IPC Section 39: “Voluntarily”
Indian Penal Code, 1860 · Chapter 2: General Explanations
Repealed on 1 July 2024 and replaced by the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 (BNS).
A person is said to cause an effect "voluntarily" when he causes it by means whereby he intended to cause it, or by means which, at the time of employing those means, he knew or had reason to believe to be likely to cause it.
Illustration
A sets fire, by night, to an inhabited house in a large town, for the purpose of facilitating a robbery and thus causes the death of a person. Here, A may not have intended to cause death; and may even be sorry that death has been caused by his act; yet, if he knew that he was likely to cause death, he has caused death voluntarily.
Bare act text for reference, current to 30 June 2024. It is not legal advice; check the official gazette for authoritative text.
Other sections in this chapter
- 6. Definitions in the Code to be understood subject to exceptions
- 7. Sense of expression once explained
- 8. Gender
- 9. Number
- 10. “Man”. “Woman”
- 11. “Person”
- 12. “Public”
- 13. [Omitted.]
- 14. “Servant of Government”
- 15. [Repealed.]
- 16. [Repealed.]
- 17. “Government”
- 18. “India”
- 19. “Judge”
- 20. “Court of Justice”
- 21. “Public servant”
- 22. “Moveable property”
- 23. “Wrongful gain”. “Wrongful loss”. Gaining wrongfully/ Losing wrongfully
- 24. “Dishonestly”
- 25. “Fraudulently”
- 26. “Reason to believe”
- 27. Property in possession of wife, clerk or servant
- 28. “Counterfeit”
- 29. “Document”
- 29A. “Electronic record”
- 30. “Valuable security”
- 31. “A will”
- 32. Words referring to acts include illegal omissions
- 33. “Act”. “Omission”
- 34. Acts done by several persons in furtherance of common intention
- 35. When such an act is criminal by reason of its being done with a criminal knowledge or intention
- 36. Effect caused partly by act and partly by omission
- 37. Co-operation by doing one of several acts constituting an offence
- 38. Persons concerned in criminal act may be guilty of different offences
- 40. “Offence”
- 41. “Special law”
- 42. “Local law”
- 43. “Illegal”.“Legally bound to do”
- 44. “Injury”
- 45. “Life”
- 46. “Death”
- 47. “Animal”
- 48. “Vessel”
- 49. “Year”. “Month”
- 50. “Section”
- 51. “Oath”
- 52. “Good faith”
- 52A. “Harbour-“