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IPC 1860REPEALED

Section 1-4

Title, Extent, Punishment within India, Extra-Territorial Application

Replaced by: BNS 1-2

N/ACognizable: N/AN/A
THE STATUTE

Original Text

Section 1: This Act shall be called the Indian Penal Code, and shall take effect throughout India. Section 2: Every person shall be liable to punishment under this Code and not otherwise for every act or omission contrary to the provisions thereof, of which he shall be guilty within India. Section 4: The provisions of this Code apply also to any offence committed by any citizen of India in any place without and beyond India.

Simplified

Sections 1–4 are the IPC's foundational jurisdictional provisions — they establish the code's name, territorial reach, personal application, and extraterritorial extent. Section 1 names the code the 'Indian Penal Code' — a 'penal' focus that the BNS deliberately replaced with 'Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita' in 2023, signalling a philosophical shift from punishment to justice. Section 2 establishes the rule of legality — no punishment without law — and the territorial principle: every person who commits an act contrary to the IPC within India is liable, regardless of nationality. A tourist who murders in Mumbai is tried under IPC; a foreign diplomat has immunity under international law. Section 4 creates extraterritorial jurisdiction — an Indian citizen who commits an IPC offence anywhere in the world can be tried in India. This provision was foundational for cybercrime prosecution where offenders in India targeted foreign victims, and for Indians who committed serious crimes abroad and returned home. The BNS replaces these with Sections 1–2 and preserves the extraterritorial reach.

Legal Evolution

The IPC was drafted by Lord Macaulay's First Law Commission (1834–1837) and enacted on January 1, 1862 — replacing a patchwork of Presidency criminal laws, personal laws, and Company regulations. Macaulay modelled it on the French Penal Code and Jeremy Bentham's utilitarian principles: clear, codified, consistently applied law for a diverse subcontinent. It was one of the most successful codification exercises in legal history — later adopted by Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Malaysia, and other post-colonial nations.

Landmark Precedents

Mobarik Ali Ahmed v. State of Bombay (1957)

AIR 1957 SC 857
RELEVANCE

Applied Section 4 IPC extraterritorial jurisdiction — a Pakistani national who committed fraud against an Indian from Pakistan was tried under IPC.

Practical Scenarios

"A British tourist who assaults an Indian in Mumbai — tried under IPC Section 323/325."
"An Indian engineer in Bengaluru who commits online fraud against US victims — IPC Section 420 applies via Section 4 extraterritorial reach."
"An Indian citizen who murders a business rival in Dubai and returns to India — can be tried under IPC Section 302 via Section 4."

Common Queries

Yes — Section 2 applies to 'every person' within India, regardless of nationality. Only diplomatic immunity (under international law) creates exceptions. A foreign national who commits murder in India is fully subject to IPC prosecution.
The IPC was repealed and replaced by the BNS from July 1, 2024. Offences committed before July 1, 2024 continue to be investigated and tried under the IPC — the BNS applies only to offences on or after that date.