Offence requiring a particular intent or knowledge committed by one who is intoxicated
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Summary
When an act is an offence only if done with a particular knowledge or intent, being intoxicated does not excuse the person. A person who does the act while intoxicated is treated as if they had the same knowledge or intent they would have when sober. Exception: where the intoxication was caused without their knowledge or against their will.
Example
Priya drinks voluntarily at a party and later takes cash from a neighbour's unlocked cupboard. Theft needs a dishonest intent, so she cannot avoid liability by saying she was drunk; the law treats her as having the same intent she would have when sober. If someone had slipped something into her drink without her knowledge, she might have a defence.
Bare Act
Enacted textIn cases where an act done is not an offence unless done with a particular knowledge or intent, a person who does the act in a state of intoxication shall be liable to be dealt with as if he had the same knowledge as he would have had if he had not been intoxicated, unless the thing which intoxicated him was administered to him without his knowledge or against his will.
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