PPC § 71 — Limit of punishment of offence made up of several offences

Statutory text (English)

Where anything which
is an offence is made up of parts, any of which parts is itself an offence, the offender shall not be
punished with the punishment of more than one of such his offences, unless it be so expressly provided.
2[Where anything is an offence falling within two or more separate definitions of any law in
force for the time being by which offences are defined or punished, or
where several acts, of which one or more than one would by itself or themselves constitute an
offence, constitute, when combined, a different offence,
the offender shall not be punished with a more severe punishment than the Court which tries
him could award for anyone of such offences.]
Illustrations
(a) A gives Z fifty strokes with a stick. Here A may have committed the offence of
voluntarily causing hurt to Z by the whole beating, and also by each of the blows which
make up the whole beating. If A were liable to punishment for every blow, he might be
imprisoned for fifty years, one for each blow. But he is liable only to one punishment
for the whole beating.
(b) But if, while A is beating Z, Y interferes, and A intentionally strikes Y, here, as the
blow given to Y is no part of the act whereby A voluntarily causes hurt to Z, A is liable
to one punishment for voluntarily causing hurt to Z, and to another for the blow given
to Y.

Source and verification

Source citation: PPC (Act XLV of 1860) s.71: Pakistan Code portal consolidated official PDF 'THE PAKISTAN PENAL CODE' (Act No. XLV of 1860), p. 42, 43, ingested 2026-09-15. Automated transcription from official source (pypdf extraction, audited artifact repair); human admin re-check required before production.

Verification status: verified · Text status: auto_transcribed_verified_source

The record cites an official source, but its transcription is automated or only partly checked; a human re-check is pending.

Official Urdu text status: pending_official_urdu_text. Where official Urdu wording has not been sourced, Qanoon does not substitute an unverified translation for the statutory text.

Historical text notes

1 historical record is linked to this section. Historical wording may be incomplete or pending verification; it is not presented as current law.

• Date not confirmed: Consolidated current text as published in the official Pakistan Code PDF (p. 42, 43) — reflects all amendments recorded in the official footnotes up to ingest date 2026-09-15. Automated transcription; per-amendment…

Read this provision with care

This is a public reference to a stored statute record, not legal advice or a case-specific interpretation. Check the latest official gazette, applicable amendments and jurisdiction before relying on the text. A citation and verification label describe the record in this app; they cannot confirm that no later change has occurred. For a real legal matter, consult a licensed advocate.

Use the full PPC section index to compare nearby provisions, or return to search.