Keeping Pace with Legal Change
Section 302 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860 prescribes punishment for murder. It mandates life imprisonment or death sentence upon conviction, reflecting society’s gravest condemnation of intentional unlawful killing.
Section 25 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023, stipulates that an act not intended or known to likely cause death or grievous hurt is not an offense if the person harmed is over eighteen and has consented to the risk. For example, if two adults agree to fence for amusement and one is injured without foul play, no offense is committed.
Section 24 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023, addresses the issue of criminal liability in cases where an offense requires specific intent or knowledge, and the act is committed under intoxication. According to this provision, if an individual voluntarily becomes intoxicated and commits such an offense, they are held legally responsible as if they possessed the required intent or knowledge, regardless of their impaired state. However, if the intoxication was involuntary—meaning the substance was administered without their knowledge or against their will—this may serve as a defense, acknowledging that the individual lacked the capacity to form the necessary intent or knowledge due to the involuntary intoxication.
Section 22 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023, reflects the philosophy that justice must take into account the state of mind of people. In exempting persons suffering from severe mental illnesses from criminal responsibility when they are unable to understand their acts, the law balances protection of society with compassion and justice.
