Intoxication
It is a state of mind in which the person is incapable of knowing the nature of the act or what he was doing ,an act which was either wrong or contrary to law. Section 85 and 86 of the IPC provides immunity to a person who has been intoxicated involuntary i.e. he was intoxicated against his will ,while voluntary intoxication is no excuse for the commission of the crime.
Involuntary Intoxication
It is a state where a person is administered with intoxicating substances involuntarily i.e. he was unknown to the fact ,Involuntary intoxication is immuned under section 85 if the accused is able to prove with the satisfaction of the court that he did not intend to commit the crime and he had no knowledge of the cause of the inebriated state of mind.
Voluntary Intoxication
Voluntary Intoxication is not considered as an exception to the criminal liability ,however there are 2 exceptions to be taken into consideration, they are:-
Mens Rea is an essential element of the offence and the evidence shows that the state of intoxication of the accused is such that he had no intent to commit the crime.
A situation where the accused is a habitual drinker and is addicted to being intoxicated that his state of mind is incapable of knowing the nature of the act.
Difference Between Section 85 and 86
Section 86 of the act is an exception to Section 85 of the act. Section 85 covers all the offences related to intoxication whereas Section 86 deals with the offences requiring specific intent and knowledge. Section 86 lays down that if the intoxication is involuntary then there was neither knowledge nor intention of committing the crime. But if the intoxication is voluntary ,then only the knowledge will be taken into account and the intention will no longer be considered
Author: Mauli Dogra,
Student ,MIT WPU