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14 Notes

Section 95 of the IPC, 1860 addresses trifles or trivial offenses, indicating that the law does not concern itself with minor harms that a person of ordinary sense would not complain about. The section allows for exceptions in cases of innocent acts, exemplified by various court cases where defendants were acquitted or held liable based on the nature of the offense. However, courts are hesitant to apply this section in socio-economic offenses, as seen in cases involving the Prevention of Food Adulteration Act and the Drug Price Control Act.

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14 Notes

Section 95 of the IPC, 1860 addresses trifles or trivial offenses, indicating that the law does not concern itself with minor harms that a person of ordinary sense would not complain about. The section allows for exceptions in cases of innocent acts, exemplified by various court cases where defendants were acquitted or held liable based on the nature of the offense. However, courts are hesitant to apply this section in socio-economic offenses, as seen in cases involving the Prevention of Food Adulteration Act and the Drug Price Control Act.

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Quadrant II – Notes

Paper Code: LOC 0312/LOC 0112


Module Name: Trifles or Trivial
Module No: 14

Sec. 95: Trifles/Trivial

Sec. 95 of IPC, 1860


Ingredients:
1. Any offence is caused or intends to be cause or known to be caused
2. Any harm
3. Harm is slight
4. No person of ordinary sense would complain

Exception from criminal liability – innocent acts


This section is based on the maxim
De minimus non-curat lex
Means law wouldn’t take action on small or unimportant things –trifles
Examples:
 To dip a pen in another’s ink pot
• Law will not take notice of such acts
• Parties can settle the matter themselves outside the court.
• Man cannot live in the society
• These acts all men constantly do and suffer in turn
Sadanand Jash v. Shibakali Hajara AIR 1954 Cal. 288
 Cr. complaint was pending between complainant and the accused reg. Land
 Immediately the complainant rushed to the criminal court
 Filed a complaint under Sec. 504 of IPC
 Accused was acquitted under Sec. 95
Bhema Rao v. Venkat Rao AIR 1964 Mys. 285
 Accused an advocate
 Charged for using filthy language showing disrespect and
 Indignity towards the mother of a witness
 Accused has taken the plea under Sec. 95 of IPC
 Advocate was held liable under Sec. 504 of IPC
Mrs. Menezes v. Yusuf Khan AIR 1966 SC 1773
 There was a heated quarrel between two parties
 The lower court - offence was petty and harm – trivial
 HC and the SC confirmed the findings of lower court

 Sec. 95 applies in case of actual physical injury and deliberate acts.


 An act is a trivial or not depends upon
o The nature of injury,
o Position of the parties,
o Relation between them,
o Knowledge or intention
 Fight between kids, student beating his teacher
 In case of socio-economic offences
 Courts are reluctant to allow the defence of trifles
Examples:
Prevention of Food Adulteration Act
Drug Price Control Act
State of Karnataka v. Lobo Medicals 1978 CrLJ 1837
 Respondent -the Essential Commodities Act read with Drug Price Control Order
 The court held that since the act relates to socio-economic offence Sec. 95 has no
application
Bichitrananda v. State of Orissa (1978)
 Quality of mustard oil for sale was slightly inferior to the purity standards prescribed
by Prevention of Food Adulteration Act
 Appellant was prosecuted
 He cannot take defence under Sec. 95

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