DOCTRINE OF MENS REA UNDER IPC

Research proposal submitted in partial fulfillment for the course CRIMINAL

LAW-1 for attaining the degree of B.A.LL.B. (H)

Month of submission: August

Year of Submission: 2018

CHANAKYA NATIONAL LAW UNIVERSITY,

NYAYA NAGAR, MITHAPUR, PATNA, BIHAR (800001)

INTRODUCTION
Mens rea and Actus Reus are two components for constituting a crime. Mens Rea means guilty
mind and Actus Reus means guilty Act. These two things are necessary for constituting a crime.
A person can’t claimed guilty until these two elements are present in the crime. The Latin
phrase, actus non facit reum nisi mens sit rea, means an act does not make a person guilty unless
mind is also guilty. Actus Reus amounts to physical element of a crime. It can the form of an act,
an omission or a state of affairs. Mens Rea amounts to mental element of a crime. It’s what goes
on inside the defendants mind. Its direct intention, indirect intention or recklessness of person.
Technically the Doctrine of Mens Rea not applied to the offences under the Indian Penal Code. In
the Indian Penal Code, 1860, every offence is defined very clearly. The definition not only states
what accused might have done, that also states about the state of his mind, with regard to the act
when he was doing it. Under the Indian Penal Code, all offences connected on the ground of
intention, knowledge or reason to believe. Every offence based on the idea of criminal intent or
mens rea.
Mens Rea refers to criminal intent. The literal meaning in Latin is “guilty mind”. A mens rea
means mind set of criminal while performing crime. It’s necessary to prove mens rea to punish the
accused person. The prosecution typically must prove keeping aside the reasonable doubt that the
defendant committed the offense with a culpable mind set. Justice Holmes famously illustrated the
concept of intent when he said “even a dog knows the difference between being stumbled over and
being kicked.

AIM AND OBJECTIVES

The aim of this project is

1. To study on doctrine of Mens Rea under IPC

2. To study the forms of Mens Rea

RESEARCH QUESTIONS
1. What is the meaning of crime?
2. What are the constituent elements of crime?
3. What are the provisions of IPC which are related to Mens Rea?

HYPOTHESIS

1. The researcher presumes that mens rea is an inseparable element of crime.

2. The researcher presumes that mens rea is not necesssrily intention. It could imply
reasonable knowledge.
 3. The researcher presumes thar mens rea has varying meanings as per situations.
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY:-

The researcher has followed doctrinal method of research in pursuance of the

project.

SOURCES OF DATA:-

The researcher has relied on both primary and secondary sources of data to complete the project.

Primary Sources:-

1. INDIAN PENAL CODE, 1860

2. INDIAN EVIDENCE ACT
3. CODE OF CRIMINAL PROCEDURE

Secondary Sources:-

1. BOOKS
2. JOURNALS
3. MAGAZINES
4. NEWSPAPERS

LIMITATIONS:-

In the pursuit of the project, the researcher faced time and monetary limitations.

Tentative Chapterization

1. CONCEPT OF CRIME
2. EXCEPTIONS RELATED TO MENS REA
 3. CASE LAWS
4. INTERNATIONAL PROVISIONS RELATED TO MENS REA
5. CONCLUSION

Bibliography

1. Primary Sources
1.1. Indian Penal Code, 1860
1.2. Code Of Criminal Procedure,1973
1.3. Indian Evidence Act, 1872
2. Secondary Sources
2.1. Books
2.2. Journals
2.3. Newspaper
3. Web Pages