Section 16

The original Section 16 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860, defined the phrase 'Government of India' as it applied during British colonial rule, when India was governed by the Governor-General in Council on behalf of the British Crown. After India became independent in 1947 and adopted its Constitution in 1950, many such colonial-era definitions became outdated because the structure of government had changed completely. To update the law, Parliament and the President (through Adaptation of Laws Orders) repealed or reworded provisions like this one that referred to pre-independence administrative structures. Section 16 was one such provision removed as part of that clean-up.

• Myth: Section 16 still legally defines 'Government of India' today.
  Fact: It was repealed after independence; the term is now understood through the Constitution of India and other current laws, not this old section.