Indian Penal Code, 1860 · Chapter IV: General Exceptions
Section 78: Act done pursuant to the judgment or order of Court
The Indian Penal Code, 1860 was repealed and replaced by the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 from 1 July 2024. It still applies to matters and proceedings from before that date, as the repealing law provides.
In plain words
Nothing done under, or warranted by, a court's judgment or order while it is in force is an offence, even if the court lacked jurisdiction, as long as the person in good faith believed it had jurisdiction.
A simplified explanation, prepared with AI assistance from the official text below and checked automatically against it for numbers and cross-references. The official text is the law and prevails over this summary. Not legal advice.
Read the in-depth explanation, with key Supreme Court rulings ↓
Official text
Nothing which is done in pursuance of, or which is warranted by the judgment or order of, a Court of Justice, if done whilst such judgment or order remains in force, is an offence, notwithstanding the Court may have had no jurisdiction to pass such judgment or order, provided the person doing the act in good faith believes that the Court had such jurisdiction.
Corresponding sections were matched by comparing the wording of both official texts, and for the IPC and BNS, also against a published correspondence table. Wording, punishments and structure often changed, so read both sections before relying on the match.
Source: India Code (Legislative Department), the text of the Act as it stood before its repeal. Words in square brackets [ ] were inserted or substituted by later amending Acts, and *** marks words omitted by an amendment. The amendment footnotes are not reproduced here.
Understanding this section
Section 78 protects a person who acts in pursuance of, or as warranted by, a judgment or order of a Court of Justice while it is in force, even if the Court had no jurisdiction, provided the person in good faith believed the Court had jurisdiction.
Key points
- It protects court officers, police and others who carry out a court's order, such as an officer executing a warrant or a bailiff attaching property.
- The order must be in force at the time of the act.
- A defect of jurisdiction does not matter if the person in good faith believed the Court had it.
- The act must be within what the order directs; going beyond the order is not protected.
Relation to section 77
Section 77 protects the Judge who makes the order; section 78 protects those who execute it. Together they keep the machinery of justice working without each participant having to check the legality of every order.
Common mistakes
- Extending the protection to acts beyond what the order directs.
- Relying on an order that had already been stayed or set aside to the person's knowledge.
Read with: Section 77 IPC, Section 16 BNS
Prepared with AI assistance as a study aid. Every ruling listed was checked against the Supreme Court's own judgments on this site, and quoted words appear in those judgments; linked names open the full judgment. Read the judgments themselves before relying on them. Not legal advice.