IPC §76BNS §14

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

Substantively sameConfidence: mediumStatus: cross checked
Last updated 2026-05-01 · Input coverage: full

Compiled by AI-assisted tools. Text verified against official sources where indicated. Field-level labels (AI-indicated / AI-inferred / Text-verified) apply per edge metadata. Verify current bail/cognizable status against official sources before relying on procedural claims. Last updated: 2026-04-28.

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Comparison

Old law
IPC §76
Act done by a person bound, or by mistake of fact believing himself bound, by law

76. Act done by a person bound, or by mistake of fact believing himself bound, by law.— Nothing is an offence which is done by a person who is, or who by reason of a mistake of fact and not by reason of a mistake of law in good faith believes himself to be, bound by law to do it. Illustrations (a) A, a soldier, fires on a mob by the order of his superior officer, in conformity with the commands of the law. A has committed no offence. (b) A, an officer of a Court of Justice, being ordered by that Court to arrest Y, and after due enquiry, believing Z to be Y, arrests Z. A has committed no offence.

New law
BNS §14
Act done by a person bound, or by mistake of fact believing himself bound, by law

Nothing is an offence which is done by a person who is, or who by reason of a mistake of fact and not by reason of a mistake of law in good faith believes himself to be, bound by law to do it.

What changedAI-inferred

IPC 76 and BNS 14 carry the same first General Exception character-identically. Both illustrations (soldier-firing-on-mob, officer-arresting-wrong-person) preserved.

Old position

IPC 76 is concerned with Act done by a person bound, or by mistake of fact believing himself bound, by law. Act done by a person bound, or by mistake of fact believing himself bound, by law

New position

BNS 14 preserves the framework with drafting modernisations as required by the new code. Topic: Act done by a person bound, or by mistake of fact believing himself bound, by law. Nothing is an offence which is done by a person who is, or who by reason of a mistake of fact and not by reason of a mistake of law in good faith believes himself to be, bound by law to do it

IPC 76 and BNS 14 carry the same first General Exception character-identically. Both illustrations (soldier-firing-on-mob, officer-arresting-wrong-person) preserved.

Editorial deltaAI-indicated (source-linked)

IPC 76 and BNS 14 carry the same first General Exception character-identically. Both illustrations (soldier-firing-on-mob, officer-arresting-wrong-person) preserved.

Transitional note (repeal & savings)

For matters initiated before 1 July 2024, IPC 76 continues to apply. For matters from that date forward, BNS 14 applies. The transition is governed by the repeal-and-savings clause in the new code (BNS 358 / BNSS 531 / BSA 170 as the case may be); pending proceedings under the old code carry forward unaffected.

Frequently asked

BNS 14 (Act done by a person bound, or by mistake of fact believing himself bound, by law). The relationship is classified as substantively_same — see the change-note above for the textual delta.

Sources

Cite this page

Newlaws.in, IPC §76 → BNS §14 Mapping Page, last updated 2026-05-01, accessed 2026-06-12, https://newlaws.in/ipc/76.

Compiled using AI-assisted tools · Source-linked · Last updated 2026-05-01

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