GUMAN MAL LODHA, J.—The maxim, actus non facit reum nisi mens sit rea, under the Indian Penal Code has ruled criminal law for century in common law. According to Shri M.C. Setalvad, "by specifying the varying guilty intention for each offence the Code has in effect built the maxim into each of the definitions and given it statutory effect. Where the Code omits to indicate a particular guilty intent, the presumption, having regard to the general frame of the definitions, would be that the omission must be intentional" (1). The case-law on this point is, however not uniform as per the study of the Indian Law Institute (2).

2. Their Lordships of the Supreme Court in Ranjit D. Udeshi Vs. State of Maharashtra (3) while considering a case of S. 292, IPC, has discussed the above maxim making a slogan for salary any obscene object as an offence.

3. Paras 10, 11 and 12 of the above decision deserve reproduction for ready reference and guidance:

" In prosecution under S. 292 the prosecution need not prove that the person who sells or keeps for salary and obscene object knows that it is obscene, before he can be adjudged guilty. The first sub-section of Section 292 does not make knowledge of abs

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