Section 23 BNS: Act of a Person Incapable of Judgment Due to Involuntary Intoxication
Section 23 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 (BNS) provides a general exception for an act committed while a person is so intoxicated that the person cannot understand the nature of the act or that it is wrong or contrary to law, but only when the intoxicating substance was administered without that person's knowledge or against that person's will.
Text of Section 23 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023
23. Act of a person incapable of judgment by reason of intoxication caused against his will.
Nothing is an offence which is done by a person who, at the time of doing it, is, by reason of intoxication, incapable of knowing the nature of the act, or that he is doing what is either wrong, or contrary to law; provided that the thing which intoxicated him was administered to him without his knowledge or against his will.
The statutory text may be verified in the official Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 published on India Code.
What Section 23 BNS Means
Section 23 deals with involuntary intoxication. It does not create a general defence merely because a person had consumed alcohol, drugs or another intoxicating substance. The protection is tied to both the degree of incapacity and the involuntary manner in which the intoxication occurred.
For the statutory exception to apply, the intoxication must have made the person incapable of knowing either the nature of the act or that the act was wrong or contrary to law. In addition, the intoxicant must have been administered without the person's knowledge or against the person's will.
Essential Conditions Under Section 23 BNS
- Intoxication at the time of the act: the person must have been intoxicated when the act was done.
- Serious incapacity of judgment: the intoxication must have made the person incapable of knowing the nature of the act, or incapable of knowing that the act was wrong or contrary to law.
- Involuntary administration: the intoxicating thing must have been administered without the person's knowledge or against the person's will.
- Connection between intoxication and incapacity: the claimed inability to understand the act must arise from the intoxication itself.
Voluntary Intoxication Is Different
Section 23 is specifically framed around intoxication caused without knowledge or against the person's will. It should therefore be read together with Section 24 BNS, which addresses offences requiring a particular intent or knowledge when the accused was intoxicated.
Section 24 generally requires an intoxicated person to be treated as having the same knowledge that the person would have had if not intoxicated, unless the intoxicating thing was administered without knowledge or against the person's will. The two provisions distinguish involuntary intoxication from intoxication that does not satisfy that condition.
Legal Effect of Section 23
Where the statutory requirements of Section 23 are established, the act falls within a general exception and is treated as not being an offence. Whether those requirements are satisfied depends on the facts and evidence of the particular case, including the circumstances in which the intoxicant was administered and the effect of intoxication on the person's capacity at the relevant time.
Commencement of the BNS
The Central Government appointed July 1, 2024 as the date on which the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 came into force, except for the separately excluded provision of Section 106(2). The commencement notification is available from the Ministry of Home Affairs.
Related BNS General Exceptions
Section 23 forms part of the BNS provisions dealing with general exceptions. Readers may also refer to Section 22 BNS on acts of a person of unsound mind and Section 24 BNS on offences requiring particular intent or knowledge committed by an intoxicated person.