{"id":93203,"date":"2025-06-01T11:43:59","date_gmt":"2025-06-01T11:43:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/exam.pscnotes.com\/mcq\/?p=93203"},"modified":"2025-06-01T11:43:59","modified_gmt":"2025-06-01T11:43:59","slug":"a-the-captain-of-a-steam-vessel-suddenly-and-without-any-fault-or","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/exam.pscnotes.com\/mcq\/a-the-captain-of-a-steam-vessel-suddenly-and-without-any-fault-or\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018A\u2019, the Captain of a steam vessel, suddenly and without any fault or"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u2018A\u2019, the Captain of a steam vessel, suddenly and without any fault or negligence on his part, finds himself in such a position that, before he can stop his vessel, he must inevitably run down a boat \u2018B\u2019, with thirty passengers on board, unless he changes the course of his vessel and faces the risk to run down boat \u2018C\u2019, with two passengers on board. \u2018A\u2019 altered his course to save passengers in boat \u2018B\u2019 without any intention to run down the boat \u2018C\u2019 and in good faith. In the process of altering his course, he runs down boat \u2018C\u2019 with 2 passengers. In this case, \u2018A\u2019 can be held guilty of which one of the offences given below ?<\/p>\n

[amp_mcq option1=”Causing death by rash and negligent act” option2=”Culpable homicide not amounting to murder” option3=”Murder” option4=”Not guilty of any offence” correct=”option4″]<\/p>\n

\n
\n
This question was previously asked in<\/div>\n
UPSC CISF-AC-EXE – 2022<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
Download PDF<\/a>Attempt Online<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\nThe correct answer is Not guilty of any offence.
\n<\/section>\n
\n– The scenario described is an example of the defense of necessity, covered under Section 81 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860.
\n– Section 81 states that nothing is an offence merely by reason of its being done with the knowledge that it is likely to cause harm, if it be done without any criminal intention to cause harm, and in good faith for the purpose of preventing or avoiding other harm to person or property.
\n– In this case, ‘A’, the captain, faced with the imminent harm of running down a boat with thirty passengers, chooses to run down a boat with two passengers to prevent the greater harm. The act is done in good faith and without criminal intent to cause harm to the passengers in boat ‘C’, but to prevent greater harm to passengers in boat ‘B’.
\n<\/section>\n
\n– For Section 81 to apply, two conditions must be met: (1) the act must be done without criminal intention and in good faith, and (2) it must be done for the purpose of preventing or avoiding harm to person or property. The harm avoided must generally be greater than or equal to the harm caused, although the section only requires it to be done “for the purpose of preventing or avoiding other harm”. The illustration under Section 81 in the IPC is very similar to the scenario provided.
\n– Causing death by rash and negligent act (Section 304A IPC) requires rashness or negligence. Here, ‘A’ acted deliberately to avoid a greater catastrophe, not rashly or negligently in the ordinary sense.
\n– Culpable homicide (Section 299\/304 IPC) requires intention or knowledge as defined in Section 299. While ‘A’ had knowledge that running down boat ‘C’ was likely to cause death, the act was done to prevent a greater harm and in good faith, bringing it under the exception provided by Section 81.
\n– Murder (Section 300\/302 IPC) is a higher degree of culpable homicide requiring specific intentions or knowledge as defined in Section 300, and without attracting any exceptions. The good faith and necessity here exempt the act from being culpable homicide, let alone murder.
\n<\/section>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u2018A\u2019, the Captain of a steam vessel, suddenly and without any fault or negligence on his part, finds himself in such a position that, before he can stop his vessel, he must inevitably run down a boat \u2018B\u2019, with thirty passengers on board, unless he changes the course of his vessel and faces the risk … <\/p>\n

Detailed Solution\u2018A\u2019, the Captain of a steam vessel, suddenly and without any fault or<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1089],"tags":[1108,1099,1115],"class_list":["post-93203","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-upsc-cisf-ac-exe","tag-1108","tag-indian-polity-and-governance","tag-miscellaneous","no-featured-image-padding"],"yoast_head":"\n\u2018A\u2019, the Captain of a steam vessel, suddenly and without any fault or<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The correct answer is Not guilty of any offence. - The scenario described is an example of the defense of necessity, covered under Section 81 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860. - Section 81 states that nothing is an offence merely by reason of its being done with the knowledge that it is likely to cause harm, if it be done without any criminal intention to cause harm, and in good faith for the purpose of preventing or avoiding other harm to person or property. - In this case, 'A', the captain, faced with the imminent harm of running down a boat with thirty passengers, chooses to run down a boat with two passengers to prevent the greater harm. The act is done in good faith and without criminal intent to cause harm to the passengers in boat 'C', but to prevent greater harm to passengers in boat 'B'.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/exam.pscnotes.com\/mcq\/a-the-captain-of-a-steam-vessel-suddenly-and-without-any-fault-or\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"\u2018A\u2019, the Captain of a steam vessel, suddenly and without any fault or\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The correct answer is Not guilty of any offence. - The scenario described is an example of the defense of necessity, covered under Section 81 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860. - Section 81 states that nothing is an offence merely by reason of its being done with the knowledge that it is likely to cause harm, if it be done without any criminal intention to cause harm, and in good faith for the purpose of preventing or avoiding other harm to person or property. - In this case, 'A', the captain, faced with the imminent harm of running down a boat with thirty passengers, chooses to run down a boat with two passengers to prevent the greater harm. 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