The Indian Penal Code is the country’s officially recognized criminal code. It aims to address every facet of criminal law. Consent is typically expressed consciously and freely of choice. It requires a deliberate, intelligent cognitive process based on awareness of the moral ramifications and significance of the deed. It consists of three components: the capacity to use them freely, mental toughness, and physical strength.
In every criminal case, the establishment of responsibility depends heavily on consent. section 87 to 92 of ipc deals with the defense of consent. Consent determines whether to downgrade the seriousness of an offense. This defense states that the injury caused by the Act in this manner as a result of the agreement is a criminal obligation to the perpetrator if a knowledgeable adult freely consents to a crime against himself and knows that they have agreed.
Thedefence of consent applies to every non- fatal offence as well as homicides.
section 87 IPC Explained
- Section 87 ipc, offers protection for sports like football, boxing, fencing, and so on. According to this clause, as long as a person over the age of eighteen gives their consent, any act that causes harm, aside from those designed to cause death or serious hurt, that is not known to be likely to result in those outcomes is not illegal. The consent might be provided explicitly or implicitly in any way.
section 88 ipc
- A person’s actions that are carried out in good faith and with permission for their own profit won’t be prosecuted as crimes. Section 88 ipc protects the wrongdoer even in cases where their actions result in serious injury but not death. Even if the procedure results in the patient’s death, the doctor who performed it cannot be held accountable when the patient willingly accepts the risk of the procedure and it turns out to be fatal.
section 90 ipc Meaning
Consent as a good defense is an intentional, free-willed action. It entails a conscious application of intellect grounded in an understanding of the moral implications and significance of the deed. Consent as a good defense is made up of three components: the unrestricted use of mental and physical abilities.
Nonetheless, the IPC contains no definition for the term “consent.” However, section 90 ipc discusses what constitutes non-consent. It uses a negative phrase to describe consent. According to this, consent is not given if it is provided by someone who is afraid of getting hurt, believes something is not true, is intoxicated, is not of sound mind or is a child under the age of 12 (unless the context makes it clear otherwise) and cannot understand the nature or consequences of the act they are consenting to.
What is Considered as No Consent as a Defense under IPC?
In four situations, a person’s given consent is not considered given. They are:
- Consent gained by coercion or threats of violence would not be considered protected under criminal law. For instance, Z used a knife to intimidate A into signing his property paper in favor of Z’s son X. In this case, consent was granted out of concern for harm.
- In the perspective of the law, consent that is gained under false pretenses is worthless. For instance, a woman consented to a sexual encounter with a doctor, thinking that he was checking her out for a medical condition. Since the doctor misled her into thinking he was examining her medically, he would be found guilty.
- Individuals who are unable to understand the nature and implications of their actions because they are mentally ill or drunk. For instance, in order to obtain one more booze bottle, A, who was quite inebriated, signed his property paper in the liquor store owner’s favor. His assent is worthless in the sight of the law.
- Section 90 IPC also states that permission provided by a child younger than 12 years old is legally void. In this instance, the child’s guardians or the person in possession of him will grant consent.
section 90 ipc case laws
The section 90 ipc case laws are as follows:
- In the case of Jayanti Rani Panda v State, the complainant’s home was frequently visited by the accused, a teacher. They eventually fell in love and made the commitment to get married. The two developed a sexual relationship as a result. The girl found out she was pregnant and felt pressured to tie the knot quickly. The defendant broke his word and stopped going to her house when her application refused to consent to an abortion.
The defendant is the subject of a rape proceeding. Since the defendant willingly consented to several sexual encounters and the public prosecutor’s office could not conclusively demonstrate that the defendant had inadvertent sexual contact, the court declined to invoke Section 90 of the IPC. The defendant was not deemed liable for marriage by the court.
- In the case of Dasrath Paswan v State, the defendant has failed a test three times in a row. Disappointed by these ongoing setbacks, he made the decision to take his own life. He spoke with his 19-year-old, literate wife about his choice of action. His spouse advised him to murder her before taking his own life.
In light of this, the accused murdered his wife before he killed himself and was apprehended. It was decided that the wife wasn’t consenting because she was afraid of getting hurt or thought something wasn’t true. Thus, the defendant would not be held accountable for killing.
We comprehend why a doer who acts in an honest way and for the betterment of the person hurt is shielded from criminal accountability whether he causes or assumes the risk of injury without or with the sufferer’s consent. However, consent is not recognized as a defense by criminal law in cases of substantial bodily injury.
