Indian Penal Code, 1860 · Chapter IV: General Exceptions
Section 85: Act of a person incapable of judgment by reason of intoxication caused against his will
The Indian Penal Code, 1860 was repealed and replaced by the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 from 1 July 2024. It still applies to matters and proceedings from before that date, as the repealing law provides.
In plain words
Nothing is an offence if done by a person who, because of intoxication, is incapable of knowing the nature of the act or that it is wrong or contrary to law, provided the intoxicating substance was given to them without their knowledge or against their will.
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, at the time of doing it, is, by reason of intoxication, incapable of knowing the nature of the act, or that he is doing what is either wrong, or contrary to law; provided that the thing which intoxicated him was administered to him without his knowledge or against his will.
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 (Legislative Department), the text of the Act as it stood before its repeal. 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.
Understanding this section
Section 85 excuses a person who, because of intoxication, was incapable of knowing the nature of the act or that it was wrong or contrary to law, but only if the intoxicant was given to them without their knowledge or against their will.
Involuntary intoxication only
The test of incapacity is the same as for insanity in section 84. The difference is the proviso: the defence is limited to intoxication caused without the person's knowledge (a spiked drink) or against their will (forced drinking). Voluntary drunkenness is never a complete defence.
Voluntary intoxication
Where a person chose to drink, section 86 applies instead. Courts repeat that intoxication, as such, is not a defence to a criminal charge.
Key Supreme Court rulings
Bhagwan Tukaram Dange v. State of Maharashtra 2014 INSC 188
Intoxication, as such, is not a defence; a drunk accused who set his wife on fire was presumed to know the consequences of his act and was rightly convicted of murder rather than under section 304.
Common mistakes
- Pleading section 85 for voluntary drinking; the proviso limits it to involuntary intoxication.
- Forgetting that the incapacity must be total, as under section 84, not just reduced self-control.
Read with: Section 86 IPC, Section 84 IPC, Section 23 BNS
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.