Section 3

The IPC was drafted for acts committed within India's territory, but other Indian laws (such as those on piracy, offences by citizens abroad, or offences on aircraft/ships) sometimes extend criminal liability to acts committed outside India. Section 3 acts as a bridge: it ensures that when such extraterritorial liability exists under some other law, the IPC's substantive definitions and punishments can still be used, instead of leaving a gap where no code of conduct applies. It reflects the colonial-era drafters' intent to make the IPC a complete, general code applicable wherever Indian jurisdiction extended, even beyond physical borders.

Courts have generally treated Section 3 as a machinery provision rather than an independent source of jurisdiction: it does not by itself create extraterritorial jurisdiction, but operates only when another law (such as Section 4 IPC, the Extradition Act, or special statutes) confers such liability. Judicial decisions have emphasized that Section 3 ensures consistency, so that once jurisdiction is established elsewhere, the substantive IPC provisions apply uniformly, whether the offence occurred in India or abroad.

• Myth: Section 3 by itself gives Indian courts the power to try any crime committed anywhere in the world.
  Fact: Section 3 does not create jurisdiction on its own; it only applies once some other Indian law already makes a person liable to be tried for an act committed outside India.
• Myth: Section 3 applies only to Indian citizens.
  Fact: The section refers to 'any person liable, by any Indian law' — it can extend to non-citizens too, if another law makes them triable in India, such as under specific statutes covering foreign offenders in particular circumstances (simplified).