Immunity from Criminal Liability on the ground of drunkenness

Deepak Miglani Adv.

Drunkenness is a species of madness for which the man is to blame. The law pronounces that the obscuration and divestment of that judgement and human feeling which in a sober state would have prevented the accused from offending, shall not when produced by his voluntary act, screen him from punishment although he may by no longer capable of self-restraint. Qui pecat ebrius luat sobrius: let him who sins when drunk be punished when sober. If a man chooses to get drunk, it is its own voluntary act; it is very different from madness which is not caused by any act of the person. Now, so far as intoxicated persons are concerned, Section 85 and 86 are relevant. Section 86 lays down that nothing is an offence which is done by a persons who, owing to intoxication, is incapable of knowing the nature of the act, or that what he is doing is wrong or contrary to law, provided that the thing which intoxicated him was administered to him without his knowledge or against his will. It will, therefore, be been that for an offence committed is consequence of voluntary drunkenness, there is not excuse in law. If it were otherwise any murderer would first get himself thoroughly intoxicated, have enough sense to commit the murder, and plead intoxication as complete defence. Thus drunkenness is either voluntary or involuntary . The latter can excused under certain circumstances, but the former is no excuse. Section 85 declares that voluntary intoxication is no excuse for the commission of a crime. But if he gets intoxicated through fraud or stratagem of others, and thereby becomes incapable of understanding the nature and quality of the act, he must be excused. Likewise, if a person, by mistake takes some wrong medicine and gets intoxicated and then commits an offence surely he cannot be held liable. Similarly, if fraud is practised on him whereby he is made to take an intoxicant, and then he commits an offence , he cannot be held liable. Such cases are not cases of voluntary drunkenness. Test of Drunkenness- The test to apply in cases of drunkenness is whether by reason of drunkenness, the accused was incapable of forming an intention of committing the offence. For any query:- legalbuddy@gmail.com