Important Sections of IPC

Section 1 – Title and extent of operation of the Code.

Section 2 – Punishment of offences committed within India.
Section 3 – Punishment of offences committed beyond but which by law may be
tried within India.
Section 4 – Extension of Code to extra-territorial offences.
Section 8 – Gender.
Section 11 – Person.
Section 19 to 26 – “Judge”, “Court of Justice”, “Public Servant”, “Movable
property”, “Wrongful gain”, “Wrongful loss”, “Gaining wrongfully, losing
wrongfully”, “Dishonestly”, “Fraudulently”, “Reason to believe”.
Section 34 – Acts done by several persons in furtherance of common intention.
Section 35 – When such an act is criminal by reason of its being done with a criminal
knowledge or intention.
Section 36 – Effect caused partly by act and partly by omission.
Section 37 – Co-operation by doing one of several acts constituting an offence.
Section 38 – Persons concerned in criminal act may be guilty of different offences.
Section 39 – “Voluntarily”.
Section 40 – “Offence”.
Section 52 – “Good faith”.
Section 52A – “Harbour”.
Section 53 – Punishment.
Section 73 – Solitary confinement.
Section 74 – Limit of solitary confinement.
Section 76 to 106 – CHAPTER IV (76-106) – General Exceptions
Section 107 to 120 – CHAPTER V (107-120) – Abetment
Section 120A – Definition of criminal conspiracy.
Section 120B – Punishment of criminal conspiracy.
Section 121 – Waging, or attempting to wage war, or abetting waging of war, against
the Government of India.
Section 124A – Sedition.
Section 141 – Unlawful assembly.
Section 142 – Being member of unlawful assembly.
Section 143 – Punishment.
Section 144 – Joining unlawful assembly armed with deadly weapon.
Section 145 – Joining or continuing in unlawful assembly, knowing it has been
commanded to disperse.
Section 146 – Rioting.
Section 147 – Punishment for rioting.
Section 148 – Rioting, armed with deadly weapon.
Section 149 – Every member of unlawful assembly guilty of offence committed in
prosecution of common object.
Section 159 – Affray. (6 Differences between Rioting and Affray)
Section 179 – Refusing to answer public servant authorised to question.
Section 182 – False information, with intent to cause public servant to use his lawful
power to the injury of another person.
Section 191 – Giving false evidence.
Section 268 – Public nuisance.
Section 292 – Sale, etc, of obscene books, etc.
Section 293 – Sale, etc, of obscene objects to young person.
Section 294 – Obscene acts and songs.
Section 295 – Injuring or defiling place of worship with intent to insult the religion
of any class.
Section 295A – Deliberate and malicious acts, intended to outrage religious feelings
of any class by insulting its religion or religious beliefs.
Section 296 – Disturbing religious assembly.
Section 299 – Culpable homicide. Section 302 – Punishment for Culpable
homicide not amounting to murder
Section 300 – Murder --Section 302 – Punishment for Murder
Section 304A – Causing death by Negligence
Section 304B – Dowry death
Section 307 – Attempt to Murder
Section 309 – Attempt to commit suicide
Section 311 – Punishment of the causing of miscarriage
Section 319 – Hurt 
Section 319 – Grievous Hurt -- Section 325 – Punishment of Grievous Hurt
Section 321 – Voluntarily causing Hurt 
Section 338 – Causing grievous hurt by act endangering life or personal safety of
 others.
Section 339 – Wrongful restraint.
Section 340 – Wrongful confinement.
Section 349 – Force.
Section 350 – Criminal force.
Section 351 – Assault.
Section 354 – Assault or criminal force to woman with intent to outrage her
modesty.
Section 354A – Sexual harassment and punishment for sexual harassment.
Section 354B – Assault or use of criminal force to woman with intent to disrobe.
Section 354C – Voyeurism.
Section 354D – Stalking.
Section 359 – Kidnapping.
Section 360 – Kidnapping from India.
Section 361 – Kidnapping from lawful guardianship.
Section 362 – Abduction.
Section 375 – Rape.
Section 376 – Punishment for rape.
Section 376D – Gang rape.
Section 376DA – Punishment for gang rape on woman under sixteen years of age.
Section 376DB – Punishment for gang rape on woman under twelve years of age.
Section 376E – Punishment for repeat offenders.
Section 377 – Unnatural offences.
Section 378 – Theft.
Section 383 – Extortion.
Section 390 – Robbery.
Section 391 – Dacoity.
Section 396 – Dacoity with murder.
Section 399 – Making preparation to commit dacoity.
Section 403 – Dishonest misappropriation of property.
Section 405 – Criminal breach of trust.
Section 410 – Stolen Property.
Section 413 – Habitually dealing in stolen property.
Section 414 – Assisting in concealment of stolen property.
Section 415 – Cheating.
Section 420 – Cheating and dishonestly inducing delivery of property.
Section 425 – Mischief.
Section 441 – Criminal Trespass to Section 446 – House-breaking by night.
Section 493 – Cohabitation caused by a man deceitfully inducing a belief of lawful
marriage.
Section 494 – Marrying again during lifetime of husband or wife.
Section 495 – Same offence with concealment of former marriage from person with
whom subsequent marriage is contracted.
Section 496 – Marriage ceremony fraudulently gone through without lawful
marriage.
Section 497 – Adultery.
Section 498 – Enticing or taking away or detaining with criminal intent a married
woman.
Section 498A – Cruelty by husband or relatives of husband.
Section 499 – Defamation.
Section 503 – Criminal intimidation.
Section 506 – Punishment for criminal intimidation.
Section 509 – Word, gesture or act intended to insult the modesty of a woman.
Section 511 – Attempts to commit offences.

Crimes against the Human Body

These offences are provided for in Chapter XVI of the Code spanning from
Section 299, which deals with culpable homicide to Section 377, which deals with
unnatural offences.
The chapter deals with all kinds of offences which can be committed against the
human body, from the very lowest degree i.e. simple hurt or assault to the
gravest ones which include murder, kidnapping and rape.
Crimes against Property
These crimes are defined and punished under Chapter XVII and range from
Section 378 which defines theft, to Section 462 which prescribes punishment for
the offence of breaking upon an entrusted property. The offences that are dealt
with under this chapter include, among others, theft, extortion, robbery, dacoity,
cheating and forgery.
Crimes against Public Tranquillity 
The definitions and punishment for this category of offences are provided in
Chapter VIII which ranges from Section 141 to 160. This chapter lays down the
acts which are considered to be criminal in nature because they disturb and
destroy public tranquillity and order.  This chapter includes offences like being a
member of an unlawful assembly, rioting and affray.
Offences against the State
Chapter VI, which deals with offences of this nature, and includes Sections 121 to
130 are some of the most rigorous penal provisions of the entire code. This
includes the offence of waging war against the state under Section 121 and the
much-debated, criticised, and abused offence of Sedition under Section 124A.
The offence defined under this Section has been much maligned as it was used
by the British to prosecute many freedom fighters; it has also been used post-
independence to silence critics of the government and continues to date which is
why many experts advocate repealing the same.
General Exceptions
Sections 76-106 (Chapter IV) embody the general exceptions which are
exceptional circumstances where the offender can escape criminal liability. A
basic example in this context is the Right of Private Defence (Section 96-106).
Other concepts that are elaborated upon in this chapter include Insanity,
Necessity, Consent, and acts of children below a certain age.
Unnatural Offences-Section 377
This Section, among other things, punished consensual sexual acts between
consenting adults belonging to the same sex. With the advent of time, several
voices advocated for the decriminalisation of this part which punishes
homosexuality. The Supreme Court, finally in the case of Navtej Johar, obliged
and decriminalised the portion of this Section which punished consensual acts of
this nature.
Attempt to Commit Suicide – Section 309
This Section prescribed punishment of up to one year for attempting suicide.
There is a longstanding recommendation of the Law Commission to decriminalise
attempting suicide by dropping Section 309 from the statute books. But the
amendment to this effect has not been carried, albeit, the use of the provision has
minimized, by the coming into force of the Mental Healthcare Act, 2017.
As per the non-obstante clause contained in Section 115(1) of the Mental
Healthcare Act, 2017, there is the presumption of severe stress on a person who
attempted suicide and such person is not to be punished under Section 309 IPC.
But the reports about the use of Section 309 IPC are not unknown and continue
to be reported from almost all the parts of the country. As such, it is the need of
the hour that the police authorities should be sanitized about the issue.
Adultery – Section 497
This Section, which criminalised and prescribed punishment, was criticised for
treating a woman as the private property of her husband and imposing moral
principles on married couples. This Section was finally struck down by the
Supreme Court in September 2018 while disposing of the case of Joseph Shine
v. Union of India.