Indian Penal Code ( IPC ) - INTRODUCTION

The Indian security system has been one that
has gone through a lot of tests and
examinations throughout the time. This is due
to the political as well as the social situation
and standing of the country. India is a land of
diverse cultures and traditions. It is a place
where people from various religions as well as
ethnic backgrounds live together. As a result of
these, there might arise certain disputes
amongst the people. The cultural diversity is
such that there are disputes and clashes of
interest between different states, ethnic to
particular cultural consortiums. There are also
many intrusions from neighboring countries
and terrorist organizations.Then, there is the
issue of the Naxalites as well as the day to day
common crimes. To counter all such crimes
and breach of law, a document has been
formulated, that covers each of these
situations separately and lists out the penalties
for those found guilty under any of the
mentioned offences. This is document is
known as the Indian Penal Code. The Indian
penal code is also applicable to the state of
Jammu and Kashmir.However, it was known in
this state as the Ranbir Penal Code (RPC).

The Indian Penal code, in its basic form, is a
document that lists all the cases and
punishments that a person committing any
crimes is liable to be charged with. It covers
any Indian citizen or a person of Indian origin.
The exception here is that any kind of military
or the armed forces crimes can not be charged
based on the Indian Penal Code. Military as
well as the armed forces have a different
dedicated list of laws and the Indian Penal
Code does not have the privilege to supersede
any part of it. The Indian Penal Code also has
the power to charge for any crimes committed
by a person who is an Indian citizen on any
means of transport belonging to India-an
Indian aircraft or an Indian ship.

The Indian Penal Code has its roots I the times
of the British rule in India. It is known to have
originated from a British legislation account in
it’s colonial conquests, dating back to the year
1860.The first and the introductory draft of
the Indian Penal Code was formulated in 1860s
and was done under the able supervision of
the First Law Comission.The commission was
righteously chaired by Lord Macaulay. The first
penal code came into existence way back in the
year 1862.Since then, a lot of amendments
have been made to it in order to incorporate a
lot of changes and jurisdiction clauses. One
such amendment is the inclusions of section
498-A.The total number of sections contained
in the Indian Penal Code are five hundred
eleven. All these sections pertain to a
particular category of crimes committed by
civilians of Indian origin. There are sections
related to Dowry Laws and jurisdictions in
India, as well as there are several sections that
concern various types of criminal laws. The
Indian Penal Code is thus the most
fundamental document of all the law enforcer
as well as the entire judiciary in India.