S.No. | List of Doctrines | Meaning | Section Number |
1. | Crimon Trahit Personam | Crime carries the person | Section 2 |
2. | Communis Hostis Onmium | They are common enemies of all | Section 4 |
3. | Generalia specialibus non derogant | If there is a conflict between general statute and special statute, special statute should win | Section 6 |
4. | Inclusion unius (est) exclusion alterions | Expression of one thing exclude the other | Section 6 |
5. | Noscitur a sociis | The meaning of a word is to be judged by the company it keeps | Section 7 |
6. | Vir et uxor consentur in lege una persona | A husband and wife are regarded in law as one person | Section 27 |
7. | Principle of Joint Liability/Constructive liability | If two or more persons commit a crime in furtherance of a common intention each of them will be liable jointly. | Sections 34, 114, 149 |
8. | Actus Reus | A Guilty deed or Act | Section 40 |
9. | Bona fide | Sincere, in good faith | Section 52 |
10. | Ignorantia facit doth excusat, Ignorantia juris non excusat | Ignorance of fact is an excuse, but Ignorance of law is not an excuse. | Sections 76, 79 |
11. | Quod necessitas non habet legem | Necessity knows no law | Section 81 |
12. | Doctrine of self-preservation | Self-preservation is not an absolute necessity. There is no necessity that justifies homicide. | Section 81 |
13. | Doctrine of necessity | An act which is otherwise a crime may in certain circumstances be excused, if the accused person shows that it was done out of necessity and in other to avoid other harm to person and property. | Section 81 |
14. | Doli incapax | Incapable of understanding | Section 82 |
15. | Doli capax | Capable of understanding | Section 83 |
16. | Malitia supplet aesatem | Malice supplies age | Sections 82, 83 |
17. | Mc naughten Rule | · Every man is presumed to be sane and to posses sufficient degree of reason to be responsible for his crimes, until contrary be proved to the satisfaction of the jury or the court. · To establish defence on ground of insanity it must be clearly shown that at the time of committing the act, the accused was laboring under such a defect of reason from disease of mind that he did not know the nature and quality of the act he was doing or that he did not know that what he was doing was wrong. · If the accused was conscious that the act was one which he ought not to do and if that act was at the same time contrary to the law, he would be punishable. | Section 84 |
18. | Furiosus Furore suo punier | Mad man is punished by his own madness | Section 84 |
19. | Furiosus Furore absentis loco est | A mad man is like one who is absent | Section 84 |
20. | Furiosus Furore nulla voluntas est | A mad man has no will | Section 84 |
21. | Non Compos Mentis | Not of sound mind and understanding | Section 84 |
22. | Qui peccat ebrius luat sobrius | Let him sin when drunk, be punished when sober | Section 86 |
23. | Rule of presumption | If an offence requiring knowledge or intention is committed by self-induced intoxication, only knowledge, and not intention, of the offence on his part will be presumed. | Section 86 |
24. | Volenti non fit injuria | He who consents suffers no harm. | Section 87, 88 |
25. | Abundans Cautela Non Nocet | Abundant or extreme caution does no harm. | Section 93 |
26. | Actus me invito factus est nisi actus | An act which is done by me against my will is not my act | Section 94 |
27. | De minimis non qurat lex | Law does not notice trifles | Section 95 |
28. | Se defendendo | In self defence | Section 96 |
29. | Doctrine of proportionality of harm | The infliction of harm in private defence should not more than it is necessary to inflict for the purpose of defence. | Section 99 |
30. | Ubi non est principalis non potest esse accessorius | Where there is no principal, there is no accessory. | Section 107 |
31. | Accessorium Principale Sequitur | The accessory follows the principal | Section 109 |
32. | Accessorium Non Ducit Sed Sequitur Suum Principale | An accessory does not draw, but follows its principal | Section 109 |
33. | Principle of vicarious liability | The section holds a person liable for an offence which he might not have actually committed. | Section 149 |
34. | Doctrine of Respondeat superior | Let the master answer and be legally responsible for the wrongful acts of their agents or employees. | Section 154, 155 |
35. | Doctrine of transfer of malice | The section provides for culpable homicide by causing death of a person other than whose death was intended. | Section 301 |
36. | Mala in se | Bad in themselves | Section 302 |
37. | Mala Prohibita | Crimes Prohibited | Section 302 |
38. | In Jure Non Remota Causa Sed Proxima Spectatur | In law, not the remote but the proximate cause is looked at | Section 304A |
39. | Actus Non facit reum nisi mens sit rea | The intent and act must both concur to constitute the crime | Section 378 |
40. | Necessitas inducit privilegium quod jura private | Necessity induces a privilege because of a private right | Section 378 |
41. | Animo Furandi | With an intention of stealing | Section 378 |
42. | Res Nulis | Nobody’s Property | Section 404 |
43. | Mala fide | In bad faith | Section 420 |
44. | Sic utre tuo ut alienum non laedas | Use your own property in such a way as not to injure your neighbour’s property | Section 425 |
45. | Nullus Commodum Capere Potest De Injuria Sua Propria | No man can take advantage of his own wrong | Section 465 |
46. | Voluntas in delictis non exitus spectatur | In offences the intent and not the result is looked at | Section 511 |
47. | Proximity Rule | An act constitutes attempt if the offender has completed all the important steps necessary to constitute the offence but the consequence which is the essential element of offence has not taken place because of external circumstances. | Section 511 |
48. | Doctrine of Locus Paenitentiae | Opportunity to withdraw from the commission of the crime | Section 511 |
49. | Theory of impossibility | An act which is impossible to commit cannot be attempted and so is not culpable. | Section 511 |
50. | Object theory | It differentiates the cases where the object is merely mistaken and cases where the object is absent. | Section 511 |
51. | On the job theory | In this theory it is seen whether the accused was actually ‘on the job’ i.e., whether he had gone beyond the stage of preparation and was in the next stage of trying to implement the planned action. | Section 511 |
