Section 114 IPC: Abettor Present When Offence Is Committed

Section 114 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860 deals with an abettor who is present when the act or offence for which that person would otherwise be punishable as an abettor is committed. In that situation, the section deems the abettor to have committed the act or offence.

Legal position covered: This article explains Section 114 IPC under the law applicable before the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 came into force. It is intended as an IPC reference for the pre-BNS regime and matters preserved after repeal.

Text of Section 114 IPC

Whenever any person, who if absent would be liable to be punished as an abettor, is present when the act or offence for which he would be punishable in consequence of the abetment is committed, he shall be deemed to have committed such act or offence.

Meaning of Section 114 IPC

The provision applies where liability as an abettor already exists and the abettor is also present when the relevant act or offence is committed. Section 114 then creates a statutory deeming rule under which that person is treated as having committed the act or offence itself.

The opening words are significant. The section refers to a person who, if absent, would be liable to punishment as an abettor. Presence at the scene is therefore not, by itself, the statutory basis of liability under Section 114; the provision operates upon the pre-existing abetment contemplated by the section.

Essential requirements of Section 114

The person must be liable to be punished as an abettor if absent.
The act or offence for which the person is punishable in consequence of the abetment must be committed.
The abettor must be present when that act or offence is committed.
When these conditions exist, Section 114 deems the abettor to have committed the act or offence.

Meaning of abetment and abettor

Section 107 IPC sets out the modes by which a person may abet the doing of a thing, including instigation, conspiracy accompanied by the required act or illegal omission, and intentional aid. Section 108 IPC deals with the meaning of an abettor. These provisions provide the underlying framework for determining whether the prerequisite abetment exists before Section 114 is applied.

Presence and the deeming rule

The distinctive feature of Section 114 is its treatment of an abettor's presence at the commission of the offence. Where the statutory prerequisites are satisfied, the law does not leave the person described in Section 114 merely in the position of an absent abettor; it expressly deems that person to have committed the relevant act or offence.

Relationship with Sections 109 to 113 IPC

Section 114 should be read within the wider IPC scheme governing consequences of abetment. Section 109 IPC addresses punishment of abetment where the act abetted is committed in consequence and no express provision is made for punishment. Section 111 IPC concerns a different act done as a probable consequence of abetment, Section 112 IPC addresses cumulative punishment in the circumstances stated there, and Section 113 IPC deals with a different effect caused by the act abetted.

Historical status after commencement of BNS

The Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 repealed the Indian Penal Code and, except for the separately treated provision in Section 106(2), came into force on 1 July 2024. The repeal-and-savings provision preserves the previous operation of the IPC and specified rights, liabilities, penalties, investigations and proceedings. Accordingly, this page presents Section 114 IPC for the requested pre-BNS legal regime and saved matters, rather than as the provision governing new post-commencement conduct.