Section 337 IPC: Causing Hurt by Act Endangering Life or Personal Safety

Section 337 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860 punished causing hurt to a person by a rash or negligent act that endangered human life or the personal safety of others. This article explains the provision under the legal framework immediately before the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 came into force.

Section 337 IPC - Statutory provision

What Section 337 IPC means

Section 337 applied when a rash or negligent act not only endangered human life or personal safety but actually caused hurt to a person. The provision therefore required a connection between the accused person's rash or negligent conduct and the hurt suffered by the victim.

Essential ingredients of Section 337 IPC

For an offence under Section 337 IPC, the prosecution had to establish the statutory elements beyond reasonable doubt. These include:

• hurt must have been caused to a person;
• the hurt must result from an act of the accused;
• the act must have been done rashly or negligently;
• the act must have been of such a nature as to endanger human life or the personal safety of others; and
• there must be a sufficient causal connection between the rash or negligent act and the hurt caused.

Meaning of hurt under the IPC

Section 319 IPC defined "hurt" as causing bodily pain, disease or infirmity to any person. Section 337 therefore concerned cases in which the rash or negligent conduct resulted in hurt within this statutory meaning.

Meaning of rash and negligent act

The terms "rashly" and "negligently" describe the legally relevant character of the conduct. Rashness generally concerns proceeding with conduct despite the risk involved, while negligence concerns failure to exercise the care required in the circumstances. Criminal liability under Section 337 depended on proof of the statutory standard on the facts of the particular case.

The mere fact that an accident occurred did not by itself establish every ingredient of Section 337. The prosecution was required to prove the rash or negligent act, the danger contemplated by the section, the resulting hurt and the necessary causal connection.

Punishment under Section 337 IPC

Procedural classification under the CrPC

Under the pre-BNSS Code of Criminal Procedure framework, the First Schedule governed the procedural classification of IPC offences. Section 337 IPC was treated as a cognizable and bailable offence and was triable by any Magistrate.

Section 336, Section 337 and Section 338 IPC compared

Sections 336 to 338 dealt with rash or negligent acts endangering human life or personal safety, with the applicable provision depending substantially on the resulting consequence.

Difference between hurt and grievous hurt

For Section 337, the relevant consequence was "hurt" as defined in Section 319 IPC. Where the injury amounted to "grievous hurt" within Section 320 IPC and the other statutory requirements were satisfied, Section 338 IPC was the more directly relevant provision concerning grievous hurt caused by an act endangering life or personal safety.

Legal position immediately before 1 July 2024

This page records the position under the Indian Penal Code, 1860 and the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 immediately before the new criminal-law framework took effect. It is maintained as an IPC-era reference, including for matters in which the earlier law remains relevant under the applicable commencement and saving provisions.

Related IPC provisions

See also Section 336 IPC - Act endangering life or personal safety of others and Section 338 IPC - Causing grievous hurt by act endangering life or personal safety.

This article provides general legal information about the IPC-era provision. Application of the law depends on the facts, evidence and law applicable to the particular case.