Act done in good faith for benefit of child or insane person, by or by consent of guardian
Section 89 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860 deals with act done in good faith for benefit of child or insane person, by or by consent of guardian. Nothing which is done in good faith for the benefit of a person under twelve years of age, or of unsound mind, by or by consent, either express or implied, of the guardian or other person having lawful charge of that person, is an offence by reason of any harm which it may cause, or be intended by t The Act came into force on 01 Jan 1862. Repealed by section 358 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 (45 of 2023) with effect from 1 July 2024, but conduct before that date is still charged, tried and appealed under it.
Nothing which is done in good faith for the benefit of a person under twelve years of age, or of unsound mind, by or by consent, either express or implied, of the guardian or other person having lawful charge of that person, is an offence by reason of any harm which it may cause, or be intended by the doer to cause or be known by the doer to be likely to cause to that person:
Provided-
Provisos.
Provisos.-First.-That this exception shall not extend to the intentional causing of death, or to the attempting to cause death;
Secondly.-That this exception shall not extend to the doing of anything which the person doing it knows to be likely to cause death, for any purpose other than the preventing of death or grievous hurt, or the curing of any grievous disease or infirmity;
Thirdly.-That this exception shall not extend to the voluntary causing of grievous hurt, or to the attempting to cause grievous hurt, unless it be for the purpose of preventing death or grievous hurt, or the curing of any grievous disease or infirmity;
Fourthly.-That this exception shall not extend to the abetment of any offence, to the committing of which offence it would not extend.
Illustration
A, in good faith, for his child's benefit without his child's consent, has his child cut for the stone by a surgeon knowing it to be likely that the operation will cause the child's death, but not intending to cause the child's death. A is within the exception, in as much as his object was the cure of the child.
Section 89, The Indian Penal Code, 1860 (Act 45 of 1860).
Now in the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita
BNS 27 Act done in good faith for benefit of child or person of unsound mind, by, or by consent of guardian Text carried over almost unchanged 91%
Measured by comparing the text of the two provisions, not taken from an official correspondence table — there is no machine-readable one. See both texts side by side before relying on it.
Both regimes are live. The repealed enactment still governs what happened while it was in force. We never redirect one to the other.
Cross-references
Extracted from the operative text of the enactments themselves. Every destination below exists in our corpus.
Related judgements & precedents
These are some judgments that construed this section, and hold precedence value. They hold authority on how to read, interpret and use this section.
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Anowara Begum and Anr. vs The State of Assam
Court's Decision & Legal Precedent
When a dispute fundamentally concerns civil matters such as land mutation and property rights, despite criminal charges being filed under sections relating to cheating and intimidation, the accused persons are entitled to the benefit of anticipatory bail under Section 438 Cr.P.C., particularly when they have cooperated with the investigating authorities and appeared for statement recording.
On this section: Act of a person of unsound mind - charge against the accused
The holding above is the ratio decidendi as extracted from the judgment by eCourts India, reproduced unaltered — it is a rendering of the court's reasoning, not a substitute for its words. Read the order itself before relying on it.
Judgments citing this section
These may be obiter dicta or a precedent, for you to study. These are the judgments where this section is quoted.
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… ." Thus, it is crystal clear that a teacher or a parent or even a guardian or any other person in " loco parentis " has no absolute protection from criminal action by application of common law principle of " loco parentis ". Though the Indian Penal Code (IPC) has recognized some exceptions in the form of Section 88 and 89 of the Code, the same would not apply in case where the injury inflicted causes harm to the pupil as may be considered to be unreasonable and immoderate. Since in the present case the petitioner has not based her case on any factual assertion or dispute, the severity of the allegations made against her can only be …
Questions about Section 89
What have the courts held on Section 89 of the Indian Penal Code?
Anowara Begum and Anr. vs The State of Assam (05 May 2016) is the leading judgment on this section among those set out below: Act of a person of unsound mind - charge against the accused.
How do I find court cases under Section 89 of the Indian Penal Code?
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: IPC 89, section 89 IPC, section 89 of the Indian Penal Code. Each opens the full list of orders on eCourtsIndia, where it can be narrowed by court, year and outcome. 1 reported judgment on this section is set out on this page, beginning with Anowara Begum and Anr. vs The State of Assam (05 May 2016).
What should I read with Section 89 of the Indian Penal Code, and has it changed?
1 other provision in this corpus refers back to it. For anything done on or after 1 July 2024 the provision to read is BNS 27 (Act done in good faith for benefit of child or person of unsound mind, by, or by consent of guardian), which replaced it; conduct before that date is still charged, tried and appealed under this section.
When did Section 89 of the Indian Penal Code come into force?
Section 89 of the Indian Penal Code, cited as IPC 89, came into force on 01 Jan 1862, having been enacted on 06 Oct 1860. It is no longer in force.
Other sections of this Act
- 499. Defamation1512 words
- 464. Making a false document1223 words
- 300. Murder1172 words
- 378. Theft980 words
- 108. Abettor745 words
- 403. Dishonest misappropriation of property727 words
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. Recovered from the consolidated text published by India Code (item 7b7d4fe6-206b-4e33-81f1-b98b018acaf6). This page is not a substitute for legal advice.