BY: DIPANSHA AGRAWAL
LLOYD LAW COLLEGE
INTRODUCTION:
India’s criminal code is known as the Indian penal code. IPC was initially implemented in 1860 with the assistance of Lord Macaulay’s first law commission. As far as we are aware, there are more crimes reported every day; rape and murder cases are frequent. The Indian Penal Code has 511 sections in total spread across 23 chapters. There are various categories of offences that are described in the IPC, and these offences’ punishments are likewise established under this code’s provisions regarding the arrest and sentencing processes. We shall examine Section 351 of the IPC, which deals with assault and its penalties, in this post. Many people don’t understand the difference between assault and criminal force. Although these two offences appear to be extremely similar, there is a slight distinction between the two names. Section 350 of the IPC defines criminal force. We also discuss the distinction between criminal force and assault in this post.
HISTORY OF IPC
The Indian Penal Code (IPC) is the main criminal code of India. It was first drafted in 1860 by the first Indian Law Commission under the chairmanship of Lord Thomas Babington Macaulay. The code came into operation on January 1, 1862, and has since been amended several times to keep up with changing social norms and legal developments. The IPC is based on the principles of common law and has been influenced by British legal traditions. It defines and provides punishment for criminal offenses such as murder, theft, rape, and fraud. The code also provides guidelines for determining the degree of punishment for each offense, taking into account factors such as the severity of the crime and the criminal’s intent. There are many offences written in IPC like murder, rape, theft, etc. Like these offences there is one offence name as assault which is discussed in this article below.
DEFINITION:
Section 351 of IPC talks about Assault- Whoever makes any gesture, or any preparation intending or knowing it to be likely that such gesture or preparation will cause any person present to apprehend that he who makes that gesture or preparation is about to use criminal force to that person, is said to commit an assault.
Explanation:- Mere words do not amount to an assault. But the words which a person uses may give to his gestures or preparation such a meaning as may make those gestures or preparations amount to an assault.
MEANING:
Assault refers to the act of immediately using unlawful personal violence against another person or instilling fear in them. Assault is distinct from violent crime. When someone uses physical force against another person, only when such physical force comes into touch with a part of the other person’s body qualifies as criminal force; otherwise, it qualifies as an assault, and the offender is subject to prosecution under section 351 of the IPC.
Words alone do not constitute an assault. However, it amounts to assault if the person uses gestures to express their statements.
For instance, “A” is a person who was walking in the park when he unintentionally struck Mr. “B” while sprinting, and he then threatened to punch him. This behaviour does not constitute assault, but this action amounts to criminal force, if B made a fist-shaking gesture towards A, then it constitutes assault.
INGREDIANTS OF ASSAULT: The accused should make gestures or prepare to use force in order to use criminal force, which is the first and most crucial component. The second need is that the preparations or gestures be made in that person’s presence at that specific moment.
ILLUSTRATIONS:
There are some of the illustrations that are given below:
ILLUSTRATION 1: A is a person who walk in the garden and another person B is also walking there, by mistake B push A while walking. With this incident A get very angered and tell B to say sorry to him if he does not say sorry to him then A will beat him. In this case A is not liable under section 35i of the Indian penal code. But if A shakes his fist at B, while saying that he will bet B if he did not say sorry to him. Now, here in this case A is liable under section 351 of the IPC.
ILLUSTRATION 2: X is a person who drives his car and Y another person drive bike and by mistake he crash the car of X and after this incident Y says sorry to X but X says to Y that repair my car otherwise I will beat without any gesture here X is not liable for assault because there is an exception in this offence is that the mere words said by someone to anyone is liable under this section 351 of IPC.
INGREDIENTS:
The following conditions must be met in order to invoke Section 352 of the Indian Penal Code: (1) The accused made a gesture or preparation to use criminal force; (2) The accused believed it was likely that such a gesture or preparation would cause anxiety that such an assault or use of force would be done; and (3) The complainant did not make any fatal or rapid provocation.
The Indian Penal Code’s Section 352 defines the offence as being non-cognizable, bailable, compoundable, and subject to magistrate trial.
PUNISHMENT:
If found guilty in accordance with Section 351, the following legal repercussions may result:
Imprisonment: Depending on the seriousness of the offence, the offender may receive a sentence of up to two years in jail.
Fine: A fine may be imposed by the court in addition to or in lieu of imprisonment as an additional penalty. The court sets the fine amount, which is proportionate to how serious the offence was.
Combined Punishment: Depending on the situation and the offence, the court may also choose to impose both a fine and a period of incarceration.
It is crucial to remember that Section 351 penalty is cognizable, which authorises law enforcement to detain the accused without a warrant. Additionally, the crime is non-bailable, which limits the possibility of releasing the accused on bail.
CASE LAWS:
Some of the case laws that are discussed below:
Muneshwar Bux Singh vs State Through Raghunandan Prasad (1955): In this case, the court held that a person shall not be held guilty of assault if his gestures or preparation do not cause apprehension of harm to another person.
AC Kama vs HF Morgan (1864): In this case, the court held that ‘only words’ cannot be considered an assault if such words clearly show that there was no intention to use criminal force.
R vs St George (1840): In this case, the court held that if an unloaded pistol is shown from a reasonable distance, it may amount to an assault.
CONCLUSION:
By concluding this article, Section 351 of IPC talks about the assault, which is the criminal offence under section 351 of the Indian penal code, 1860. Assault refers to the act of immediately using unlawful personal violence against another person or instilling fear in them. Assault is distinct from violent crime. When someone uses physical force against another person, only when such physical force comes into touch with a part of the other person’s body qualifies as criminal force; otherwise, it qualifies as an assault, and the offender is subject to prosecution under section 351 of the IPC. There is one exception in this case is that the mere words saying by the person is not the assault like just saying that i will beat you is not the offence and it do not satisfy the ingredients of the Assault.
REFERENCE:
https://www.writinglaw.com/assault-as-per-ipc/
https://indiankanoon.org/doc/478590/#:~:text=351.,said%20to%20commit%20an%20assault.
http://law.uok.edu.in/Files/5ce6c765-c013-446c-b6ac-b9de496f8751/Custom/ASSAULT.pdf