Section 3 of BNS – Section 3: General explanations. | BNS

The Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023

ARRANGEMENT OF SECTIONS

CHAPTER I: PRELIMINARY

Section 3: General explanations.

(1) Throughout this Sanhita every definition of an offence, every penal provision, and every Illustration of every such definition or penal provision, shall be understood subject to the exceptions contained in the Chapter entitled "General Exceptions", though those exceptions are not repeated in such definition, penal provision, or Illustration.

Illustrations

(a) The sections in this Sanhita, which contain definitions of offences, do not express that a child under seven years of age cannot commit such offences; but the definitions are to be understood subject to the general exception which provides that nothing shall be an offence which is done by a child under seven years of age.
(b) A, a police office

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Simplified Act

(1) In this law, every definition of a crime, every punishment rule, and every example should be understood with the general exceptions in mind, even if those exceptions are not mentioned again in each case.

Examples

(a) The sections that define crimes do not say that a child under seven cannot commit these crimes, but it is understood that a child under seven cannot be guilty of a crime.
(b) A police officer, A, arrests

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Explanation using examples

Example 1:

Scenario: A 6-year-old child accidentally breaks a neighbor's window while playing cricket.

Application: According to Section 3(1) of The Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita 2023, the child cannot be held criminally responsible for the act because the general exceptions include that a child under seven years of age cannot commit an offence. Therefore, the child's action of breaking the window is not considered an offence under this Sanhita.

Example 2:

Scenario: A police officer, Officer Raj, without a warran

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