Unit-II: General Exceptions. Mistake (Sections 76-79)

Mistake(sec. 76,79)



Section  76  " Act done by a person bound,or by mistake of fact believing himself bound by law"


* According to  this section nothing is an offence, if a person has committed something wrong due to mistake of fact and found   himself bound by law.

* MISTAKE of fact under common law is generally a defence, provided that it was one of the fact, and provided that had the facts been as the accused supposed ,he would have had a defence to the crime with which he is charged.

* THIS ethical principle has long been expressed in criminal law as an apparent from an  early 17 century from case R.VS LEVETT.

* In this case accused was held not guilty of unlawful homicide  when he killed a woman ( friend  of his servant) who was hiding behind a curtain in his house , mistakenly believing her to be a a burglar.

This  may be called a cause of pure mistake because he did it ignorantly with no intention of killing of women, but rather of killing a burglar.



Ingredients of section 76


1) when a person is bound by law to do something and does it

2) when person believes in good faith, owning to a mistake of fact and not a mistake of law, that he is bound to do something and does it



Illustration

After making reasonable enquiries and on well founded grounds, when the police officer was convinced that z was y, arrested z. The police officer believed in good faith that he was bound by law to arrest y, because of directions of a court of law, by issuing a warrant to arrest him. The fact been supposed, the arrest would have been legal . Since the police officer honestly believed in good faith by reason mistake of fact, z to be y, he will be protected under section 76 of IPC.

Mistake of law(section 76, 79)


 I g n o r a n t i a. J u r i s. N o n. E x c u s a t.


Ignorance of law does not excuse.



*Mistake of law is no defence to charge of crime, because all persons resident in a country, weather subject or foreigners , are bound by the law of land.

*The rule is founded on the fiction that

'every man knows the law'or 'at any rate ought to know the law' under which he lives or to which he is subject for the time being.





*The rule has been recognised as a basic principle of law on the ground of judicial expendency and public policy.

*if ignorance of the law to the defence, it would be open to an accused to alleged that he was not aware of the law, and it would be quite impossible for the prosecution to prove that the accused was known of the law.

Difference between mistake of fact and mistake
of law :

Mistake of law
Mistake of Fact

1.
Meaning: It is an Erroneous belief about the
legality of any matter.

Meaning: It is an erroneous belief as to
something factual.

2.
Defenses: There is no excuse for mistake of
Law.

Defenses: There is no excuse, except in those
cases where motive is an essential ingredient.

3.
Criminal Liability : Absolute

Criminal Liability: May be executed as exception
under Sections 76 and Section 79 of IPC.

4.
Civil liability : Absolute

Civil liability : Absolute