Presumption of culpable mental state

In force Act 10 of 1955 As on 19 Oct 2026

Read from the scanned gazette. India Code publishes no text for this Act, so the text below was read from the Government's own scan by machine and split into sections by its numbering. It has not been checked against the page word by word. Where it matters, read the scan. Read the scan.

Act 10 of 1955

This is a second copy of a Central Act. India Code files it on Punjab's shelf as well as under Parliament, and the text is the same enactment. Read it at The Essential Commodities Act, 1955, which is the record this site keeps current.

Read from the scanned gazette. India Code publishes no text for this Act, so this text was read from the Government's own scan by machine and split into sections by its numbering. It has not been checked against the page word by word. Where it matters, read the scan. Read the scan.

Section 10C of the Essential Commodities Act deals with presumption of culpable mental state. In any prosecution for any offence under this Act which requires a culpable mental state on the part of the accused, the court shall presume the existence of such mental state but it shall be a defence for the accused to prove the fact that he had no such mental state with respect to the act charged

(1) In any prosecution for any offence under this Act which requires a culpable mental state on the part of the accused, the court shall presume the existence of such mental state but it shall be a defence for the accused to prove the fact that he had no such mental state with respect to the act charged as an offence in that prosecution.
Explanation .- In this section, "culpable mental state" includes intention, motive, knowledge of a fact and the belief in, or reason to believe, a fact.
(2) For the purposes of this section, a fact is said to be proved only when the court believes it to exist beyond reasonable doubt and not merely when its existence is established by a preponderance of probability.]
Section 10C, The Essential Commodities Act (Act 10 of 1955).

Questions about Section 10C

What does Section 10C of the Essential Commodities Act deal with?

Section 10C of the Essential Commodities Act is headed "Presumption of culpable mental state". In any prosecution for any offence under this Act which requires a culpable mental state on the part of the accused, the court shall presume the existence of such mental state but it shall be a defence for the accused to prove the fact that he had no such mental state with respect to the act charged

How do I find court cases under Section 10C of the Essential Commodities Act?

In judgments and charge sheets this section is written several ways, and each form finds a different set of orders. These search the full text of every order eCourtsIndia holds, best matches first: Essential Commodities Act 10C, section 10C Essential Commodities Act, section 10C of the Essential Commodities Act. Each opens the full list of orders on eCourtsIndia, where it can be narrowed by court, year and outcome.

When was the Essential Commodities Act enacted?

Essential Commodities Act was enacted in 1955 as Act 10 of 1955. India Code records no commencement date for it. It is in force as at the date shown on this page.

Other sections of this Act

Source and method. Compiled from the enactments of Parliament and of the State legislatures as published on India Code, and republished together with commentary and other original matter under section 52(1)(q)(ii) of the Copyright Act, 1957. Structured, cross-referenced and maintained by eCourtsIndia. Read from the Government's own scanned gazette with Azure Document Intelligence, then split into sections by their numbering. India Code publishes no text for this Act. The scan itself is mirrored into our own storage and served at /scan/c6de0262-54cc-4b84-adaa-567fdb48b2a4.pdf, so the reading here can be checked against the page it came from without depending on India Code's own copy staying where it is (it was at https://indiacode.gov.in/server/api/core/bitstreams/8f68770d-cd71-40fd-b19e-aa46897c6000/content). This page is not a substitute for legal advice.