Good faith
Also called: Bona fide
Under Section 2(11) of the BNS, nothing is done or believed in good faith if it is done or believed without due care and attention. Civil laws accept honesty alone.
Explained
Section 2(11) of the BNS states that nothing is said to be done or believed in good faith which is done or believed without due care and attention. The rule is the same as Section 52 of the IPC, which applied earlier. The definition is negative: it does not say what good faith is, but it denies the protection to anyone who acted carelessly, however honest he was.
This criminal standard is stricter than the general one. Section 3(22) of the General Clauses Act, 1897 deems a thing to be done in good faith where it is in fact done honestly, whether it is done negligently or not. That meaning applies to later Central Acts which do not define the term, such as the Specific Relief Act, 1963. Under Section 19(b) of the Specific Relief Act, for instance, a later transferee escapes a decree for specific performance only if he paid for value in good faith and without notice of the earlier contract. Honesty is enough in civil law; the BNS requires both honesty and due care.
Good faith is an element of many general exceptions in the BNS: acts done by mistake of fact by a person believing himself bound or justified by law (Sections 14 and 17), acts of a Judge (Section 15), and acts done in good faith for the benefit of a person, with or without consent (Sections 26, 27 and 30). It also appears in specific offences, such as the second exception to defamation in Section 356.
Examiners frequently set statements that contrast the BNS and General Clauses Act meanings, so remember which is stricter. Whether due care and attention was used is a question of fact, judged by the position and means of the accused. Under Section 108 of the BSA the accused must prove the circumstances that bring his case within a general exception, and the court presumes their absence.
What the law says
(11) “good faith”.—Nothing is said to be done or believed in “good faith” which is done or believed without due care and attention;
Clause (11) states when a thing is not done or believed in good faith
Earlier law: IPC 33. “Act”. “Omission”; 47. “Animal”.; New Sub-Section; 28. “Counterfeit”.; 20. “Court of Justice”.; 46. “Death”.; 24. “Dishonestly”.; 29. “Document”.; 25. “Fraudulently”; 8. Gender.; 52. “Good faith”; 17. “Government”.; 52A. “Harbour“.; 44. “Injury”.; 43. “Illegal”. “Legally bound to do”.; 19. “Judge”.; 45. “Life”.; 42. “Local law”.; 10. “Man”. “Woman”.; 49. “Year”. “Month”.; 22. “Movable property”; 9. Number.; 51. “Oath”.; 40. “Offence”.; 33. “Act”. “Omission”; 11. “Person”.; 12. “Public”.; 21. “Public servant”.; 26. “Reason to believe”
Section 3, General Clauses Act
(22) a thing shall be deemed to be done in “good faith” where it is in fact done honestly, whether it is done negligently or not;
Clause (22): honest act is in good faith even if negligent
Nothing is an offence which is done by a person who is, or who by reason of a mistake of fact and not by reason of a mistake of law in good faith believes himself to be, bound by law to do it.
Illustrations.
(a) A, a soldier, fires on a mob by the order of his superior officer, in conformity with the commands of the law. A has committed no offence.
Mistake of fact in good faith: act of person believing himself bound by law
Earlier law: IPC 76. Act done by a person bound, or by mistake of fact believing himself bound, by law.
Nothing is an offence which is done by any person who is justified by law, or who by reason of a mistake of fact and not by reason of a mistake of law in good faith, believes himself to be justified by law, in doing it.
Illustration.
A sees Z commit what appears to A to be a murder. A, in the exercise, to the best of his judgment exerted in good faith, of the power which the law gives to all persons of apprehending murderers in the fact, seizes Z, in order to bring Z before the proper authorities. A has committed no offence, though it may turn out that Z was acting in self-defence.
Mistake of fact in good faith: act of person believing himself justified
Earlier law: IPC 79. Act done by a person justified, or by mistake of fact believing himself, justified, by law.
When a person is accused of any offence, the burden of proving the existence of circumstances bringing the case within any of the General Exceptions in the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 or within any special exception or proviso contained in any other part of the said Sanhita, or in any law defining the offence, is upon him, and the Court shall presume the absence of such circumstances.
Illustrations.
(a) A, accused of murder, alleges that, by reason of unsoundness of mind, he did not know the nature of the act. The burden of proof is on A.
Accused must prove circumstances bringing the case within an exception
Earlier law: IEA 105. Burden of proving that case of accused comes within exceptions.
Earlier law: Section 52, IPC
Example
Illustration (b) to Section 14 of the BNS: an officer of a Court, ordered to arrest Y, arrests Z after due enquiry, believing Z to be Y. He has committed no offence.
For the exam
- BNS Section 2(11), earlier IPC Section 52: no good faith without due care and attention.
- General Clauses Act Section 3(22): done honestly, whether negligently or not.
- Criminal law needs honesty plus due care; civil statutes generally need only honesty.
- Good faith is a condition of the exceptions in BNS Sections 14, 15, 17, 26, 27 and 30.
- Burden of proving a general exception lies on the accused: Section 108 BSA.
1,043 questions in the Law Maker question bank use this term. Practise Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita questions
Judgments
Related terms
- Bona fideIn good faith; genuine and honest, without fraud or deceit. Its opposite is mala fide. Statutes give good faith their own definitions.
- Ignorantia facti excusatA person who acts under an honest mistake about facts, in good faith, may be excused, unlike a person who is ignorant of the law.
- DishonestlyDoing anything with the intention of causing wrongful gain to one person or wrongful loss to another person (Section 2(7) of the BNS).
- FraudulentlyDoing anything with the intention to defraud, but not otherwise (Section 2(9) of the BNS). The intention involves deceit and an intended injury to the person deceived.
- Mens reaThe mental element of a crime, such as intention, knowledge, dishonesty or rashness, which together with the physical act (actus reus) ordinarily constitutes an offence.
Further reading
Checked 6 November 2026. Statutory text is quoted from the Bare Acts library, taken from India Code. See the full glossary.