Criminal law is a system of rules dealing with prosecuting persons who commit offences, distinct from civil law. But the drafted law or bare act is not in simple language as we expect. So, we need a reliable source for reading.

PSA Pillai’s Criminal Law was launched for solving our issues and understanding the Indian Penal Code easily. You will get every critical impression on the life of societal individuals. The book deals with all the aspects of the law in depth. However, many revised versions with the latest amendments are readily available for the readers.

Opinion About The Book

Multiple revised editions of the book are available in the market. However, its latest edition, written in a plain and concise style and endorsed by rich experts, both judicial and educational, will maintain its decades-old appeal to all those involved in the field of criminal law. This book is an essential companion for professionals, scholars, and judges of the trial court, particularly those at the beginning of their careers.

As the author briefly states in the "Preface," the book under study deals with all facets of the Code in great detail, including a textual and in-depth examination of criminal law.

Introduction of the well-known Publication

PSA Pillai’s Criminal Law is one of the most archetypal texts of the Indian Penal Code, 1860, ever since its first edition was released in 1956. These entitlements a radically different framework for studying criminal law, concentrating on new problems and legal trends, with a segment-wise content flow.

This thesis, a leading treatise on the topic for more than five decades, is a thematic analysis of criminal law's challenging and multi-dimensional subject in a concise, detailed, and systemic way. The book further discusses all the applicable provisions of the Code of Criminal Practice, 1973, and the Indian Evidence Act, 1872, explicitly dealing with the specific crimes contained in the Indian Penal Code.

Key Features of the Publication                                                    

It is a critical commentary that addresses both emerging issues and policy changes. The reviewer emphasizes the changes made after the last publication of the law related to criminal law. The strong connection between provisions found in the Indian Penal Code, 

The Indian Evidence Act and The Criminal Practice Code can be traced. The book also provides and addresses the Criminal Code Amendment for 2013 and 2018 in-depth. The author also critically evaluates the Indian Courts' judgments that have contributed to the legal position's reform and growth.

Brief Synopsis of the Book

The book was divided into various chapters, and the series of parts was more or less adopted as per the Indian Penal Code system. In this endeavour, the author distinguishes civil and criminal prosecutions and refers explicitly to India's criminal laws' background history. In dealing with the Code's complexities, this historical context becomes important and allows readers to understand the Code even better. The initial chapters also set out the thematic structure that would be very useful to criminal law students.

The author has included the part of each section of the Code and the judicial treatment of the segment in the chapters following the introductory four chapters. To deal with each component of the Code, the author has extensively addressed catena events. It is an exceptional combination of legislative concepts, theoretical context, and applicability in factual conditions contributing to the court's judgment.

The criminal scenarios are very complicated. It is almost difficult to provide straight cut explanations and remedies regardless of how descriptive the terminology is but interaction with case law is an exciting experience. The author seems to have been able to do this experiment with such momentum because of his deep expertise and years of intense study and critical involvement with criminal law, making PSA Pillai’s Criminal Law a classic scathing satire on criminal law.

From pre-independence rulings to judgments issued in 2017 from both the supreme court and the High Court, selecting cases appears to be impressive. However, each clause is extensively discussed. His study and the judicial discussion are combined seamlessly, accompanied by very comprehensive case law in the footnotes.

This process emphasizes that comprehension is not impeded, and the reader can return to the case whenever needed. Issues from other jurisdictions have also been addressed where applicable. This book shines out among numerous publications on the topic with such a rich critical interaction with case law.

Another significant characteristic of the book is 'reform proposals' at the end of the chapter. Meticulous care is given in the Sexual Offences sections, taking into account the 2013 changes. The book offers comprehensive scrutiny of the 2013 amendments. PSA Pillai’s Criminal Law familiarises its readers with the provisions and teaches its readers in a very articulate way to understand the complexities of the regulations with a method of case law. And not only the concept but the functional implementation of the Code is often brought under inspection by this approach.

Let's sum up – Final Words.

PSA Pillai’s Criminal Law contains chapters on the crime's essence, India's criminal procedure, the error of fact, judicial acts, assault, treason, homicide, sexual offences, robbery and extortion, and coercion. Moreover, the book consists of many case studies and illustrations that help to understand the principles further. 

The book is a must-read for those interested in criminal justice, especially for masters and PhD academics, instructors, attorneys, and most particularly, judicial officers.

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