IPC Sections List – IPC Full Form in Law, Important Sections of IPC
By BYJU'S Exam Prep
Updated on: September 20th, 2023
IPC Sections List: Indian Penal Code (IPC Full Form) is a comprehensive code that aims to address every aspect of criminal law in India. IPC Sections are an integral part of the Indian polity and judiciary system. What constitutes wrong and how it is punished are outlined in the Indian Penal Code through the IPC Sections List. Indian Penal Code was formulated on the suggestions of the first law commission of India established in 1834 under the Charter Act of 1833 under the chairmanship of Thomas Babington Macaulay.
It came into action in India during British rule in 1862 but was not automatically applied in the Princely states until the 1940s. Indian Penal Code, 1860 was enacted by Imperial Legislative Council on 6 October 1860 and has been amended several times since then. This article will highlight about IPC sections list, its history, importance, and reforms needed under the list.
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IPC Full Form
The full Form of IPC is the Indian Penal Code which was established in 1860. IPC is the official criminal code of India which contains 23 chapters and 511 sections. The purpose of this IPC Act is to provide a general penal code for India. IPC Full Form in Hindi is भारतीय दण्ड संहिता.
What is Indian Penal Code?
The Indian Penal Code defines what a crime is and what the punishments are for committing one. This Code consolidates the entire structure of law on the subject and proclaims the law meticulously across all aspects. The Indian Penal Code is a substantive law body. Substantive law is a system of law that establishes civil law obligations and rights as well as criminal law offenses and penalties.
IPC Sections List PDF
As an outcome, the Indian Penal Code is the law that defines punishable misdemeanors, their penalties or forms of punishment, or both. This code divides punishments into five categories: death, life imprisonment, general imprisonment, forfeiture of property, and fine. Mohammedan Criminal Law was implemented for both Muslims and Hindus in India before the implementation of the Indian Penal Code.
History of IPC Sections List
The Indian Penal Code (IPC) was enacted in 1860 in response to the suggestions of India’s first law commission, founded in 1834 under the Charter Act of 1833 and chaired by Lord Macaulay. The Indian Penal Code took effect on January 1, 1862, during British command over India and applied to all of then-British India, excluding the princely states, which maintained their own courts and judicial systems until about the 1940s.
Independent India enacted the Indian Penal Code after the partition. It applies to all citizens of India. The IPC has been reformed repeatedly since then and is now accompanied by a number of other criminal provisions. The IPC Sections List is presently divided into 23 chapters with a total of 511 sections. We will discuss the IPC’s important sections in the coming segment.
Important Sections of IPC
Indian Penal Code 1860 (Sections 1 to 511) contains 511 sections in 23 chapters. The code starts with an introduction, provides illustrations and peculiarities used in it, and covers a broad range of violations. The overview of Important Sections of IPC is presented below:
IPC Sections List | Details |
Section 1 | Title and extent of operation of the Code |
Section 2 | Punishment of offenses committed within India |
Section 3 | Punishment of offenses committed beyond but which by law may be tried within India |
Section 4 | Extension of Code to extra-territorial offenses |
Section 8 | Gender |
Section 11 | Person |
Sections 19 to 26 | “Judge”, “Court of Justice”, “Public Servant”, “Movable property”, “Wrongful gain”, “Wrongful loss”, “Gaining wrongfully, losing wrongfully”, “Dishonestly”, “Fraudulently”, “Reason to believe” |
Section 34 | Acts done by several persons in furtherance of common intention |
Section 35 | When such an act is criminal because it is done with criminal knowledge or intention |
Section 36 | Effect caused partly by act and partly by omission |
Section 37 | Cooperation by doing one of several acts constituting an offense |
Section 38 | Persons concerned in criminal acts may be guilty of different offenses |
Section 39 | “Voluntarily” |
Section 40 | “Offense” |
Section 52 | “Good faith” |
Section 52A | “Harbour” |
Section 53 | Punishment |
Section 73 | Solitary confinement |
Section 74 | Limit of solitary confinement |
Sections 76 to 106 | CHAPTER IV (76-106) – General Exceptions |
Sections 107 to 120 | CHAPTER V (107-120) – Abetment |
Section 120A | Definition of criminal conspiracy |
Section 120B | Punishment of criminal conspiracy |
Section 121 | Waging, or attempting to wage war, or abetting waging of war, against the Government of India |
Section 124A | Sedition |
Section 141 | Unlawful assembly |
Section 142 | Being a member of unlawful assembly |
Section 143 | Punishment |
Section 144 | Joining unlawful assembly armed with a deadly weapon |
Section 145 | Joining or continuing in unlawful assembly, knowing it has been commanded to disperse |
Section 146 | Rioting |
Section 147 | Punishment for rioting |
Section 148 | Rioting, armed with deadly weapons |
Section 149 | Every member of unlawful assembly guilty of the offense committed in prosecution of the common object |
Section 159 | Affray. (6 Differences between Rioting and Affray) |
Section 179 | Refusing to answer a public servant authorized to question |
Section 182 | False information, with intent to cause a public servant to use his lawful power to the injury of another person |
Section 191 | Giving false evidence |
Section 268 | Public nuisance |
Section 292 | Sale, etc. of obscene books, etc |
Section 293 | Sale, etc., of obscene objects to young people |
Section 294 | Obscene acts and songs |
Section 295 | Injuring or defiling a place of worship with intent to insult the religion of any class |
Section 295A | Deliberate and malicious acts intended to outrage religious feelings of any class by insulting its religion or religious beliefs |
Section 296 | Disturbing religious assembly |
Section 299 | Culpable homicide to Section 309 – Attempt to commit suicide |
Section 319 – Hurt to Section 338 | Causing grievous hurt by act endangering the life or personal safety of others |
Section 339 | Wrongful restraint |
Section 340 | Wrongful confinement |
Section 349 | Force |
Section 350 | Criminal force |
Section 351 | Assault |
Section 354 | Assault or criminal force to woman with intent to outrage her modesty |
Section 354A | Sexual harassment and punishment for sexual harassment |
Section 354B | Assault or use of criminal force on a woman with intent to disrobe |
Section 354C | Voyeurism |
Section 354D | Stalking |
Section 359 | Kidnapping |
Section 360 | Kidnapping from India |
Section 361 | Kidnapping from lawful guardianship |
Section 362 | Abduction |
Section 375 | Rape |
Section 376 | Punishment for rape |
Section 376D | Gang rape |
Section 376DA | Punishment for gang rape on women under sixteen years of age |
Section 376DB | Punishment for gang rape on women under twelve years of age |
Section 376E | Punishment for repeat offenders |
Section 377 | Unnatural offenses |
Section 378 | Theft |
Section 383 | Extortion |
Section 390 | Robbery |
Section 391 | Dacoity |
Section 396 | Dacoity with murder |
Section 399 | Making preparation to commit dacoity |
Section 403 | Dishonest misappropriation of property |
Section 405 | Criminal breach of trust |
Section 410 | Stolen Property |
Section 413 | Habitually dealing in stolen property |
Section 414 | Assisting in the concealment of stolen property |
Section 415 | Cheating |
Section 420 | Cheating and dishonestly inducing delivery of property |
Section 425 | Mischief |
Section 441 | Criminal Trespass to Section 446 – House-breaking by night |
Section 493 | Cohabitation caused by a man deceitfully inducing a belief of lawful marriage |
Section 494 | Marrying again during the lifetime of husband or wife |
Section 495 | Same offense with concealment of former marriage from person with whom subsequent marriage is contracted |
Section 496 | Marriage ceremony was fraudulently gone through without lawful marriage |
Section 497 | Adultery |
Section 498 | Enticing or taking away or detaining with criminal intent a married woman |
Section 498A | Cruelty by husband or relatives of the husband |
Section 499 | Defamation |
Section 503 | Criminal intimidation |
Section 506 | Punishment for criminal intimidation |
Section 509 | Word, gesture, or act intended to insult the modesty of a woman |
Section 511 | Attempts to commit offenses |
Significance of IPC Sections List
The IPC Sections List is applicable to all Indian citizens who commit felonies or behave improperly on the Indian territory. It serves as a guide text for all judgments and penalizing guidelines in circumstances of violence or improper conduct.
The memorandum is applicable to both ships and aircraft functioning in Indian waters or airfields. The Indian Penal Code’s most essential feature is the impartiality of the judgments it encourages.
- There are no exceptions in the Indian Penal Code for any person of any rank.
- The Indian Penal Code includes all pertinent criminal violations dealing with state felonies, public offenses, armed forces offenses, kidnapping, murder, and rape.
- It covers religious and property offenses and has a section dedicated to marriage offenses, inhumane treatment from a husband or relatives, defamation, and so forth.
Reforms Needed Under IPC Sections List
Blasphemy should have no place in a liberal democracy, which is why Section 295A, added in 1927, must be repealed. In 1913, criminal conspiracy was made a substantive offense. The offense is objectionable because the colonists introduced it to the IPC Sections List to deal with political fabrications.
The criterion of constructive liability is stretched to unreasonably severe extents in Section 149 on unlawful assembly. The clear difference between “culpable homicide” and “murder” is often criticized as the “weakest part of the code” because the interpretations are ambiguous.
- The IPC Sections List’s sexual offenses expose patriarchal values and Victorian moral standards.
- However, the antiquated crime of infidelity grants the husband exclusive proprietary rights over his wife’s sexuality; it provides no legal protection for the wife to secure an equivalent monopoly over the husband’s sexuality.
- The sedition law, enacted in 1898, needs to be reviewed.
IPC Sections List UPSC
IPC is exhaustive on the subjects it declares the law to cover and codifies the law on the subject. Students can refer to Polity Books for UPSC for a better understanding and to build a strong command over the subject and sub-topic. It is important to go through the topic using UPSC study material and keep track of the Current Affairs so as not to skip out on any updates or latest news regarding the IPC.
IPC Sections List is an extremely important topic for the GS paper of Prelims and Mains examination. You must learn all the Important IPC Sections List, its history, relevance, and reforms needed under the list.
IPC Sections List Sample Questions
Question: Which is true? The IPC contains: (1) 511 sections divided into 23 chapters, (2) 500 sections are divided into 38 chapters, (3) 493 sections divided into 11 chapters, (4) 511 sections divided into 24 chapters. Choose the correct option.
Answer: (A) 511 sections divided into 23 chapters
Question: Which of the following is true of intent of defraud? (A) the word defraud is of double meaning, (B) a general intention to defraud, without the intention of causing wrongful gain to one person of wrongful loss to another, (C) to prove intention of defraud, it is not at all necessary that there should have been some persons defrauded, or who possibly might have been defrauded by his act, (D) all of them
Answer: All of them
Question: The word ‘document’ as per Section 29 of IPC includes any matter expressed or described upon by any substance: (A) by more than one of those means intended to be used, or which may used, as evidence of that matter, (B) by means of letters, figures or marks only, (C) Both (A) and (B), (D) none of them
Answer: Both (A) and (B)
Question: Dishonest misappropriation of property, knowing that it was in the possession of a declosed person at his death, and that it has not since been in the possession of any person legally entitled to it and if the offender at the time of such person’s declose was employed by him as a clerk or servant is dealt under: (A) Section 404 of IPC, (B) Section 401 of IPC, (C) Section 403 of IPC, (D) Section 402 of IPC
Answer: Section 404 of IPC
Question: Making preparation to commit dacoity is dealt under: (A) Section 400 of IPC, (B) Section 398 of IPC, (C) Section 401 of IPC, (D) Section 399 of IPC
Answer: Section 399 of IPC