God forbid that it should be imagined that an attorney, or a counsel or even a judge is bound to know all the law. Chief Justice Abbot (1825) Introduction The principle which lies in the maxim “ignorantia juris non-excusat” is deeply rooted in the Criminal Justice System of India. It is rested on the principle of another Roman Maxim “ignorantia corum quae scire tenetur non excusat” (Ignorance of those things which everyone is bound to know excuses not). This  principle has strict application which entertains no exception, not even in the case of a foreigner who cannot reasonably be supposed to know the law of the  other country. Sections 76 and 79 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860 exclude mistake of law as a defence from the scope of the exception.1  The principle of ignorantia juris is for the administrative convenience, even though at the cost of j ....