Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 · Chapter III: General Exceptions
Section 19: Act likely to cause harm, but done without criminal intent, and to prevent other harm
In plain words
Doing something you know may cause harm is not an offence if you act in good faith, without intending harm, to prevent or avoid other harm to people or property. Whether the danger was serious and close enough to justify the risk is a question of fact.
Example: During a big fire, someone pulls down houses in good faith to stop the fire spreading and save lives or property. If the danger justified it, this is not an 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 merely by reason of its being done with the knowledge that it is likely to cause harm, if it be done without any criminal intention to cause harm, and in good faith for the purpose of preventing or avoiding other harm to person or property.
Explanation.—It is a question of fact in such a case whether the harm to be prevented or avoided was of such a nature and so imminent as to justify or excuse the risk of doing the act with the knowledge that it was likely to cause harm.
Illustrations
(a) A, the captain of a vessel, suddenly and without any fault or negligence on his part, finds himself in such a position that, before he can stop his vessel, he must inevitably run down a boat B, with twenty or thirty passengers on board, unless he changes the course of his vessel, and that, by changing his course, he must incur risk of running down a boat C with only two passengers on board, which he may possibly clear. Here, if A alters his course without any intention to run down the boat C and in good faith for the purpose of avoiding the danger to the passengers in the boat B, he is not guilty of an offence, though he may run down the boat C by doing an act which he knew was likely to cause that effect, if it be found as a matter of fact that the danger which he intended to avoid was such as to excuse him in incurring the risk of running down the boat C.
(b) A, in a great fire, pulls down houses in order to prevent the conflagration from spreading. He does this with the intention in good faith of saving human life or property. Here, if it be found that the harm to be prevented was of such a nature and so imminent as to excuse A’s act, A is not guilty of the 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 19 carries forward section 81 of the IPC, the defence of necessity: an act done knowing it is likely to cause harm, but without criminal intention and in good faith, to prevent or avoid other harm to person or property.
Key points
- Foresight of harm is expected; what matters is the absence of criminal intention.
- Whether the harm avoided was serious and imminent enough to justify the risk is a question of fact.
- It does not permit intentionally killing an innocent person to save oneself.
Common mistakes
- Treating knowledge of likely harm as fatal to the defence.
Read with: Section 81 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 19
No Supreme Court judgment in our database cites this section yet.