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IPC 1860REPEALED

Section 5-11

General Definitions: Laws, Acts, Omissions, Persons, Gender, Number

Replaced by: BNS 3

N/ACognizable: N/AN/A
THE STATUTE

Original Text

Section 5: Nothing in this Act is intended to repeal, vary, suspend, or affect any of the provisions of any Act for punishing mutiny and desertion of officers, soldiers, sailors or airmen... Section 6: Throughout this Code every definition of an offence, every penal provision, and every illustration of every such definition or penal provision, shall be understood subject to the exceptions contained in the Chapter entitled 'General Exceptions'... Section 8: The pronoun 'he' and its derivatives are used of any person, whether male or female. Section 9: Unless the contrary appears from the context, words importing the singular number include the plural number, and vice versa. Section 10: The word 'man' denotes a male human being of any age; the word 'woman' denotes a female human being of any age. Section 11: The word 'person' includes any Company or Association or body of persons, whether incorporated or not.

Simplified

Sections 5–11 are the IPC's interpretive backbone — rules of construction that govern how every subsequent provision must be read. Section 5 carves out the military justice system from the IPC's general scope — courts-martial have exclusive jurisdiction over mutiny and desertion by armed forces members. Section 6 is the structural key: it directs that every offence definition in the IPC must be read subject to the General Exceptions in Chapter IV (Sections 76–106). This means the definitions of murder, theft, and rape all implicitly incorporate the defences of insanity, private defence, infancy, and necessity — even when those defences aren't mentioned in the specific offence section. Section 8 establishes gender neutrality for pronouns — 'he' and 'his' cover both sexes. Section 11's inclusion of companies, associations, and unincorporated bodies within the definition of 'person' is the foundation for corporate criminal liability under the IPC — a company can be charged, convicted, and fined for IPC offences even though it cannot be imprisoned.

Legal Evolution

The inclusion of companies within the definition of 'person' (Section 11) was remarkably forward-looking for 1860 law. It has become the basis for corporate criminal prosecutions under the IPC — a company, its directors, and its officers can simultaneously face IPC charges for offences like cheating, criminal breach of trust, and defamation. Section 6's subjection of all offences to the General Exceptions codified the common law principle that criminal responsibility requires both actus reus and mens rea.

Landmark Precedents

Tata Engineering and Locomotive Co. v. State of Bihar (1964)

AIR 1965 SC 40
RELEVANCE

Established that a company is a 'person' under Section 11 IPC capable of committing criminal offences — foundational for corporate criminal liability under Indian law.

Practical Scenarios

"A pharmaceutical company that markets a drug knowing it causes serious harm — can be prosecuted as a 'person' under Section 11 for Section 420 (cheating)."
"A corporation whose directors commit criminal breach of trust with company property — both the company and directors face IPC prosecution."

Common Queries

Yes — Section 11 includes companies and associations within the definition of 'person.' A company can be convicted of IPC offences and sentenced to fines. Individual directors and officers can simultaneously be prosecuted for the same acts.
No — Section 8 makes all gender pronouns cover both sexes. A woman who commits murder is equally liable under Section 302 despite the masculine pronoun.