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Section91
The Indian Penal Code, 1860

Exclusion of acts which are offences independently of harm cause

Repealed From 01 Jan 1862 Act 45 of 1860 As on 15 Oct 2026

Act 45 of 1860 Ministry Home Affairs Enacted 06 Oct 1860 In force 01 Jan 1862

This provision is repealed. Repealed by section 358 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 (45 of 2023) with effect from 1 July 2024. It is reproduced because conduct before that date is still charged, tried and appealed under it.

Section 91 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860 deals with exclusion of acts which are offences independently of harm cause. The exceptions in sections 87, 88 and 89 do not extend to acts which are offences independently of any harm which they may cause, or be intended to cause, or be known to be likely to cause, to the person giving the consent, or on whose behalf the consent is given. 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 Repealed by section 358 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 (45 of 2023) with effect from 1 July 2024, but conduct before that date is still charged, tried and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.

The exceptions in sections 87, 88 and 89 do not extend to acts which are offences independently of any harm which they may cause, or be intended to cause, or be known to be likely to cause, to the person giving the consent, or on whose behalf the consent is given.

Illustration

Causing miscarriage (unless caused in good faith for the purpose of saving the life of the woman) is offence inexpediently of any harm which it may cause or be intended to cause to the woman. Therefore, it is not an offence "by reason of such harm"; and the consent of the woman or of her guardian to the causing of such miscarriage does not justify the act.

Section 91, The Indian Penal Code, 1860 (Act 45 of 1860).

Now in the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita

BNS 29 Exclusion of acts which are offences independently of harm caused Text carried over almost unchanged 94%

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 The repealed enactment still governs what happened while it was in force.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.

This section refers to

  1. s. 87 Act not intended and not known to be likely to cause death or grievous hurt, done by consent
  2. s. 88 Act not intended to cause death, done by consent in good faith for person's benefit
  3. s. 89 Act done in good faith for benefit of child or insane person, by or by consent of guardian

Questions about Section 91

What does Section 91 of the Indian Penal Code deal with?

Section 91 of the Indian Penal Code is headed "Exclusion of acts which are offences independently of harm cause". The exceptions in sections 87, 88 and 89 do not extend to acts which are offences independently of any harm which they may cause, or be intended to cause, or be known to be likely to cause, to the person giving the consent, or on whose behalf the consent is given.

How do I find court cases under Section 91 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 91, section 91 IPC, section 91 of the Indian Penal Code. Each opens the full list of orders on eCourtsIndia, where it can be narrowed by court, year and outcome.

What should I read with Section 91 of the Indian Penal Code, and has it changed?

Its own text turns on section 87 (Act not intended and not known to be likely to cause death or grievous hurt, done by consent), section 88 (Act not intended to cause death, done by consent in good faith for person's benefit), section 89 (Act done in good faith for benefit of child or insane person, by or by consent of guardian), so none of them can safely be read on its own. For anything done on or after 1 July 2024 the provision to read is BNS 29 (Exclusion of acts which are offences independently of harm caused), which replaced it; conduct before that date is still charged, tried and appealed under this section.

When did Section 91 of the Indian Penal Code come into force?

Section 91 of the Indian Penal Code, cited as IPC 91, 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

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.