Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 · Chapter III: General Exceptions
Section 14: Act done by a person bound, or by mistake of fact believing himself bound, by law
In plain words
An act is not an offence if the person was bound by law to do it, or honestly believed they were because of a mistake about the facts. A mistake about the law itself does not count.
Example: A court officer told to arrest Y makes careful enquiries, honestly believes Z is Y, and arrests Z. The officer has committed no offence.
A simplified explanation, prepared with AI assistance from the official text below and checked automatically against it for numbers and cross-references. The official text is the law and prevails over this summary. Not legal advice.
Read the in-depth explanation, with key Supreme Court rulings ↓
Official text
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, being ordered by that Court to arrest Y, and, after due enquiry, believing Z to be Y, arrests Z. A has committed no offence.
Corresponding sections were matched by comparing the wording of both official texts, and for the IPC and BNS, also against a published correspondence table. Wording, punishments and structure often changed, so read both sections before relying on the match.
Source: India Code (indiacode.gov.in), the consolidated text published by the Legislative Department, Government of India. Text as updated on India Code on 25 August 2026. Words in square brackets [ ] were inserted or substituted by later amending Acts, and *** marks words omitted by an amendment. The amendment footnotes are not reproduced here. Official text on India Code.
Understanding this section
Section 14 carries forward section 76 of the IPC: an act done by a person bound by law, or who by a mistake of fact (not of law) in good faith believes they are bound by law, is not an offence.
Key points
- It covers soldiers, police and officials acting on what they honestly take to be a legal duty.
- Superior orders protect only if the order is one the law obliges the subordinate to obey, or is honestly and carefully believed to be so on the facts.
- A mistake of law does not help; good faith requires due care and attention.
Key Supreme Court rulings
Satyavir Singh Rathi v. State through CBI 2011 INSC 347
Decided under the IPC. Police officers who killed innocent citizens could not claim they acted on a superior's direction; there was no evidence of it and the firing was in furtherance of their common intention.
Common mistakes
- Treating any superior order as a defence.
Read with: Section 17 BNS, Section 76 IPC
Prepared with AI assistance as a study aid. Every ruling listed was checked against the Supreme Court's own judgments on this site, and quoted words appear in those judgments; linked names open the full judgment. Read the judgments themselves before relying on them. Not legal advice.
Supreme Court judgments citing the section 14
No Supreme Court judgment in our database cites this section yet.