This article has been written by Ms Arundhathi G, a 3rd year BA LLB Student from Bharati Vidyapeeth Deemed to be University, New Law College, Pune.

Introduction 

 The crime of Grievous hurt is one of the main crimes against the human body. It is dealt with under Chapter XI of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and is punishable accordingly. Sections 319 to 338 of the Indian Penal Code deal with insult and grievous hurt in various forms. Section 319 defines simple wounding as causing pain, illness or bodily injury, and section 321 makes voluntary wounding punishable under section 323 of the Penal Code. 

Grievous hurt

 It was difficult for the compiler of the IPC  to draw a line between physical injuries, which can be severe and moderate. However, they consider certain types of injuries to be Grievous hurt. Only the following types of hurts are called Grievous hurt: 

1. Emasculation, 
2. permanent damage to vision or both eyes, 
3. Permanent deafness or injury to both eyes, 
4. Dislocation of a joint or joint (loss of a limb), 
5. Weakening of limbs, 
6. permanent deformation of the head or face, 
7. Fracture or dislocation of a bone or tooth, 
8. Any injury that endangers life or causes the victim severe bodily pain or inability to perform his normal activities for twenty days. 
9. a) Emasculation: The first serious offence is to deprive a man of his masculinity. This clause applies only to men and was added to avoid the common Indian practice of women squeezing men’s testicles at the slightest provocation. Emasculation can be caused by a defect in a man’s scrotum that makes him impotent. The impotence achieved should be permanent,  no longer temporary and curable. 
10. b) Visual impairment: Some other injuries of the same severity are permanent loss of vision in one or both eyes. Such injury must be such that the victim permanently loses the use of one or both eyes. The test of gravity is the permanence of damage because it deprives a person of his ability to see and also disfigures him. 

 (c) Causing deafness: Permanent loss of hearing in both ears is less severe than the disability mentioned above, because it no longer disfigures the person, although it most conveniently prevents him from using the ear. But it is a  serious injury that robs someone of their ability to listen. To attract this provision, deafness must be permanent. Such damage can be caused by a blow to the head, ear or parts of the head that damage the auditory nerves, or by piercing the ear or putting a deafening substance in the ear. 

(d) Loss of a limb: The permanent loss of any limb or joint is any other serious injury that makes the person much less able to defend himself or harass an opponent. “member” method is nothing more than an organ or limb. “Joint” refers to an area where there are two or more bones or muscle mass. Their constant lack must be accompanied by such damage that they permanently stiffen so that they cannot perform the daily task associated with the structure of the human body. 

1. e) Impairment of a limb: Deprivation of the use of a limb or joint leads to lifelong paralysis and makes a person defenceless and depressed. The provision speaks of the destruction or permanent weakening of those forces, which can no longer include not only general but also the specific use of a limb or joint. Permanently reducing their usefulness would be a Grievous hurt. 

 (f) Permanent disfigurement of the face or countenance: “Disgrace” means an external insult to a person which diminishes his appearance but does not humiliate him. Branding a woman’s cheek with a red-hot iron leaves permanent disfiguring scars. An incision made on the bridge of the woman’s nostril with a sharp weapon was considered permanent disfigurement, even though the inner wall is intact. 

 (g) Fracture or displacement of bone or teeth: This applies to all other serious injuries which may or may not result in permanent disability. A broken or dislocated bone can be set or reattached, but because of the extreme suffering it causes when it pushes up, the injury is considered severe. The main carrier of the word fracture is ‘fracture’, although, in the case of a skull fracture, it is not always necessary to divide it into separate parts because it can simply consist of splitting; but if it is a fissure, it must be a fissure extending from the outer base of the skull to the inner surface. If the bone can be broken by cutting or splitting it, or if there is a fracture or crack, it increases the meaning of section 320(7). It must be seen whether the cuts made by sawing the bones are only shallow or cause them to break. “Dislocation” refers to a separation involving a bone that has been removed from its typical connections with an adjacent bone. A bone that is removed from its attachment or removed from a joint is a non-union bone. 

 (h) Any hurt that threatens life or causes the victim severe bodily pain during the day or makes him unable to perform his normal activities. 

• Dangerous hurt: Three different categories of hurt are classified as risky hurt. These classes are independent of each other and an injury to any of the three classes would be a Grievous hurt. An injury is said to be life-threatening if it is likely to endanger  the life of the victim

A basic injury cannot be called offensive or grievous hurt because it is inflicted on a large part of the body, unless the nature and extent of the injury or its property is such that, in the opinion of an expert, life is endangered. the victim. There is an extraordinarily narrow line  between “life-threatening injury” and “likely to cause death.” In the case of Mohammad Rafi v Keisari where the accused injured the deceased’s neck from behind, the Lahore High Court held that the accused could cause death under Section 322 (causing grievous hurt) and not grievous bodily harm. The articulation “puts life in danger” is much more justified than the articulation “risky or life-threatening”. The Indian Penal Code has classified certain injuries as grievous hurt, but they are unlikely to be fundamentally dangerous or life-threatening. The injury can cause extremely severe and severe body pain but is not life-threatening. Such an injury is a grievous hurt. In any event, it must be shown that such an injury was sufficient to cause severe bodily pain for twenty days. Otherwise, it may be that such pain or soreness is caused, but there is nothing to show that it was caused by the effects of that injury. In short, it can be said that the suffering of horror consists of the fact that the sufferer cannot take care of his usual interests for twenty days. If the damage does not last 20 days, such an injury cannot be classified as serious. 

Voluntarily causing grievous hurt

 Section 322 of the IPC describes “intentionally causing serious harm” as following : who intentionally causes harm, if harm which he expects to cause or perceives that he is generally inclined to cause, is grievous hurt, and if the injury he causes is grievous hurt. serious injury, allegedly “intentionally causes grievous hurt”. Explanation – A person is not said to intentionally cause grievous hurt unless he, both causes serious injury and means or understands that he is generally capable of causing grievous hurt. Be that as it may, he is said to intentionally cause serious injury when he suggests or perceives that he is likely to cause one type of grievous hurt generally, when in fact he causes another type of grievous hurt. The explanation is undeniable and self-explanatory. In any event, there must be evidence that the defendant’s intended or likely incident was not only an injury but also a serious injury. To attract this provision, the court must see whether the defendant intended to cause harm or that he understood that grievous hurt was likely to be caused and that such grievous hurt was caused. Regardless of whether a person knows that they are likely to cause grievous hurt, they are said to cause grievous hurt intentionally. In sum, for a person to be liable for causing grievous hurt through a crime, it must be proven that he either intended to cause it or understood that he was generally responsible for causing grievous hurt and not otherwise. The condition of the investigation is fulfilled if the culprit knew that his demonstration could cause grievous hurt. The explanation explains that to establish the crime of a serious violation, either a purpose or, the other hand, information must be available. In determining whether an injury is intolerable, the degree of injury and the expectations of the offender must be considered. 

 Section 325 of the IPC recommends discipline for intentional hurting in the following ways: Whoever, except in the circumstances provided for in section 335, intentionally causes grievous hurt, shall be punished with imprisonment of either description, which may extend to seven years. years and is also punished with a fine. A person is said to intentionally cause grievous hurt if the injury he causes is intended for the damages listed in section 320 of the IPC and he expects or understands that he will generally cause grievous hurt. In Kalika Singh v. State of Uttar Pradesh, there were some injuries caused to the complainant as he was accused of clenched hands and a fracture of one side of the left, thumb, caused by falling to the ground during the attack. The Allahabad High Court held that the accused was liable under Section 325 even if the fracture was caused by the fall and not by the bar. Sections 326, 329, 331, 333, 335 and 338 of the Act provide punishment for causing grievous hurt in various other circumstances. 

 Conclusion 

 Causing grievous bodily harm is one of the most serious crimes against the body and many courts are full of cases involving this crime. This section is exhaustive in nature and mainly deals with  Section 320  IPC. The punishment for that crime varies depending on the method of execution.

References

1. Kalika Singh v. State of Uttar Pradesh, 1981 CriLJ 639.
2. Mohammad Rafi v Kesari, AIR 1980 SC 32.
3. https://blog.ipleaders.in/hurt-and-grievous-hurt-everything-you-need-to-know-about-it/
4. https://www.lawyersclubindia.com/articles/a-different-series-8-simple-hurt-vs-grievous-hurt-14799.asp#:~:text=In%20simple%20hurt%2C%20the%20injuries,head%20disfiguration%2C%20fracture%2C%20etc.