Important Sections of Indian Penal Code (IPC) (2024)

Law students preparing for exams in 2023 frequently wonder about the important sections of IPC. It can be challenging to cover the entire Indian Penal Code PDF if you have limited time. This is where a list of essential and important sections of IPC comes in handy.

Another good thing about having a list of useful Indian Penal Code sections is that you are not left clueless and stuck wondering what to start reading for an exam. So, to ease your confusion, here are the most important sections of the Indian Penal Code.

Important Sections of IPC

Section 1 – Title and extent of operation of the Code.
Section 2 – Punishment of offences committed within India.
Section 3 – Punishment of offences committed beyond but which by law may be tried within India.
Section 4 – Extension of Code to extra-territorial offences.
Section 8 – Gender.
Section 11 – Person.

Section 19 to 26 – “Judge”, “Court of Justice”, “Public Servant”, “Movable property”, “Wrongful gain”, “Wrongful loss”, “Gaining wrongfully, losing wrongfully”, “Dishonestly”, “Fraudulently”, “Reason to believe”.
Section 34 – Acts done by several persons in furtherance of common intention.
Section 35 – When such an act is criminal by reason of its being done with criminal knowledge or intention.
Section 36 – Effect caused partly by act and partly by omission.
Section 37 – Co-operation by doing one of several acts constituting an offence.
Section 38 – Persons concerned in criminal act may be guilty of different offences.
Section 39 – “Voluntarily”.
Section 40 – “Offence”.

Section 52 – “Good faith”.
Section 52A – “Harbour”.
Section 53 – Punishment.
Section 73 – Solitary confinement.
Section 74 – Limit of solitary confinement.

Section 76 to 106 – CHAPTER IV (76-106) – General Exceptions
Section 107 to 120 – CHAPTER V (107-120) – Abetment
Section 120A – Definition of criminal conspiracy.
Section 120B – Punishment of criminal conspiracy.
Section 121 – Waging, or attempting to wage war, or abetting waging of war, against the Government of India.
Section 124A – Sedition.

Section 141 – Unlawful assembly.
Section 142 – Being a member of unlawful assembly.
Section 143 – Punishment.
Section 144 – Joining unlawful assembly armed with a deadly weapon.
Section 145 – Joining or continuing in unlawful assembly, knowing it has been commanded to disperse.

Section 146 – Rioting.
Section 147 – Punishment for rioting.
Section 148 – Rioting, armed with a deadly weapon.
Section 149 – Every member of unlawful assembly guilty of offence committed in prosecution of a common object.
Section 159 – Affray. (6 Differences between Rioting and Affray)

Section 179 – Refusing to answer public servant authorised to question.
Section 182 – False information, with intent to cause a public servant to use his lawful power to the injury of another person.
Section 191 – Giving false evidence.

Section 268 – Public nuisance.
Section 292 – Sale, etc., of obscene books, etc.
Section 293 – Sale, etc., of obscene objects to young persons.
Section 294 – Obscene acts and songs.
Section 295 – Injuring or defiling a place of worship with intent to insult the religion of any class.
Section 295A – Deliberate and malicious acts intended to outrage religious feelings of any class by insulting its religion or religious beliefs.
Section 296 – Disturbing religious assembly.

Section 299 – Culpable homicide to Section 309 – Attempt to commit suicide.
Section 319 – Hurt to Section 338 – Causing grievous hurt by act endangering the life or personal safety of others.
Section 339 – Wrongful restraint.
Section 340 – Wrongful confinement.
Section 349 – Force.
Section 350 – Criminal force.
Section 351 – Assault.

Section 354 – Assault or criminal force to woman with intent to outrage her modesty.
Section 354A – Sexual harassment and punishment for sexual harassment.
Section 354B – Assault or use of criminal force to woman with intent to disrobe.
Section 354C – Voyeurism.
Section 354D – Stalking.

Section 359 – Kidnapping.
Section 360 – Kidnapping from India.
Section 361 – Kidnapping from lawful guardianship.
Section 362 – Abduction.

Section 375 – Rape.
Section 376 – Punishment for rape.
Section 376D – Gang rape.
Section 376DA – Punishment for gang rape on woman under sixteen years of age.
Section 376DB – Punishment for gang rape on woman under twelve years of age.
Section 376E – Punishment for repeat offenders.
Section 377 – Unnatural offences.

Section 378 – Theft.
Section 383 – Extortion.
Section 390 – Robbery.
Section 391 – Dacoity.
Section 396 – Dacoity with murder.
Section 399 – Making preparation to commit dacoity.

Section 403 – Dishonest misappropriation of property.
Section 405 – Criminal breach of trust.
Section 410 – Stolen Property.
Section 413 – Habitually dealing in stolen property.
Section 414 – Assisting in the concealment of stolen property.
Section 415 – Cheating.
Section 420 – Cheating and dishonestly inducing delivery of property.
Section 425 – Mischief.

Section 441 – Criminal Trespass to Section 446 – House-breaking by night.
Section 493 – Cohabitation caused by a man deceitfully inducing a belief of lawful marriage.
Section 494 – Marrying again during the lifetime of husband or wife.
Section 495 – Same offence with concealment of former marriage from person with whom subsequent marriage is contracted.
Section 496 – Marriage ceremony fraudulently gone through without lawful marriage.
Section 497 – Adultery.
Section 498 – Enticing or taking away or detaining with criminal intent a married woman.
Section 498A – Cruelty by husband or relatives of the husband.

Section 499 – Defamation.
Section 503 – Criminal intimidation.
Section 506 – Punishment for criminal intimidation.
Section 509 – Word, gesture or act intended to insult the modesty of a woman.
Section 511 – Attempts to commit offences.

These were the most important sections of the Indian Penal Code. As stated earlier, IPC is vast, and I hope this list of necessary sections will help you prepare for your exams in a better way. Always remember to focus most on these and less on rest. But keep in mind that I never use the words ‘ignore the rest.’

IPC MCQ Tests

If you have studied the Indian Penal Code, you may want to keep yourself sharp, updated and evaluated via its MCQ Tests. We offer MCQ Tests for the Indian Penal Code and several other law subjects. They are excellent and thus paid. You can learn all about the IPC and other law MCQ Tests here.

IPC for Exam, 2024

Before you treat these necessary IPC sections as everything, please understand that the topics and syllabus of all law exams slightly differ. Therefore, make sure you check the full syllabus before you make up your mind to only study these crucial sections of IPC and abandon the rest.

See Next: General, Brief Introduction to the Indian Penal Code