Section 15: Act of Judge when acting judicially

Earlier law: IPC section 77 (Act of Judge when acting judicially)

In plain words

A judge does not commit an offence by doing something while acting judicially, using a power the law gives, or which the judge honestly believes the law gives.

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 Judge when acting judicially in the exercise of any power which is, or which in good faith he believes to be, given to him by law.

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 15 carries forward section 77 of the IPC word for word: nothing done by a Judge acting judicially, in the exercise of a power given by law or believed in good faith to be given, is an offence.

Key points

Only acts done while acting judicially are covered.
The Judges (Protection) Act, 1985 separately bars civil and criminal proceedings for acts in the discharge of judicial duty.
Corruption is not acting judicially and is not protected.

Common mistakes

Using a criminal complaint to attack a judicial order instead of an appeal.

Read with: Section 16 BNS, Section 77 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 15

No Supreme Court judgment in our database cites this section yet.