Section 2

The IPC, drafted under Lord Macaulay and enacted in 1860, aimed to create one uniform criminal law for all of British India, replacing scattered regional and personal-law-based criminal rules. Section 2 establishes the territorial reach of the Code: it applies within India's borders to everyone present there, regardless of citizenship, ensuring equal criminal liability for all persons in Indian territory and confirming that punishment must trace back to this Code's own provisions.

Courts have read Section 2 as establishing the principle of territorial jurisdiction in Indian criminal law: the Code applies to all persons — citizens and foreigners alike — for offences committed within India. Judicial decisions have clarified that liability arises from presence and conduct within Indian territory, not from nationality or domicile, and that 'and not otherwise' means no one can be punished for an act under the IPC unless that specific act is actually defined as an offence by the Code itself.

• Myth: Only Indian citizens can be punished under the IPC.
  Fact: Section 2 applies to 'every person' within India, meaning foreigners committing offences on Indian soil are equally liable under the Code.
• Myth: Courts can punish someone for any 'bad' act even if it's not specifically listed as an offence in the IPC.
  Fact: The phrase 'and not otherwise' means punishment must be based strictly on what the Code itself defines as an offence.