ABSTRACT
The Indian Penal Code 1837 (IPC) was draft criminal legislation designed primarily by Thomas Macaulay for implementation in India and, following adaptation, across the British Empire. It was enacted in India in 1860, following which it was transplanted into a range of former colonies including the Straits Settlements (roughly Malaysia and Singapore), Ceylon (Sri Lanka), Burma (Myanmar) and the East Africa Protectorate (roughly Kenya), among several others. In many of these jurisdictions amended versions of the IPC continue to be in force or influence the development of criminal law. Given its longevity and geographical reach, the IPC’s relative absence in global criminal legal scholarship is as remarkable as it is regrettable. Accordingly, this chapter introduces the IPC to the reader, including its substantive scope, structure and rationale. The chapter analyses the political context in which the IPC was drafted and enacted and the role it played in entrenching British colonial rule in India and elsewhere. Using India as a case study, this chapter unpacks the IPC’s legacy as a legislative instrument and as a pedagogic text. It then uses this analysis to raise broader questions about what it means to indigenise and decolonise colonial legislation like the IPC.
