International Seminar

on
"Relevance of Indian Penal Code in Controlling and Combating Crime in
Modern Age"
(Commemorating the Hundred Fiftieth Anniversary of the Indian Penal Code, 1860)

December 14-15, 2010

The Centre for Criminal Justice Administration at Dr. Ram Manohar Lohiya National Law
University, Lucknow, organized an International Seminar on "Relevance of the Indian Penal
Code in Controlling and Combating Crime in Modern Age", on December 14-15, 2010,
commemorating the 150th anniversary of the Indian Penal Code, 1860.

The Indian Penal Code, 1860 is the

earliest, comprehensive and codified
criminal law that the British Indian
Administration enacted primarily for
India and later on extended to other
Asian countries like Singapore and
Malaysia. It is to the credit of this
unique Code that even after one
hundred and fifty years, it has
continued to occupy the position of the
basic criminal Law of India and other
Asian countries that have undergone
significant social and political
transformations during this long period. This has been possible, both, because of inherent
normative qualities of the Code, as well as its amenability to creative interpretations that the
judiciary has fully deployed. This has enabled the Code to remain alive and socially relevant
document even today. For a Penal Code to remain alive and socially relevant even after such
a long period, is no mean
achievement and calls for a grand
commemoration. The forms and
styles of commemorations can
differ, depending upon the
objective at hand. The National
University of Singapore in their
commemoration of the Penal
Code, on June 9 to 11, 2010 had
taken up the theme: "A Model
Indian Penal Code Adhering to the
Philosophy of Macaulay". The
seventeen presentations to the
symposium (fifteen in person and
two through video conferencing) from scholars drawn from Australia, U.K., Canada,
Malaysia, India and Singapore primarily focused on the great contribution of Lord Babington
Macaulay to the drafting of the Penal Code, and also deliberated on the continuing relevance
of Macaulay's Philosophy to Criminal Law reform and a Model Penal Code. Since the

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symposium was a part of a project on the same theme the Penal Code commemoration event
was heavily influenced by the project objectives.

In India it was incumbent upon us to pay our rich tributes to this living law by organizing a
commemorative event in the form of an International Seminar, bringing together all the
consumers and stakeholders of the criminal justice system of those countries where the Indian
Penal Code is the most important penal document. Envisioned by stalwarts like Prof.
B.B.Pande, Prof. M.Zakaria
Siddiqui and Prof. Balraj
Chauhan, the Centre for
Criminal Justice
Administration, undertook
this onerous task of
organizing this seminar on
Dec 14-15, 2010 at
RMLNLU, Lucknow.

Objectives of the Seminar

were:

1. To sensitize the
participants with a view to
make them aware of the relevance of the Indian Penal Code.
2. To study and analyze the implications and effects of the provisions of IPC in the light of
changing societal structures and new types of offences entering into.
3. To educate Civil Society Groups about the legal and the Constitutional issues and stakes
involved.
4. To assure citizens regarding their concerns for privacy, personal liberties and freedoms.
5. To identify the possible areas of operation
and conflict.
6. To draw a mechanism for modification of
provisions of Indian Penal Code.

The working Sessions of the Seminar

were:

1. Ideology, History and Philosophy of IPC.

2 Law and Morality Debate in the context of
IPC with special emphasis on suicide and
homosexuality.
3. Punishment in IPC with special emphasis on death penalty.
4. Reforms in Homicide Law.
5. Offences against Religion and Public Tranquility.
6. IPC, Judicial Law Making and Agenda for Reform.

The inauguration ceremony was held on 14th December, 2010. The Chief Guest for the
Hon'ble Justice Sri F. I. Rebello, Chief Justice of the Allahabad High Court, marked the
beginning of his address with a brief discussion of the history of the Indian Penal Code and
how it came to be drafted by Lord Macaulay and amended several times since then. The Code
completed its 150 years of existence on 6th October 2010 and is thus celebrating its 150th

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anniversary this year. He showed as to how the robust Act, which the rock-bed of criminal
jurisprudence in our country, is also among the oldest surviving criminal laws in the world –
the most comprehensive and admirable compilation of substantive criminal law. In his
opinion, what remains the main beauty of this code is the fact that most of its provisions are
as suitable today as they were when
enacted in A.D. 1860. He
commended the drafting and far-
sightedness of Lord Macaulay who
single handedly drafted this
masterpiece which has successfully
stood the test of the time. The days
when the concept of
individualization of punishment was
totally unconceived, it defined
offences and prescribed separate
punishment for each. However, he
cautioned that the Indian Penal
Code is not a modern code in true
sense of the term. In fact, it requires changes to meet the aims and aspirations of
contemporary society with emphasis on penology having shifted from punitive deterrence to
reformation and correction. He congratulated the Vice-Chancellor, faculty members and
patrons of this seminar and the students of the University. He expressed hope that the
discussions that will take place in the seminar alongwith the opinions of foreign scholars
present here, we will have some new ideas for reform and accordingly, the lacunae in the
Code can be easily filled to give it a modern look.

Hon'ble Dr. Rakesh Dhar Tripathi, the Cabinet Minister for Higher Education, Government
of Uttar Pradesh presided over the inaugural function. Hon'ble Dr. Tripathi laid emphasis on
enacting an indigenous penal code as the Penal Code is of colonial origin which was imposed
upon the subcontinent to enslave the Indians and to suppress and punish the rebels. He urged
the august gathering of legal luminaries to come up with a nationalized IPC which shall
reflect the State’s policy of welfare
for people. He opined that the law
should not be simply for
punishment but primarily for the
welfare and upliftment of the
people. He also extended his
support to the University and
expressed his pleasure and
privilege to be among the
distinguished scholars and
dignitaries.

Prof. Balraj Chauhan, Vice

Chancellor, Dr. Ram Manohar
Lohiya National Law University, discussed as to how criminal law can be compared with a
tree. A tree has 3 parts – roots, branches and leaves. Similarly, IPC can also be divided into 3
parts – principles being the 'roots', doctrines in the Code being the 'branches', and the specific
offences being the 'leaves'. There are certain tests to determine whether any criminal law is
fulfilling its functions as a good law. Firstly, we must see whether it is able to maintain public

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order. Secondly, it must provide sufficient safeguards, especially to those who are weak.
Thirdly, it must protect the society from criminal activities. He concluded that IPC comes
true on all these considerations.

Prof. B. B. Pande discussed the relevance of IPC in today’s age and said that the provisions
of IPC e.g. S. 302, S. 303 have been challenged because of the Constitution which was not
there in 1860 and therefore because of the Rule of Law and Constitutional practice. He laid
emphasis on the fact that we will have to check whether the provisions of IPC are relevant
today or not.

The first plenary session was chaired and co-chaired by Prof. B. B. Pande and co-chaired by
Prof. M. Zakaria, Former Dean,
AMU, Aligarh. The keynote
presentation was by Prof. Kam
C. Wong of Xavier University,
USA, shared his theories on
policing which he has devised
after 20 years of study and
experience. He also pointed out
as to how resourceful people do
not report matters to the police
and the most important of such
resources are education. He
emphasized that the closest
person should solve people’s
problems and police should be the last resort. The police first try to solve a person’s problem,
even by bending the law, rather than solving a crime.

Prof. K. I. Vibhute of UNISSA, Darussalam, Brunei, shared his experiences and observations
of policing and the Criminal Justice Administration in Africa. Prof. Jianhong Liu, Professor
and Chair, University of Macau, threw light upon the contemporary Chinese Criminal Justice
administration and primarily punitive
nature of the same, while also
elaborating upon the changing trend
and the increasing inclination towards
mediation mechanism, probation and
parole, community corrections and
other restorative measures. He also
explained the marvel and relevance of
Confucian legal thinking and its effect
on the Chinese Legal System of today.

Prof. Sylvie Cimmomonti, Dept. of

Criminal Justice, France, gave a taste
of the European legal system. She
threw light on the evolution of the Penal Code of France and the latest developments
regarding the law of preventive detention over there.

In the second plenary session, Prof. B. B. Pande, in his key theme presentation, emphasized
upon putting meticulous effort for revising the IPC and also talked of balancing of the scales

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of justice. He talked about the historical background of the Code and the intentions of the
colonial government. His address was followed by a speech by Prof. Faizan Mustafa, Vice
Chancellor, National Law University, Orissa, who talked about the Malimath Committee
Report. He went on to point out that the abuse of power by the courts is the biggest challenge
before the Criminal Justice Administration today. In the evening, the students and the faculty
members of Bahtkhande Music University enthralled the participants and guests with their
catching performance showcasing the rich Indian heritage and traditions. Hon'ble Vice-
Chancellor of the Music University Prof. Shruti S. Katkar also graced the occasion.

On the second day (Dec 15, 2010), the final technical session was chaired by Prof
K.I.Vibhute , UNISSA, Darrussalam, Brunei and Co- chaired by Prof. R. Thilagraj,
University of Madras. Many legal luminaries shared their views on relevance of IPC today.
Speaking on the occasion, Prof. M. Zakaria Siddiqui, Former Dean, AMU shared his
experience of teaching in Countries like Nigeria and Malaysia which have adopted the IPC
with little modifications as their domestic Penal Code. He also pointed out some illogical
sentencing structures in IPC and proposed for deliberation on these points. Prof. Faizan
Mustafa, Vic-Chancellor of NLU, Orissa spoke on the death penalty and pointed out the
unconstitutionality of death penalty and how the Courts have failed to strike it down as
unconstitutional in some of the cases. He also spoke on the transition period between Pre-
Bachan Singh case and Post-Bachan Singh case where the 'rarest-of-rare' doctrine was
propounded. He expressed his concern at the 3% increase in awarding of death penalty by
Supreme Court in the present decade.

Prof. G. I. S. Sandhu, Registrar,

R.G.N.U.L., Patiala, spoke on
the theme 'Crime against
Religion' and laid emphasis on
the secular fabric of our nation.
Prof. Latha, Asstt. Professor,
Tamil Nadu Open University,
Madras, presented her empirical
research on Woman and Child
Trafficking. She emphasized on
the need for a new legislation
particularly targeting on
Woman and Child Trafficking.

The technical session was followed by the formal Valedictory Session. The Chief Guest for
the Valedictory Session was Hon'ble Mr.Justice Vishnu Sahai, Member, State Human Right
Commission, Uttar Pradesh. Prof Balraj Chauhan, Vice-Chancellor, RMLNLU gave
Welcome Address and expressed his gratitude towards all the participants for the fruitful
discussions leading to a successful completion of the seminar. He enumerated the
contributions made by Justice Vishnu Sahai as a member of Human Rights Commission, in
the field of criminal law and human rights interface. On this occasion, Eminent Scholar Prof
B.B.Pande was felicitated by Prof. Balraj Chauhan and RMLNLU fraternity for his great and
unmatched contribution in field of law especially in field of criminal law and criminology.
Presidential Address was given by Prof. M.Z.Khan, Former Dean, Jamia Milia Islamia
University, Delhi. Prof. Khan highlighted the suggestions and recommendations which
emerged from different technical sessions in the two day seminar.

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On this ocassion, Hon''ble Mr. Justice Vishnu Sahai, appreciated the vision of the colonial
masters, the British who researched and understood the psyche of Indian masses and came up
with IPC, 1860. He further said that the rise in scepticism for relevance of IPC was because
of the rise in crimes such as terrorism,
hijacking ,trafficking ,etc. for which the
provision of IPC are not enough and can
only be seen in embryonic form. He also
said that the punishment for some crimes
such as outraging the modesty of a woman
is inadequate and there is a need for
reform in this area.

Dr. Mridul Srivastava, Assistant Registrar

of the University proposed a Vote of
Thanks and told that the seminar was the
brain child of Prof. B.B. Pande, who should be thanked for his motivation in this direction.
He also thanked his learned colleagues Prof. K.A. Pandey and Prof. A.P. Singh for all their
endeavour put together which ensured the success of the seminar.