(1)Nothing is an offence which is done by accident or misfortune in the doing of a lawful act in a lawful manner, by lawful means, and with proper care and caution.
Section history
Section 80 — Accident in the doing of a lawful act
As in force on 1 July 2020.
Timeline 5 versions
(2)Despite subsection (1), when the facts which are relied upon to establish the defence in subsection (1) will, when proven, negate the fault element required to establish liability under an offence, then to avoid doubt, that offence is not made out.
Explanation.—A lawful act in this section is any act which is not an offence under this Code or any written law and which is not otherwise prohibited by law.
Illustration
(a) A is at work with a hatchet; the head flies off and kills a man who is standing by. Here, if there was no want of proper caution on the part of A, his act is excusable and not an offence.
(b) A operates a construction crane and activates a control that causes a heavy load to fall onto B, killing B. A did not act negligently, but his activation of the control caused this result because the construction crane was malfunctioning. A has not committed an offence of causing death by doing a negligent act under section 304A as he did not possess the requisite fault element of negligence.
[Indian PC 1860, s. 80]