(1)Except as provided in this section and in section 86, intoxication shall not constitute a defence to any criminal charge.
Section history
Section 85 — Intoxication when a defence
As in force on 21 November 2010.
Timeline 4 versions
- 30 March 1987 Enacted
- 21 November 2010 You are here
- 1 January 2020 Act 15 of 2019
- 1 March 2022 Act 23 of 2021
- 17 August 2026 Latest
(2)Intoxication shall be a defence to any criminal charge if by reason thereof the person charged at the time of the act or omission complained of did not know that such act or omission was wrong or did not know what he was doing and —
(a)the state of intoxication was caused without his consent by the malicious or negligent act of another person; or
(b)the person charged was, by reason of intoxication, insane, temporarily or otherwise, at the time of such act or omission.
[Indian PC 1860, s. 85]