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Offences affecting Public Health

Table of Contents

(Ss. 268 to 294 A)

QUESTION BANK

1 Enumerate the offences affecting Public Health as defined in IPC?
2 What constitutes public nuisance? Explain with illustrations.

SHORT NOTES

Public Health

SYNOPSIS

Offences affecting the Public Health (S. 268 to 278 and S. 290 & 291)

I] Public Nuisance (S. 268, 290 and 291)

1) Meaning

2) Ingredients of public nuisance

3) Nuisance is of two kinds, viz.

a) Public Nuisance Punishment for public nuisance (S. 291)
b) Private Nuisance

4) Continuance of nuisance after injunction to discontinue (S. 291)

II] Acts likely to spread infection (S. 269 to 271)

1) Negligent act likely to spread infection of disease dangerous to life (S. 269).

2)Malignant act likely to spread infection of disease dangerous to life (S. 270)

3) Willful disobedience to quarantine rule (S. 271)

III] Adulteration of food or drink (S. 272 & 273)

IV] Adulteration of Drugs S. 274 to 276

V] Fouling water and making the atmosphere noxious to health (S .277 and 278)

OFFENCES AFFECTING THE PUBLIC HEALTH:-

This “Offences affecting the Public Health, safety, convenience, decency, and morality” chapter can broadly be divided into 3 topics, viz.

1) Offences affecting public health (S. 268 to 278 and S. 290 and 291).

2) Offences affecting public safety and convenience (S. 279 to 289), and

3) Offences affecting decency and morality (S. 292 to 294 A)-

In this topic, we will discuss-

OFFENCES AFFECTING PUBLIC HEALTH[1] (S. 268 to 278 and S. 290 & 291):-

In fact, the head of public health consists of 10 allied[2] offences, spread in 13 sections, viz.

I] Public Nuisance (S. 268, 290, and 291):-

1) Meaning:-

A person is guilty of a public nuisance-

i) who does

any act, or

ii) is guilty of

an illegal

omission

– which causes any

common

i) injury

ii) danger, or

iii) annoyance.

i) to the public, or

ii) to the people in general who dwell or occupy

property in the vicinity or

iii) which must necessarily cause injury, obstruction, danger, or annoyance to the person who may have occasion to use any public right ( S. 268).

A common nuisance is not excused on the grounds that it causes some convenience or advantage.

2) Ingredients of Public Nuisance:-

a) Doing of any act or illegal omission-
b) The act or omission-
i) must cause any common injury, danger, or annoyance-
a) to the public health or
b) to the people in general who dwell or occupy property in the vicinity or
ii) must necessarily cause injury, obstruction, danger, or annoyance to persons who may have occasion to use any public right.

3) Nuisance is of Two Kinds, viz:-

a) Public Nuisance[3]:-

A ‘public nuisance’ ‘, common nuisance’, or ‘general nuisance’ inflicts damage, injury, or inconvenience on all persons or all who come within the area of nuisance. It is an act affecting the public at large or some considerable part of them, and it must interfere with rights that members of the community might otherwise enjoy.

Public Nuisance is a felonious crime, i.e., it is actionable under both criminal law and civil law (tort) for remedy.

Acts that seriously interfere with the public’s health, safety, comfort, or convenience generally or which tend to degrade public morals have always been considered a public nuisance.

Establishing a brew house, glass house, or swine yard may be a public nuisance if it is shown that the trade is such as to render the enjoyment of life and property uncomfortable. Similarly, erecting a gunpowder mill, keeping explosives, working a rise-husking machine right in the city, keeping disorderly inns, gaming horses, etc., are instances of public nuisance.

There lies only one indictment (complaint), which is also by the action of the state through its officer, the Attorney General, etc.

Punishment for Public Nuisance (S. 291):-

Whoever commits a public nuisance in any case not otherwise punishable by this code shall be punished with a fine of up to two hundred rupees.

The section is residuary. It punishes the offence of public nuisance in a case where no specific provision for punishment is provided. It is because there are a number of other specific types of public nuisance, like the spread of infection, adulteration of food, fouling the water, etc., which are specifically punished under those sections dealing with the topic.

b) Private Nuisance:-

A private nuisance is an interference for a substantial length of time by the owner or occupier of property within the use or enjoyment of the neighbouring property. We have discussed in detail the differences between public and private nuisance in tort. [Please refer to the same here]

4) Continuance of Nuisance after Injunction to Discontinue[4] (S. 291):-

The section prescribes punishment for a person who repeats or continues a public nuisance after he has been ordered by a public servant not to commit it. The punishment provided is imprisonment for up to 6 months, a fine, or both.

II] Acts Likely to Spread Infection[5] (S. 269 to 271):-

1) Negligent Act Likely to Spread Infection of Disease Dangerous to Life[6] (S. 269):-

i) unlawfully,

ii) negligently

does any act, which

i) he knows, or

ii) has reason to believe to be

likely to spread the infection of any disease dangerous to life,

whoever-

– shall be punished with imprisonment up to 6 months, or fine or with both

2) Malignant Act Likely to Spread Infection of Disease Dangerous to Life[7] (S. 270):-

In fact, the wording of S. 269 and S. 270 is similar, except for the type of specific type of mens rea and punishment prescribed thereto.

Thus, S. 270 is an aggravated form of S. 269. These two sections prescribe punishment for spreading infections like plague, cholera, smallpox, etc.,

3) Willful Disobedience to Quarantine Rule[8] (S. 271):-

The section prescribes punishment of up to 6 months or a fine or both to the person who violates ‘quarantine rules’.

Quarantine Rule:-

‘Quarantine’ means the detention or isolation of persons or animals which may have been in contact with the communicable disease until it is deemed certain that they have escaped infection and will not communicate the disease further. The rule as to `quarantine` practice is laid down at the international level.

III] Adulteration of Food or Drink[9] (S. 272 & 273):-

Ss. 272 and 273 lays down two offences and prescribe punishments thereto-

1) S. 272 prescribes punishment for adulteration of food or drink intended for sale so as to make it noxious as food or drink. The punishment prescribed is imprisonment for up to six months, or with a fine up to Rs. 1000/- or with both.

2) S. 273 prescribes punishment for offering for sale or exposing for sale as food or drink of any article which has been rendered or has become noxious or unfit for food or drink. The punishment prescribed for the offence is the same as above in S. 271.

IV] Adulteration of Drugs[10] S. 274 to 276:-

Group of Sections. 274 to S. 276 consist of offences relating to drugs-

1) S. 274 provides punishment for adulteration of drugs and sale of adulterated drugs. The section provides punishment to the person who causes adulteration of the drug so as to lessen its efficacy, change its operation or render it noxious. The punishment provided is imprisonment of up to 6 months or a fine up to Rs. 1000/- or both.

2) S. 275 punishes knowingly selling or causing to be used for medicinal purposes

any adulterated drug, the punishment prescribed is the same as above is S. 274

3) S. 276 prescribes punishment for selling or offering for sale or exposing for sale or issues from the dispensary for medicinal purposes any drug or medical preparation as a different drug or medical preparation. The same punishment as described above.

V] Fouling Water and Making Atmosphere Noxious to Health[11] (S. 277 and 278):-

The group of two sections, i.e., S. 277 and S. 278, prescribe punishment for fouling water

and making an atmosphere noxious to health-

1) S. 277 prescribes punishment for voluntarily corrupting or fouling water of a public

spring or reservoir so as to render it less fit for the purpose for which it is ordinarily used. The punishment prescribed is imprisonment for up to three months and a fine of up to rupees 500/- or both.

2) S. 278 prescribes punishment for voluntarily vitiating the atmosphere so as to make it noxious to public health. Whosoever commits the offence is liable for punishment of a fine up to Rs. 500/-.

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[1] सामाजिक आरोग्य [सामाजिक स्वास्थ्य]

[2] सारखे / समान

[3] सामाजिक उपद्रव

[4] बंदी घातल्यानंतर सुध्दा उपद्रव सुरू ठेवल्यास [अगर प्रतिबंध के बाद भी उपद्रव जारी रहा]

[5] रोगराई पसरवणारी कृती [संक्रमण फैलाने की संभावना वाले कार्य]

[6] निश्काळजी कृतीमुळे जिवनास धोकादायक आजार पसरवणे [लापरवाही से जानलेवा बीमारियां फैलाना]

[7] द्वेष बुद्धीने कृती करून जिवनास धोकादायक आजार पसरवणे[घातक अधिनियम जीवन के लिए खतरनाक बीमारी के संक्रमण को फैलाने की संभावना

[8] साथीच्या रोगावेळी जहाज व त्यावरील प्रवाशी यांना ते रागापासुन मुक्त आहेत असे ठरेपर्यत अलग ठेवतात तो काळ [एक महामारी के दौरान, जहाज और उसके यात्रियों को तब तक क्वारंटाइन किया जाता है जब तक कि वे रोग से मुक्त निर्धारित नहीं हो जाते।]

[9] अन्न व पेय प्रदुपशत करने [खाद्य और पेय प्रदूषण]

[10] औषध भेसळ [औषधी पदार्थ मिलावट]

[11] पाणी खराब करने व वातावरण आरोग्यास हानीकारक बनविने [पानी को दूषित करते हैं और पर्यावरण को स्वास्थ्य के लिए हानिकारक बनाना]