The Pakistan Penal Code (; ), abbreviated as PPC, is a

penal code A criminal code (or penal code) is a document that compiles all, or a significant amount of a particular jurisdiction's criminal law. Typically a criminal code will contain offences that are recognised in the jurisdiction, penalties that might ...

for all offences charged in

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...

. It was originally prepared by

Lord Macaulay Thomas Babington Macaulay, 1st Baron Macaulay, (; 25 October 1800 – 28 December 1859) was a British historian and Whig politician, who served as the Secretary at War between 1839 and 1841, and as the Paymaster-General between 1846 and 1 ...

with a great consultation in 1860 on the behalf of the

Government of India The Government of India (ISO: ; often abbreviated as GoI), known as the Union Government or Central Government but often simply as the Centre, is the national government of the Republic of India, a federal democracy located in South Asia, c ...

as the

Indian Penal Code The Indian Penal Code (IPC) is the official criminal code of India. It is a comprehensive code intended to cover all substantive aspects of criminal law. The code was drafted on the recommendations of first law commission of India established in ...

. After the

independence Independence is a condition of a person, nation, country, or state in which residents and population, or some portion thereof, exercise self-government, and usually sovereignty, over its territory. The opposite of independence is the statu ...

in 1947, Pakistan inherited the same code and subsequently after several amendments by different governments, in Pakistan it is now a mixture of Islamic and English Law. Presently, the Pakistan Penal Code is still in effect and can be amended by the

Parliament of Pakistan The Parliament of Pakistan ( ur, , , "Pakistan Advisory Council" or "Pakistan Consultative Assembly") is the federal and supreme legislative body of Pakistan. It is a bicameralism, bicameral federation, federal legislature that consists of ...

History

The draft of the (British) Indian Penal Code was prepared by the First Law Commission and it was chaired by

. Its basis is the law of England freed from superfluities, technicalities and local peculiarities. Suggestions were also derived from the French Penal Code and from Livingstone's Code of Louisiana. The draft underwent a very careful revision at the hands of Sir

Barnes Peacock Sir George Barnes Peacock (1805 – 3 December 1890) was an English judge who served as the first Chief Justice of the Calcutta High Court in India and the final Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Judicature at Fort William. Peacock was th ...

, Chief Justice, and puisne Judges of the

Calcutta Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , List of renamed places in India#West Bengal, the official name until 2001) is the Capital city, capital of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of West Bengal, on the eastern ba ...

Supreme Court A supreme court is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts in most legal jurisdictions. Other descriptions for such courts include court of last resort, apex court, and high (or final) court of appeal. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...

who were members of the Legislative Council, and it was passed into law in 1860. Macaulay did not survive to see the Penal Code's enactment. Though it is principally the work of a man who had hardly held a brief, and whose time was devoted to

politics Politics (from , ) is the set of activities that are associated with making decisions in groups, or other forms of power relations among individuals, such as the distribution of resources or status. The branch of social science that studies ...

and

literature Literature is any collection of written work, but it is also used more narrowly for writings specifically considered to be an art form, especially prose fiction, drama, and poetry. In recent centuries, the definition has expanded to include ...

, it was universally acknowledged to be a monument of codification and an everlasting memorial to the high juristic attainments of its distinguished author. For example, even cyber crimes can be punished under the code.

Jurisdiction

Section 1. Title and extent of operation of the Code. This Act shall be called the Pakistan Penal Code, and shall take effect throughout Pakistan. * Section 4 The provisions of this Code apply also to any offence committed by:- * (1) any citizen of Pakistan or any person in the service of Pakistan in any place without and beyond Pakistan; * (4) any person on any ship or aircraft registered in Pakistan wherever it may be. Explanation: In this section the word "offence" includes every act committed outside Pakistan which, if committed in Pakistan, would be punishable under this Code. Extension of Code to extraterritorial offences.

Punishments

* Section 53. The punishments to which offenders are liable under the provisions of this Code are: * First,

Qisas ''Qisas'' or ''Qiṣāṣ'' ( ar, قِصَاص, Qiṣāṣ, lit=accountability, following up after, pursuing or prosecuting) is an Islamic term interpreted to mean "retaliation in kind",Mohamed S. El-Awa (1993), Punishment In Islamic Law, Amer ...

("retribution"); * Second, Diyat; * Third, Arsh− (Pre-specified Compensation); * Fourth, Daman (Compensation determined by court to be paid by the offender to the victim for causing hurt not liable to Arsh); * Fifth,

Ta'zir In Islamic Law, ''tazir'' (''ta'zeer'' or ''ta'zir'', ar, تعزير) refers to punishment for offenses at the discretion of the judge (Qadi) or ruler of the state.Section 420 Section 420 in the Indian Penal Code deals with ''Cheating'' and ''dishonestly inducing delivery of property''. The maximum punishment which can be awarded under this section is imprisonment for a term of 7 year and fine. Definitions :* Chea ...

Court system of Pakistan The judiciary of Pakistan ( ur, پاکستان کی عدلیہ) is a hierarchical system with two classes of courts: the superior (or higher) judiciary and the subordinate (or lower) judiciary. The superior judiciary is composed of the Supreme ...

Blasphemy law in Pakistan The Pakistan Penal Code, the main criminal code of Pakistan, penalizes blasphemy ( ur, قانون ناموس رسالت) against any recognized religion, providing penalties ranging from a fine to death. According to the US Commission on Interna ...

Copyright protection in Pakistan The basic legal instrument governing copyright law in Pakistan is the ''Copyright Ordinance, 1962'' as amended by the ''Copyright (Amendment) Ordinance, 2000''. Copyright Ordinance, 1962 Objects of copyright According to section 10 copyright ...

Gay rights in Pakistan Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people in Pakistan face social difficulties compared to non-LGBT persons. Even in large cities, gays and lesbians have to be highly discreet about their sexual orientation. Pakistani law prescribes ...

Hudood Ordinance The Hudood Ordinances (Urdu ; also Romanized Hadood, Hadud, Hudud; singular form is ''Hadh'' or ''hadd'') are laws in Pakistan that were enacted in 1979 as part of then military ruler Zia-ul-Haq's "Islamisation" process. It replaced parts of the ...

Women related laws in Pakistan The legislative assembly of Pakistan has enacted a number of measures designed to give women more power in the areas of family, inheritance, revenue, civil and criminal laws. These measures are an attempt to safeguard women's right to freedom of s ...

References

External links

Full text of the Pakistan Penal Code
– up-to-date with all amendments – Pakistani.org
Pakistan Penal Code 1860
– pakistancode.gov.pk {{Judiciary of Pakistan, state=expanded Pakistani legislation Government documents of Pakistan Criminal codes 1947 establishments