them.

  When a public servant is guilty of criminal misconduct such as

regularly accepting bribes to favor people during their official duty.

  If any person accepts money or gifts in return for influencing the

public servant by using his personal connection or through illegal or
corrupt methods, this person can also be punished.

  Any person helping the public servant commit these crimes can also
be punished.

The SC and ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989

The Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities)

Amendment Act, 2015 to be enforced with effect from January 26, 2016
The Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities)
Amendment Act, 2015 to ensure more stringent provisions for prevention of
Atrocities against Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes will be enforced
with effect tomorrow i.e. January 26, 2016.

Consequent upon passing of the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes
(Prevention of Atrocities) Amendment Bill, 2015 by the Lok Sabha on August
04,2015 and Rajya Sabha on December 21, 2015, to make amendments in the
Principal Act, namely, the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes
(Prevention of Atrocities) {PoA} Act, 1989, the Scheduled Castes and the
Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Amendment Act, 2015, as
assented by the President on December 31, 2015, was notified in the Gazette
of India Extraordinary on January 01, 2016. After framing the rules for
enactment, now it will be enforced by the Central Government with effect
from January 26, 2016.

The key features of the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes
(Prevention of Atrocities) Amendment Act, 2015, are:

  New offences of atrocities like tonsuring of head, moustache, or

similar acts which are derogatory to the dignity of members of
Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, garlanding with chappals,
denying access to irrigation facilities or forest rights , dispose or carry
human or animal carcasses, or to dig graves, using or permitting
manual scavenging, dedicating a Scheduled Caste or a Scheduled
Tribe women as devadasi, abusing in caste name, perpetrating
witchcraft atrocities, imposing social or economic boycott, preventing
Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes candidates from filing of
nomination to contest elections, hurting a Scheduled Castes /
Scheduled Tribes woman by removing her garments, forcing a
member of Scheduled Caste/Scheduled Tribe to leave house , village
 or residence, defiling objects sacred to members of Scheduled Castes
and Scheduled Tribe, touching or using words, acts or gestures of a
sexual nature against members of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled
Tribe.

  Addition of certain IPC offences like hurt, grievous hurt, intimidation,

kidnapping etc., attracting less than ten years of imprisonment,
committed against members of Scheduled Caste/Scheduled Tribe, as
offences punishable under the PoA Act. Presently, only those
offences listed in IPC as attracting punishment of 10 years or more
and committed on members of Scheduled Caste/Scheduled Tribe are
accepted as offences falling under the PoA Act.

  Establishment of Exclusive Special Courts and specification of

Exclusive Special Public Prosecutors also, to exclusively try the
offences under the PoA Act to enable speedy and expeditious disposal
of cases.

 Power of Special Courts and Exclusive Special Courts, to take direct

cognizance of offence and as far as possible, completion of trial of the
case within two months, from the date of filing of the charge sheet.

  Addition of chapter on the ‘Rights of Victims and Witnesses’.

  Defining clearly the term ‘wilful negligence’ of public servants at all

levels, starting from the registration of complaint, and covering
aspects of dereliction of duty under this Act.

  Addition of presumption to the offences –If the accused was

acquainted with the victim or his family, the court will presume that
the accused was aware of the caste or tribal identity of the victim
unless proved otherwise.
The Protection of Human Rights Act, 1993

Act 10 of 1994

An Act to provide for the constitution of a National Human Rights

Commission, State Human Rights Commissions in States and Human Rights
Courts for better protection of human rights and for matters connected
therewith or incidental thereto.

Be it enacted by Parliament in the Forty-fourth Year of the Republic of India

as follows

he Human Rights Act 1993 is an Act of the Parliament of New Zealand which
deals with discrimination. It was a consolidation and amendment of the Race
Relations Act 1971 and the Human Rights Commission Act 1977. It came into
force on 1 February 1994. The Act governs the work of the New Zealand
Human Rights Commission.

It also outlawed discrimination on a wide variety of grounds, including:

  Sex (including pregnancy and childbirth)

  Marital status

  Religious belief

  Ethical belief

  Colour

  Race

  Ethnic or national origins

  Disability

  Age

  Political opinion

  Employment status
  Family status

  Sexual orientation

There are a significant number of caveats, including "genuine occupational

qualification," "domestic employment in a private household," "to preserve
reasonable standards of privacy," "national security" and "organised religion."

New Zealand Human Rights Act of 1993 do not explicitly prohibits

discrimination on the basis of gender identity, and the Human Rights
Commission, supported by the government's legal office, has always accepted
complaints of discrimination based on gender identity on the ground of sex.
However, the decision to interpret the prohibition of discrimination based on
sex to also cover discrimination based on gender identity is easily reversed.
But an important dimension of the exercise undertaken by the Commission in
New Zealand was toward the empowerment of trans people, referencing
the Yogyakarta Principles. In effect the Commission was responding to one of
the Yogyakarta Principles' Additional Recommendations to national human
rights institutions that integrate the promotion of human rights of persons of
diverse sexual orientations and gender identities into their work.

THE INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY ACT, 2000

An Act to provide legal recognition for transactions carried out by means of

electronic data interchange and other means of electronic communication,
commonly referred to as "electronic commerce", which involve the use of
alternatives to aper-based methods of communication and storage of
information, to facilitate electronic filing of documents with the Government
agencies and further to amend the Indian Penal Code, the Indian Evidence Act,
1872, the Bankers' Books Evidence Act, 1891 and the Reserve Bank of India
Act, 1934 and for matters connected therewith or incidental thereto.
WHEREAS the General Assembly of the United Nations by resolution
A/RES/51/162, dated the 30th January, 1997 has adopted the Model Law on
Electronic Commerce adopted by the United Nations Commission on
International Trade Law; AND WHEREAS the said resolution recommends
inter alia that all States give favourable consideration to the said Model Law
when they enact or revise their laws, in view of the need for uniformity of the
law applicable to alternatives to paper-cased methods of communication and
storage of information;

AND WHEREAS it is considered necessary to give effect to the said

resolution and to promote efficient delivery of Government services by means
of reliable electronic records.

BE it enacted by Parliament in the Fifty-first Year of the Republic of India as

follows:

PRELIMINARY

1. Short title, extent, commencement and application

(1) This Act may be called the Information Technology Act, 2000.

(2) It shall extend to the whole of India and, save as otherwise provided
in this Act, it applies also to any offence or contravention thereunder
committed outside India by any person.

(3) It shall come into force on such date as the Central Government may,
by notification, appoint and different dates may be appointed for
different provisions of this Act and any reference in any such
provision to the commencement of this Act shall be construed as a
reference to the commencement of that provision.

(4) Nothing in this Act shall apply to,

 (a) a negotiable instrument as defined in section 13 of the Negotiable
Instruments Act,1881;

(b) a power-of-attorney as defined in section 1A of the Powers-of-

Attorney Act, 1882;

(c) a trust as defined in section 3 of the Indian Trusts Act, 1882;

(d) a will as defined in clause (h) of section 2 of the Indian

Succession Act, 1925 including any other testamentary
disposition by whatever name called;

(e) any contract for the sale or conveyance of immovable property or

any interest in such property;

(f) any such class of documents or transactions as may be notified by

the Central Government in the Official Gazette.

2. Definitions

(1) In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires,

(a) "access" with its grammatical variations and cognate expressions

means gaining entry into, instructing or communicating with the
logical, arithmetical, or memory function resources of a
computer, computer system or computer network;

(b) "addressee" means a person who is intended by the originator to

receive the electronic record but does not include any
intermediary;

(c) "adjudicating officer" means an adjudicating officer appointed

under subsection (1) of section 46;

(d) "affixing digital signature" with its grammatical variations and

cognate expressions means adoption of any methodology or
 procedure by a person for the purpose of authenticating an
electronic record by means of digital signature;

(e) "appropriate Government" means as respects any matter,—

(i) Enumerated in List II of the Seventh Schedule to the

Constitution;

(ii) relating to any State law enacted under List III of the
Seventh Schedule to the Constitution, the State Government
and in any other case, the Central Government;

(f) "asymmetric crypto system" means a system of a secure key pair

consisting of a private key for creating a digital signature and a
public key to verify the digital signature;

(g) "Certifying Authority" means a person who has been granted a

licence to issue a Digital Signature Certificate under section 24;

(h) "certification practice statement" means a statement issued by a

Certifying Authority to specify the practices that the Certifying
Authority employs in issuing Digital Signature Certificates;

(i) "computer" means any electronic magnetic, optical or other high-

speed data processing device or system which performs logical,
arithmetic, and memory functions by manipulations of electronic,
magnetic or optical impulses, and includes all input, output,
processing, storage, computer software, or communication
facilities which are connected or related to the computer in a
computer system or computer network;

(j) "computer network" means the interconnection of one or more

computers through
 (i) the use of satellite, microwave, terrestrial line or other
communication media; and

(ii) terminals or a complex consisting of two or more

interconnected computers whether or not the interconnection
is continuously maintained;

(k "computer resource" means computer, computer system,

computer network, data, computer data base or software;

(l) "computer system" means a device or collection of devices,

including input and output support devices and excluding
calculators which are not programmable and capable of being
used in conjunction with external files, which contain computer
programmes, electronic instructions, input data and output data,
that performs logic, arithmetic, data storage and retrieval,
communication control and other functions;

(m) "Controller" means the Controller of Certifying Authorities

appointed under sub-section

(l) of section 17;

(n) "Cyber Appellate Tribunal" means the Cyber Regulations

Appellate Tribunal established under sub-section (1) of section
48;

(o) "data" means a representation of information, knowledge, facts,

concepts or instructions which are being prepared or have been
prepared in a formalised manner, and is intended to be processed,
is being processed or has been processed in a computer system or
computer network, and may be in any form (including computer
printouts magnetic or optical storage media, punched cards,
 punched tapes) or stored internally in the memory of the
computer;

(p) "digital signature" means authentication of any electronic record

by a subscriber by means of an electronic method or procedure in
accordance with the provisions of section 3;

(q) "Digital Signature Certificate" means a Digital Signature

Certificate issued under subsection (4)of section 35;

(r) "electronic form" with reference to information means any

information generated, sent, received or stored in media,
magnetic, optical, computer memory, micro film, computer
generated micro fiche or similar device;

(s) "Electronic Gazette" means the Official Gazette published in the

electronic form;

(t) "electronic record" means data, record or data generated, image

or sound stored, received or sent in an electronic form or micro
film or computer generated micro fiche;

(u) "function", in relation to a computer, includes logic, control

arithmetical process, deletion, storage and retrieval and
communication or telecommunication from or within a computer;

(v) "information" includes data, text, images, sound, voice, codes,

computer programmes, software and databases or micro film or
computer generated micro fiche:

(w) "intermediary" with respect to any particular electronic message

means any person who on behalf of another person receives,
stores or transmits that message or provides any service with
respect to that message;
(x) "key pair", in an asymmetric crypto system, means a private key
and its mathematically related public key, which are so related
that the public key can verify a digital signature created by the
private key;

(y) "law" includes any Act of Parliament or of a State Legislature,

Ordinances promulgated by the President or a Governor, as the
case may be. Regulations made by the President under article
240, Bills enacted as President's Act under sub-clause (a)of
clause (1) of article 357 of the Constitution and includes rules,
regulations, byelaws and orders issued or made thereunder;

(z) "licence" means a licence granted to a Certifying Authority under

section 24;

(za) "originator" means a person who sends, generates, stores or

transmits any electronic message or causes any electronic
message to be sent, generated, stored or transmitted to any other
person but does not include an intermediary;

(zb) "prescribed" means prescribed by rules made under this Act;

(zc) "private key" means the key of a key pair used to create a digital
signature;

(zd) "public key" means the key of a key pair used to verify a digital
signature and listed in the Digital Signature Certificate;

(ze) "secure system" means computer hardware, software, and

procedure that

(a) are reasonably secure from unauthorised access and misuse;

(b) provide a reasonable level of reliability and correct

operation;
 (c) are reasonably suited to performing the intended functions;
and

(d) adhere to generally accepted security procedures;

(zf) "security procedure" means the security procedure prescribed

under section 16 by the Central Government;

(zg) "subscriber" means a person in whose name the Digital Signature

Certificate is issued;

(zh) "verify" in relation to a digital signature, electronic record or

public key, with its grammatical variations and cognate
expressions means to determine whether

(a) the initial electronic record was affixed with the digital
signature by the use of private key corresponding to the
public key of the subscriber.(b) the initial electronic record is
retained intact or has been altered since such electronic
record was so affixed with the digital signature.

(2) Any reference in this Act to any enactment or any provision thereof
shall, in relation to an area in which such enactment or such
provision is not in force, be construedas a reference to the
corresponding law or the relevant provision of the corresponding law,
if any, in force in that area.

Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005

What is domestic violence?

Any kind of abusive behavior by your husband or male partner or their

relatives (includes male and female relatives). It need not be physical abuse. It
could also be verbal, emotional, sexual or economic abuse.
If you are a victim of domestic violence, what can you do?

This is a special law focused on victims and giving them relief from domestic
violence. You can file an application under this law. This does not stop you
from seeking other civil or criminal action against the offenders.

Who are the different authorities you can approach under this law?

As a victim, you can approach either the ‘Protection Officer’ or the ‘Service
Provider’ under this law. You can also approach the police or a Magistrate
directly.

What can you expect from the courts when you file a complaint?

The judge or the Magistrate can order many different measures under this law
in order to ensure your protection and well-being. This includes protection
orders (ordering the offender to stop violence), residence orders, monetary
relief, custody orders and compensation orders.

The Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act 2005 is an Act of

the Parliament of India enacted to protect women from domestic violence. It
was brought into force by the Indian government from 26 October 2006. The
Act provides for the first time in Indian law a definition of "domestic
violence", with this definition being broad and including not only physical
violence, but also other forms of violence such as emotional/verbal, sexual,
and economic abuse. It is a civil law meant primarily for protection orders and
not meant to penalize criminally. The act does not extend to Jammu and
Kashmir, which has its own laws, and which enacted in 2010 the Jammu and
Kashmir Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2010

Definitions
The Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act 2005 differs from the
provision of the Penal Code - section 498A of the Indian Penal Code - in that it
provides a broader definition of domestic violence.

Domestic violence is defined by Section 3 of the Act as “any act, omission or

commission or conduct of the respondent shall constitute domestic violence in
case it:

1.Harms or injures or endangers the health, safety, life, limb or well-being,

whether mental or physical, of the aggrieved person or tends to do so and
includes causing physical abuse, sexual abuse, verbal and emotional abuse and
economic abuse; or

2.Harasses, harms, injures or endangers the aggrieved person with a view to

coerce her or any other person related to her to meet any unlawful demand for
any dowry or other property or valuable security; or

3.Has the effect of threatening the aggrieved person or any person related to
her by any conduct mentioned in clause (a) or clause (b); or

4.Otherwise injures or causes harm, whether physical or mental, to the

aggrieved person.”

The Act goes on, through the section Explanation 1, to define "physical
abuse", "sexual abuse", "verbal and emotional abuse" and "economic abuse".

The Right to Information Act, 2005

Right to Information (RTI) is an Act of the Parliament of India to provide for

setting out the practical regime of right to information for citizens and replaces
the erstwhile Freedom of information Act, 2002. Under the provisions of the
Act, any citizen of India may request information from a "public authority" (a
body of Government or "instrumentality of State") which is required to reply
expeditiously or within thirty days. The Act also requires every public
authority to computerise their records for wide dissemination and to
proactively certain categories of information so that the citizens need
minimum recourse to request for information formally.

This law was passed by Parliament on 15 June 2005 and came fully into force
on 12 October 2005. The first application was given to a Pune police station.
Information disclosure in India was restricted by the Official Secrets Act
1923 and various other special laws, which the new RTI Act relaxes. It
codifies a fundamental right of citizens.

A citizen who desires to seek some information from a public authority is

required to send, along with the application (a Postal order or DD (Demand
draft) or a bankers cheque) payable to the Accounts Officer of the public
authority as fee prescribed for seeking information. If the person is from
a disadvantaged community, he/she need not pay.

The applicant may also be required to pay further fee towards the cost of
providing the information, details of which shall be intimated to the applicant
by the PIO as prescribed by the RTI ACT

The Act covers the whole of India except Jammu and Kashmir, where J&K
Right to Information Act is in force. It covers all constitutional authorities,
including the executive, legislature and judiciary; any institution or body
established or constituted by an act of Parliament or a state legislature. It is
also defined in the Act that bodies or authorities established or constituted by
order or notification of appropriate government including bodies "owned,
controlled or substantially financed" by government, or non-Government
organizations "substantially financed, directly or indirectly by funds"

The Right to information in India has been mired with controversies ranging
from their use in political battles asking opponent degrees, or cases of blatant
refusals to provide information on high profile projects to allegations of
misuse by civil society.

The Right to information in India is governed by two major bodies viz.

Central Information Commission (CIC) Chief Information commissioner who

heads all the central departments and ministries- with their own public
Information officers (PIO)s. CICs are directly under the President of India.

State Information Commissions-State Public Information Officers or SPIOs –

Heading over all the state department and ministries the SPIO office is directly
under the State Governor.

State and Central Information Commissions are independent bodies and

Central Information Commission has no jurisdiction over the State Information
Commission.

The Prohibition of Child Marriage Act, 2006

The Prohibition of Child Marriage Act 2006 came into force on 1 November
2007 in India.

Structure of the Act

This Act consists of 21 sections . It extends all over India except Jammu and
Kashmir and renoncants of the Union territory of Pondichery.

Definition

The Section 2 of the Act contains definitions.

 Child: A child is a person who has not completed 21 years in case of male
and 18 years in case of females.

 Contracting party: Either of the parties whose marriage is or is about to be

solemnized.
 Child marriage: A marriage to which either party is a child.

 Minor: A person who is not deemed to be major under Majority Act.

 Voidable marriage: (Section 3 ) Every child marriage is voidable at the

option of the contracting party who was child at the time of solemnization
of marriage. A Decree of nullity can be obtained by such person by filing
petition before the District court for annulment of marriage within 2 years
after attaining majority. While granting a decree, the district court shall
make an order directing both parties and their parents or guardians to
return to the other party, money, gold, ornaments, gifts and other
valuables.

Provision for maintenance and residence of female

The District Court while granting annulment of the child marriage, make an
interim or final order directing the male contracting party, to pay maintenance
to the female contracting party.[12] If the male contracting party is minor, then
the court shall direct the parents/guardian to the minor, to pay maintenance to
the female contracting party. The female contracting party is entitled to get
maintenance up to her remarriage. The amount of maintenance may be paid
monthly or in lump sum. The quantum of maintenance shall be determined
considering the needs of the child, life style enjoyed by her and means of
income of the paying party. The District court may also issue suitable order as
to the residence of female contracting party.

District court shall make appropriate order for the custody of the children of
such child marriage and while making such order of custody, the court issue
order taking in to account of the welfare and best interest of the child of such
marriage. The court shall also make appropriate orders of maintenance and
issue visitation orders also.
Child begotten or conceived of such child marriage shall be deemed to be
legitimate children not withstanding such marriage is annulled by the court.

Court has power to add modify or revoke any order made under S. 3, 4 and 5,
i.e., with respect to maintenance, residence, when there is change in
circumstances.

For getting maintenance and residence of female contracting party or child

born in such marriage and for custody of children, application can be moved
before the district court having jurisdiction where

  The defendant / child resides,

  where marriage was solemnized or

  where the parties last resided or

  where the petitioner is residing on the date of presentation of petition.

Offences and punishment under this Act

  Punishment for male adult: If an adult male who is above 18 years of

age contracts child marriage, he shall be punishable with rigorous
imprisonment for 2 years or with fine which may extend to one lakh
rupees or both.

  Punishment for solemnizing marriage: If a person performs, conducts,

directs or abets any child marriage, he shall be punishable with
rigorous imprisonment for 2 years or with fine which may extend to
one lakh rupees or both.

  Punishment for promoting / permitting solemnization of marriage:

Any person having charge of the child whether parent or guardian or
any other person including member of organization or association of
persons who does any act to promote the passing or permit child
 marriage or negligently fails to prevent it from being solemnized,
including attending or participating such marriage, shall be
punishable with rigorous imprisonment for 2 years or with fine which
may extend to one lakh rupees or both.

Offence under this Act is cognizable and non bailable.

When marriage is null and void

Marriage will be null and void in the following circumstances

  Where minor child is taken or enticed out of the keeping legal

guardian

  By force compelled or by any deceitful means induced to go from any

place

  Is sold for purpose of marriage and go through a form of marriage or

if the minor is married after which the minor is sold off or trafficked
or used for immoral purpose

Such marriage shall be null and void.

Injunction

The Judicial First Class magistrate / Metropolitan Magistrate has power to

issue injunction prohibiting child marriage. Which can be done by an
application from the child marriage prohibition officer or receipt of any
complaint or even suo motu and if the court is satisfied that a child marriage in
contravention to the Act is arranged or about to be solemnized, court shall
issue injunction against any person including a member of organization
prohibiting such marriage. Usually injunction is issued against any person after
giving him notice and an opportunity to show cause, however, in case of
urgency, the court has power to issue interim injunction without giving any
notice. A person disobeying the injunction shall be punishable with
imprisonment for a term which may extend 2 years and fine which may extend
to 1 lakh rupees or with both. No women shall be punishable with
imprisonment under this section. For preventing mass child marriage on
certain days such as, Akshaya thrithiya, the District Magistrate has power to
stop or prevent solemnizing of child marriage and District Magistrate has even
power to use minimum force so as to prevent such marriage.

Any child marriage solemnized in contravention to the injunction order issued

whether interim or final shall be void ab initio.

Child marriage protection officers and their duties

The government shall appoint Child marriage protection officers over the area
specified in the official gazette. Their duties are

To prevent child marriage by taking action

  To collect evidence for effective prosecution

  To advise the locals not to indulge in promoting or helping or

allowing solemnization of child marriage

  To create awareness of the evil of such child marriage

  To sensitize the community on the issue

  To furnish periodical returns and statistics when the government may

direct

  Such other duties assigned by the Government.

The Child marriage protection officers are deemed to be public servant and no
suit will lie on the action taken by the Child marriage protection officers in
good faith. Child marriage Restraint Act is repealed by this new Act. There are
some controversies existing regarding the marriageable age of girls,
particularly Muslim girls. In kerala, Nine Muslim organizations led by Indian
Union Muslim League resolved on September 21, 2013, to move the Supreme
Court to get Muslim women excluded from the Prohibition of Child Marriage
Act of 2006.

The Juvenile Justice (Care & Protection of Children) Amendment Act,

2006

Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015 has been passed
by Parliament of India. It aims to replace the existing Indian juvenile
delinquency law, Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2000,
so that juveniles in conflict with Law in the age group of 16–18, involved in
Heinous Offences, can be tried as adults. The Act came into force from 15
January 2016.

It was passed on 7 May 2015 by the Lok Sabha amid intense protest by several
Members of Parliament. It was passed on 22 December 2015 by the Rajya
Sabha.

To streamline adoption procedures for orphan, abandoned and surrendered

children, the existing Central Adoption Resource Authority (CARA) has been
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There is a separate chapter on Adoption which provides detailed provisions
relating to adoption and punishments for not complying with the laid down
procedure. Processes have been streamlined with timelines for both in-country
and inter-country adoption including declaring a child legally free for
During the debate in the Lok Sabha in May 2015, Shashi Tharoor,
an INC Member the Parliament (MP), argued that the law was in contradiction
with international standards and that most children who break the law come
from poor and illiterate families. He said that they should be educated instead
of being punished.

Child Rights Activists and Women Rights Activists have called the bill a
regressive step and have criticized the Bill. Many experts and activists viewed
post December 2012 Delhi Gang Rape responses as creation of media
sensationalisation of the issue, and cautioned against any regressive move to
disturb the momentum of Juvenile Justice Legislation in the Country. However
some sections in the society felt that in view of terrorism and other serious
offences, Juvenile Justice Act of 2000 needed to be amended to include
punitive approaches in the existing Juvenile Justice Law, which so far is purely
rehabilitative and reformative. Some argued that there is no need of tampering
with Juvenile Justice Act for putting up effective deterrent against terrorism.
Retired Judge of Delhi High Court, Justice RS Sodhi on 8 August 2015 told
Hindustan Times, "We are a civilised nation and if we become barbaric by
twisting our own laws, then the enemy will succeed in destroying our social
structure. We should not allow that but we must condemn this move of
sending children to fight their war"

The Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012

1. Short title, extent and commencement :

(1) This Act may be called the Protection of Children from Sexual
Offences Act, 2012.

(2) It extends to the whole of India, except the State of Jammu and
Kashmir.
 (3) It shall come into force on such date as the Central Government may,
by notification in the Official Gazette, appoint.

2. Definitions :

(1) In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires, — (a) "aggravated
penetrative sexual assault" has the same meaning as assigned to it in
section 5; (b) "aggravated sexual assault" has the same meaning as
assigned to it in section 9; (c) "armed forces or security forces" means
armed forces of the Union or security forces or police forces, as
specified in the Schedule; (d) "child" means any person below the age
of eighteen years; (e) "domestic relationship" shall have the same
meaning as assigned to it in clause (f) of section 2 of the Protection of
Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005. 43 of 2005 (f)
"penetrative sexual assault" has the same meaning as assigned to it in
section 3; (g) “prescribed” means prescribed by rules made under this
Act; (h) “religious institution” shall have the same meaning as
assigned to it in the Religious Institutions (Prevention of Misuse) Act,
1988. 41 of 1988 (i) "sexual assault" has the same meaning as
assigned to it in section 7; (j) "sexual harassment" has the same
meaning as assigned to it in section 11; (k) "shared household" means
a household where the person charged with the offence lives or has
lived at any time in a domestic relationship with the child; (l) "Special
Court" means a court designated as such under section 28; (m)
"Special Public Prosecutor" means a Public Prosecutor appointed
under section 32. (2) The words and expressions used herein and not
defined but defined in the Indian Penal Code, the Code or the Acts.

The Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act (POCSO Act) 2012 was
formulated in order to effectively address sexual abuse and sexual exploitation
of children. The Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012
received the President’s assent on 19th June 2012 and was notified in the
Gazette of India on 20th June, 2012.

The Act defines a child as any person below eighteen years of age. It defines
different forms of sexual abuse, including penetrative and non-penetrative
assault, as well as sexual harassment and pornography. It deems a sexual
assault to be “aggravated” under certain circumstances, such as when the
abused child is mentally ill or when the abuse is committed by a person in a
position of trust or authority like a family member, police officer, teacher, or
doctor. The Act also casts the police in the role of child protectors during the
investigative process. Thus, the police personnel receiving a report of sexual
abuse of a child are given the responsibility of making urgent arrangements for
the care and protection of the child, such as obtaining emergency medical
treatment for the child and placing the child in a shelter home, and bringing the
matter in front of the CWC, should the need arise.

The Act further makes provisions for avoiding the re-victimisation of the child
at the hands of the judicial system. It provides for special courts that conduct
the trial in-camera and without revealing the identity of the child, in a manner
that is as child-friendly as possible. Hence, the child may have a parent or
other trusted person present at the time of testifying and can call for assistance
from an interpreter, special educator, or other professional while giving
evidence. Above all, the Act stipulates that a case of child sexual abuse must
be disposed of within one year from the date the offence is reported.

The Act also provides for mandatory reporting of sexual offences. This casts a
legal duty upon a person who has knowledge that a child has been sexually
abused to report the offence; if he fails to do so, he may be punished with six
months’ imprisonment and/ or a fine.
Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and
Redressal) Act, 2013

The Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and

Redressal) Act, 2013 is a legislative act in Indiathat seeks to protect women
from sexual harassment at their place of work. It was passed by the Lok
Sabha (the lower house of the Indian Parliament) on 3 September 2012. It was
passed by the Rajya Sabha (the upper house of the Indian Parliament) on 26
February 2013. The Bill got the assent of the President on 23 April 2013. The
Act came into force from 9 December 2013. This statute superseded the
Vishakha Guidelines for prevention of sexual harassment introduced by the
Supreme Court of India. It was reported by the International Labour
Organization that very few Indian employers were compliant to this
statute. Most Indian employer's have not implemented the law despite the legal
requirement that any workplace with more than 10 employees need to
implement it. According to a FICCI-EY November 2015 report, 36% of Indian
companies and 25% among MNCs are not compliant with the Sexual
Harassment Act, 2013. The government has threatened to take stern action
against employers who fail to comply with this law.

The introductory text of the Act is:

An Act to provide protection against sexual harassment of women at

workplace and for the prevention and redressal of complaints of sexual
harassment and for matters connected therewith or incidental thereto.

WHEREAS sexual harassment results in violation of the fundamental rights

of a woman to equality under articles 14 and 15 of the Constitution of India
and her right to life and to live with dignity under article 21 of the Constitution
and right to practice any profession or to carry on any occupation, trade or
business which includes a right to a safe environment free from sexual
harassment;
AND WHEREAS the protection against sexual harassment and the right to
work with dignity are universally recognised human rights by international
conventions and instruments such as Convention on the Elimination of all
Forms of Discrimination against Women, which has been ratified on the 25th
June, 1993 by the Government of India;

AND WHEREAS it is expedient to make provisions for giving effect to the

said Convention for protection of women against sexual harassment at
workplace.

 The Act defines sexual harassment at the work place and creates a
mechanism for redressal of complaints. It also provides safeguards against
false or malicious charges.

 The Act also covers concepts of 'quid pro quo harassment' and 'hostile
work environment' as forms of sexual harassment if it occurs in
connection with an act or behaviour of sexual harassment.

 The definition of "aggrieved woman", who will get protection under the
Act is extremely wide to cover all women, irrespective of her age or
employment status, whether in the organised or unorganised sectors,
public or private and covers clients, customers and domestic workers as
well.

 While the "workplace" in the Vishaka Guidelines is confined to the

traditional office set-up where there is a clear employer-employee
relationship, the Act goes much further to include organisations,
department, office, branch unit etc. in the public and private sector,
organized and unorganized, hospitals, nursing homes, educational
institutions, sports institutes, stadiums, sports complex and any place
visited by the employee during the course of employment including the
 transportation. Even non-traditional workplaces which involve tele-
commuting will get covered under this law.

 The Committee is required to complete the inquiry within a time period of

90 days. On completion of the inquiry, the report will be sent to the
employer or the District Officer, as the case may be, they are mandated to
take action on the report within 60 days.

 Every employer is required to constitute an Internal Complaints

Committee at each office or branch with 10 or more employees. The
District Officer is required to constitute a Local Complaints Committee at
each district, and if required at the block level.

 The Complaints Committees have the powers of civil courts for gathering
evidence.

 The Complaints Committees are required to provide for conciliation

before initiating an inquiry, if requested by the complainant.

 The inquiry process under the Act should be confidential and the Act lays
down a penalty of Rs 5000 on the person who has breached
confidentiality.

 The Act requires employers to conduct education and sensitisation

programmes and develop policies against sexual harassment, among other
obligations.

 Penalties have been prescribed for employers. Non-compliance with the

provisions of the Act shall be punishable with a fine of up to ₹ 50,000.
Repeated violations may lead to higher penalties and cancellation of
licence or registration to conduct business.

 Government can order an officer to inspect workplace and records related

to sexual harassment in any organisation
The Lokpal and Lokayuktas Act, 2013

The Lokpal and Lokayuktas Act, 2013, commonly known as The Lokpal Act,
is an anti-corruption Act of Indian Parliament in India which "seeks to provide
for the establishment of the institution of Lokpal to inquire into allegations of
corruption against certain public functionaries and for matters connecting
them".

The Bill was tabled in the Lok Sabha on 22 December 2011 and was passed by
the House on 27 December as The Lokpal and Lokayuktas Bill, 2011. It was
subsequently tabled in the Rajya Sabha on 29 December. After
a marathon debate that stretched until midnight of the following day,
the vote failed to take place for lack of time. On 21 May 2012, it was referred
to a Select Committee of the Rajya Sabha for consideration. It was passed in
the Rajya Sabha on 17 December 2013 after making certain amendments to
the earlier Bill and in the Lok Sabha the next day. It received assent from
President Pranab Mukherjee on 1 January 2014 and came into force from 16
January.

The Bill was introduced in the parliament following massive public

protests led by anti-corruption crusader Anna Hazare and his associates. The
Bill is one of the most widely discussed and debated Bills in India, both by
the media and the People of India at large, in recent times. The protests were
named among the "Top 10 News Stories of 2011" by the magazine Time. The
bill received worldwide media coverage.

In 2011, India ranked 95th in the Corruption Perceptions Index of

Transparency International. A recent survey estimated that corruption in India
had cost billions of dollars and threatened to derail growth. India lost a
staggering $462 billion in illicit financial flows due to tax evasion, crime and
corruption post-Independence, according to a report released by Washington-
based Global Financial Integrity.
The Lokpal and Lokayuktas (Amendment) Bill, 2016

 The Lokpal and Lokayuktas (Amendment) Bill, 2016 was introduced in

Lok Sabha on July 27, 2016 by the Minister for Personnel, Public
Grievances and Pensions, Dr. Jitendra Singh.

 The Bill amends the Lokpal and Lokayuktas Act, 2013 in relation to
declaration of assets and liabilities by public servants. The provisions of
the Bill would apply retrospectively, from the date of the coming into
force of the 2013 Act.

 The Lokpal Act requires a public servant to declare his assets and
liabilities, and that of his spouse and dependent children. Such
declarations must be made to the competent authority within 30 days of
entering office. Further, the public servant must file an annual return of
such assets and liabilities by July 31st of every year. The Lokpal Act also
mandates statements of such declarations be published on the website of
the relevant Ministry by August 31 of that year.

 The Bill replaces these provisions to state that a public servant will be
required to declare his assets and liabilities. However, the form and
manner of making such a declaration will be prescribed by the central
government

Questions

1. State Protection of Civil Rights Act, 1955

2. State The Immoral Traffic (Prevention) Act, 1956

3. State Probation of Offenders Act, 1958

4. State The Child Labour (Prohibition & Regulation) Act, 1986

5. State The Dowry Prohibition (amended) Act, 1986

6. State The Consumer Protection Act, 1986

7. State The Environmental (Protection) Act, 1986

8. State Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988

9. State The SC and ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989

10. State The Protection of Human Rights Act, 1993

11. State The Information Technology Act, 2000

12. State Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005

13. State The Right to Information Act, 2005

14. State The Prohibition of Child Marriage Act, 2006

15. State The Juvenile Justice (Care & Protection of Children) Amendment
Act, 2006

16. State The Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012

17. Note on Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention,

Prohibition and Redressal)

References for MCCJ-12 Criminal Law and Special Laws

1. Gaur, K. D. (2013). Criminal law: Cases and materials (7th ed.).

Gurgaon, Haryana, India: LexisNexis.

2. Hall, J. (1960). General principles of criminal law (2nd ed.). Indianapolis:

Bobbs- Merrill.

3. Nigam, R. C. (1965). Law of crimes in India. Asia Pub. House.

4. Thakore, D. (2011). Ratanlal & Dhirajlal’s the Indian Penal Code (Act
XLV of 1860) (33rd ed.). Gurgaon, Haryana, India: LexisNexis
Butterworths Wadhwa Nagpur.
5. Vibhute, K. I. (2012). P. S. A. Pillai’s criminal law (11th ed.). Lexis
Nexis. Legal Texts

1. The Indian Penal Code, 1860

2. Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973

6. Bare acts of all special laws