Theft is defined under Section 378 of The Indian Penal Code as, any person intending to take

any movable property without honesty, out of the possession of any person without that
individual’s consent, moves that property in order to such taking is said to commit theft.
Essential Ingredients (i) There must be a dishonest intention of an Individual to take that
property. (ii) The property being taken away has to be movable. (iii) Such a property must be
taken away from the owner (iv) The property has to be taken away from the possession of an
individual. In other words, there has to be a possession of that property by someone. L02-
LLB-181120 80 (v) Such a property has to be taken away without the consent of such an
individual. · Dishonest Intention It is also called as malafide intention which can be
represented in the form of mens rea. This is the core element of the theft. The petitioner has
to prove that something was taken away by someone with a dishonest intention. However,
intention acts as a mental element in this case which is difficult to prove but evidence
according to the circumstances of the case is considered for this purpose. The main
measurement of dishonest intention is to make a wrongful loss to another person then such an
act is considered to be done with dishonest intention. L02-LLB-181120 81 · Movable
Property The subject of the theft is movable property. Immovable property cannot be stolen.
Movable property is that type of property which is able to move easily and is not stationary or
which is not immovable. On the other hand, the kind of property which cannot be moved and
is attached to the Earth is considered as immovable property, and it is not the subject of theft.
It becomes the subject of theft when it is taken off from the surface of the Earth. · Such a
property must be taken away from the owner: The movable property must be in the
possession of another individual from where it is taken away. There is no theft of wild
animals, birds or fishes while at large but there is a theft of animals which are owned by
someone. L02-LLB-181120 82 · Illustration Ace finds a locket lying on the road which was
in the possession of someone. An ace by taking it commits no theft, though he may commit
criminal misappropriation of property. The property has been taken away without the consent
of the owner The consent can be either expressed or implied and it may be given by either of
the persons involved in possession or by any individual having for some purpose expressed or
implied authority. · Illustration Ace has friendly terms with Zoey, he goes into Zoey’s room
in her absence, and takes away a book without her express consent for the purpose of merely
reading it (with the intention of returning it) L02-LLB-181120 83 Here it is probable that Ace
might have conceived that he had Zoey’s implied consent to use her book. If this was Ace’s
thought then Ace has not committed theft. Pyarelal Bhargava v. State AIR 1963, In this case,
a government employee took a file from the government office and presented it to someone
else, and brought it back to the office after two days of taking it away. It was held in this case
that permanent taking away of a person’s property is not essential, even a temporary
takeaway of the property with dishonest intention is enough to constitute the offence of theft.
· What is the Punishment for theft? The Punishment for the offence of Theft is defined under
Section 379 of the Indian Penal Code which states that anyone who commits theft will be
pun-ished with imprisonment of either for a L02-LLB-181120 84 term which can be
extended to a period of three years either with fine, or with both. · Theft in Dwelling House
Theft in Dwelling houses is defined under Section 380 of the Indian Penal Code, it states that,
Any person who commits the offence of theft in a building or a vessel which is used for the
purpose of Human dwelling or is being used for the custody of the property will be punished
with an imprisonment of a description for a term of seven years (maximum) and it can be less
than that also and he shall also be liable to fine. The word dwelling house means a building or
a vessel which is being used by a person for living or remains there permanently or even
temporarily. Such as A railway waiting room is a building which is used for human dwelling.
Theft of articles from the roof of a house can fall under the section. L02-LLB-181120 85
Extortion Under the Indian penal code, the term extortion has been defined explicitly and
how it is constituted. Section 383 of the indian penal code states that if a person intentionally
puts another person in a position of fear or of threat to cause him injury, or deceitfully
persuade him so that he may deliver the property or any other valuable goods to another
person or any document which has been signed and can be turned in a valuable security.
Punishment regarding extortion is enshrined under section Section 384 of the Indian penal
code. · Essentials of extortion L02-LLB-181120 86 (i) An act which causes imminent threat
and injury to a person. (ii) The act must be done intentionally and deceitfully. (iii) Such a
person tends to cause injury to another person in which he seeks interest. (iv) An
unreasonable force should be shown through which a person seeks to take the property or any
other valuable goods of another person or any document. (v) So it can be concluded if a
person commits an offence which includes the all the following points as mentioned above
then the offence committed is known as extortion. (vi)Intention plays an important role. The
gravity of such dishonest intention upon the facts and circumstances of a L02-LLB-181120
87 case. For example, if A takes any valuable stuff from B at point of a gun, then a is an
offence of extortion · Illustration If A who kidnapped B’s child Z, demands a sum of
10,00,000 Rs. from B. all the efforts made by B in order to know the whereabouts of his child
turned out to be futile. B with all the failed attempts to pay the prescribed amount to A. A has
committed the offense of extortion. Queen v. Nathalirc Mirad, [(1844) 7 WR Cr 28] In the
instant case, the bishop was threatened in order to expose his illegitimate relationship with a
woman. This act was considered an offense of extortion Romesh Chandra Arora v. The State
(AIR 1960 SC 154) L02-LLB-181120 88 In the instant case, a boy and a girl were compelled
by the accused to take off their clothes. While they were naked several photographs were
taken by him. Later these photos were used by the accused in order to extort money from
them. This act was considered to be an offence of extortion. · Punishment regarding the
offense of extortion (section 384 of IPC) Under section 384 of the Indian penal code
punishment or extortion has been prescribed. A person committing such offence shall be
punished with imprisonment of 3 years or with fine or both.