Indian Penal Code, 1860
Persons concerned in criminal act may be guilty of different offences.—
Section
38
Punishment
Definition / General Principle / Repealed
Cognizable
N/A
Bailable
N/A
Compoundable
Non-Compoundable (Refer to CrPC 320 for exceptions)
Trial Court
N/A
Bare Act Text
38. Persons concerned in criminal act may be guilty of different offences.—
Where several persons are engaged or concerned in the commission of a criminal act, they may be guilty of different offences by means of that act.IllustrationA attacks Z under such circumstances of grave provocation that his killing of Z would be only culpable homicide not amounting to murder. B, having ill-will towards Z and intending to kill him, and not having been subject to the provocation, assists A in killing Z. Here, though A and B are both engaged in causing Z’s death, B is guilty of murder, and A is guilty only of culpable homicide.
What is IPC Section 38 ?
According to the official bare act, this legal offense is defined as: 38. Persons concerned in criminal act may be guilty of different offences.—
Where several persons are engaged or concerned in the commission of a criminal act, they may be guilty of different offences by means of that act.IllustrationA attacks Z under such circumstances of grave provocation that his killing of Z would be only culpable homicide not amounting to murder. B, having ill-will towards Z and intending to kill him, and not having been subject to the provocation, assists A in killing Z. Here, though A and B are both engaged in causing Z’s death, B is guilty of murder, and A is guilty only of culpable homicide.
What is the punishment for Dhara 38 ?
The punishment for this specific offense is outlined under the law as: Definition / General Principle / Repealed
Is IPC 38 bailable or non-bailable?
Under the Indian Penal Code, this specific offense is classified as a N/A offense.
Is Dhara 38 a cognizable offense?
The legal status regarding police arrest without a warrant is that this offense isN/A.
Which court has the jurisdiction to try IPC 38 cases?
Cases pertaining to this specific IPC section are triable by the N/A.
Can IPC Section 38 be compromised (Compoundable)?
The compoundable nature of this offense, meaning whether the parties can settle it out of court, is classified as: Non-Compoundable (Refer to CrPC 320 for exceptions).
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Pramod is the Founder and Editor-in-Chief of StudyHub. He holds a Master's degree and is currently pursuing a Ph.D. in Geology, alongside more than 7+ years spent building and verifying competitive exam content for Indian aspirants. He leads StudyHub's editorial process across Indian Polity, the Constitution, Indian Economy, History, Geography, Science, and the platform's other subject areas — checking every article against primary sources (bare act text and Gazette notifications for constitutional topics, government and Economic Survey data for economy content, standard reference material elsewhere) and flagging it for re-verification whenever a relevant amendment, policy, or data update makes an earlier version outdated.