IPC,CrPC and Indian Evidence Act

History, Extent, Nature and Scope of IPC, CrPC, and Evidence Act.
Please comment if you have any questions or Suggestions.

1. -ANKIT KR PANDEY MSW, SEMESTER- 4TH MGCU, BIHAR IPC, CrPC and Evidence Act

2. Criminal Law Prof. Salmond defined law as- “ The body of principles recognized and applied by the State in the administration of justice”. Law consists of rules recognized and acted on by the courts of justice. Law is the means where as justice is the end. Law is an instrument of social progress and social control, It is a “social engineering” to make a balance between individual wants and social interest.

3. Conti… The highest law in India is the Constitution of India. No other law is above it. If any law has a provision against the Constitution, it is ultra-vires and not binding.

4. Kinds of Law

5. Indian Penal Code (1860) The IPC is the main criminal code of India. It extends to the whole of India except to the state of Jammu and Kashmir. It has 23 chapters and 511 Sections . It covers any Indian citizen or a Person of Indian origin.

6. Extension of the code(sec-4) The provisions of this code apply also to any offence committed by: Any citizen of India in any place without and beyond India. Any person on any ship or aircraft registered in India where ever it may be. Any person in any place without and beyond India committing offence targeting a computer resource located in India.

7. History The draft of the IPC was prepared by the first law commission, chaired by Thomas Babington Macaulay in 1835 and was submitted to Governor-General of India council in 1837,but the draft was again revised. The drafting was completed in 1850 and the code was presented to the legislative council in 1856. Following the Indian rebellion of 1857, then underwent a very careful revisions. It was passed into law on 6 October 1860.

8. Conti… It came into force in British India during the early British Raj period in 1862. However it did not apply automatically in the princely states, which had their own courts and legal systems until the 1940s. The code has since been amended several times and is now supplemented by other criminal provisions.

9. Stages: Thought/Idea Preparation Attempt Completion

10. Some Important Sections: 121- Waging or attempting to wage war, or abetting waging of war against the Government of India. 144- Unlawful assembly armed with deadly weapon. 300- Murder. 420- If any organization or individual is dishonest with you and in anyway produces or delivers false or fake products or property to one (Cheating Case) then he or she shall be liable for a punishment of imprisonment up to 7 years or liable to pay fine. 376- punishment for Rape. 498A- Dowry . 82 -83 -A  child  who commits a crime and is below the age of seven is not considered to have committed a crime.  

11. Code Of Criminal Procedures( CrPC ) The CrPC is the main legislation on procedure for administration of substantive criminal law in India. It was enacted in 1973 and came into force on 1 April 1974. It provides machinery for the investigation of crime, apprehension of suspected criminals, collection of evidence, determination of guilt or innocence of the accused person and the determination of punishment of the guilty.

12. Conti… At present, the act contains 484 Sections, 2 Schedules and 56 forms. The Section are divided into 37 Chapters.

13. Classification of Offences: Under the Criminal Procedure Code, offences can be classified on the basis of the following three criterions; Cognizable and Non cognizable offences Bailable and Non-Bailable offences Offences which will invoke a summons case and Offences which will invoke a warrants case.

14. Investigation F.I.R- Information of the commission of cognizable offence given to the officer-in-charge of the police station having jurisdiction to investigate the offence. Officer-in-charge of the police station conducts investigation. Files police report or charge sheet along with statements recorded and evidence collected before the Magistrate having jurisdiction to try the case.

15. Conti… If no enough material is found to file a charge sheet against the accused, the officer has to send a report to that effect to the Magistrate and release the accused on bail. Information regarding non-cognizable offence, when given has to be entered in the station diary and informant referred to the Magistrate. Police officer has to maintain a case diary to record the progress of the case investigated by him on day to-day basis.

16. Conti… If the police officer refuses to register a case, information can be sent to the Superintendent of Police in writing by post. Information regarding the commission of an offence may be given in the form of a complaint to the Magistrate, having jurisdiction to try the case.

17. Bail Bail – Security for appearance before the court for trial or examination when required. Bail mandatory in bail able offences. Bail mandatory in non bail able offences- When investigation is not completed within the stipulated period. When trial is not completed within the stipulated period. After trial, no ground to hold him guilty.

18. Conti… Bail – Discretionary in the other cases. Factors to be taken into consideration: – Gravity of the charge – Nature of evidence against accusation – Danger of evidence being tampered – Likelihood of accused fleeing from justice – Opportunity to prepare defence – Health, age and sex of the accused.

19. Anticipatory Bail Anticipatory bail Person having reason to believe that he may be arrested for a non- bailable offence may apply to the High Court or Sessions court for anticipatory bail. Factors to be taken into consideration: – Antecedents of the applicant, nature and gravity of accusation, possibility of fleeing from justice, whether accusation is made to humiliate the applicant.

20. Indian Evidence Act, 1872 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 law is mainly based upon the firm work by Sir James Fitzjames Stephen . the Indian Evidence Act, 1872, has eleven chapters and 167 sections, and came into force 1 September 1872. 

21. Conti… It extends to the whole of India except the State of J&K. It applies to all judicial proceedings in or before any Court, including Court-martial. But not to affidavits presented to any Court or officer and not to proceedings before an arbitrator.

22. Interpretation Clause(Sec-3) Court :- includes all Judges and Magistrates and all other persons except arbitrators, legally authorised to take evidence. Fact :- means and includes (a) Anything, state of things, or relation of things, capable of being perceived by senses, ( e.g -LPG leakage). (b) Any mental condition of which any person is conscious, (e.g. Mr. A’s headache starts in hunger) Example:- That, certain objects arranged in a certain order in a certain place, is a fact

23. Conti… "Document” :- means any matter expressed or described upon any substance by means of letters, figures/marks, or by more than one of those means, intended to be used, or which may be used, for recording that matter. E.g. A writing is a document: Words printed, lithographed or photographed are documents: A map or plan is a document; An inscription on metal plate/stone is a doc

24. Conti… Evidence:- means and includes: All oral evidences such as statements, narration, showing mark of injury/tampering etc. All documents including electronic records produced for the inspection of the Court are called documentary evidence. In case of oral or documentary evidence, documents contained in electronic form is also tenable by the court.

25. Oral Evidence : Sec.59 -Proof of facts by oral evidence. All facts, except the contents of documents, may be proved by oral evidence. Sec.60- Oral evidence must be direct: if it refers to a fact which could be seen , it must be the evidence of a witness who says he saw it; if it refers to a fact which could be heard , it must be the evidence of a witness who says he heard it; if it refers to a fact which could be perceived by any other sense or in any other manner, it must be the evidence of a witness who says he perceived it by that sense or in that manner