Question:medium

The principle that - "Nothing is an offence which is done by a child under seven years of age" is provided under:

Updated On: Jul 13, 2026
  • Section 81 of I.P.C.
  • Section 82 of I.P.C.
  • Section 83 of I.P.C.
  • Section 84 of I.P.C.
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The Correct Option is B

Solution and Explanation

The IPC's general exceptions include a set of age-based rules for children, and the easiest way to answer this is to sort the four sections by what each one actually protects.

  1. Section 81: protects an act done in good faith to avert a greater harm, this is the necessity defence and has no age element at all, so it can be ruled out immediately.
  2. Section 82: creates a hard cut-off; a child under seven is conclusively presumed incapable of committing an offence, no matter how the act looks. This matches the question's wording exactly.
  3. Section 83: raises the age band to above seven and under twelve, but adds a condition, the child is protected only if he lacked sufficient maturity to understand the act. Since the question asks about the under-seven rule, not this conditional older band, Section 83 does not fit.
  4. Section 84: is about unsoundness of mind, not childhood at all, so it is unrelated to the fact pattern here.

The correct answer is Section 82 of I.P.C., the provision that gives a child under seven an absolute exemption from criminal liability.

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