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Abetment
Introduction:
Abetment is an act of encouraging, inciting or aiding other person to perform something
which is against the spirit of the law. Abetment is a separate and distinct offence provided
the thing abetted is an offence. Abetment does not itself involve the actual commission of
crime, it is a crime apart. Abetment is instigation to a person to do an act in certain way or
aid some other person in doing an act which is an offence.
If a person who commits an act which is criminal act in its nature as a result of abetment, if
instigation, conspiracy or intentional aid will be proved behind the act committed, then it
will be called abetment otherwise there is no abetment. That’s why mere the presence at
the time of occurrence of an offence will not be sufficient to make out a case of abetment.
Abetment is a provocation to person for commission of criminal act or a person who is being
helped for commission of an offence, such provocation will be called abetment, and the
person who is helping the criminal will be called abettor.
Meaning of Abetment:
• Abetment is a legal tem which means, to encourage or to provide help usually in
wrongdoing.
• Abetment is an urging to a person, to do an act in a certain way or help out someone in
commission of an act which in an offence.
Definition of Abetment:
“Abetment is a preparatory act and connotes active complicity on the part of the abettor at
a point of time prior to the actual commission of the offence”.
2) Conspiracy: To engage with one or more other person or persons in any conspiracy for
the doing of the thing; if an act or illegal omission takes place in pursuance of that
conspiracy, and in order to doing of that thing; or
3) Aiding: Intentionally aids by any act or illegal omission, the doing of that thing. A person
willfully misrepresented something or did not disclose some facts to which he was bound to
disclose. He by his consent conceals the facts and as result he helps the commission of
crime.
• Explanation:
Whenever a person encourages or helps another person to commit a crime, he is said to be
doing abetment. There are four stages of committing a crime.
(1) Mental stage.
(2) Preparation.
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(3) Execution.
(4) Concealment.
1) Definition of Abettor:
Section 108 of PPC deals with the abettor;
“Abettor is a person who, urges to other person to commit a crime is called abettor”.
2) Modes of Abetment:
Following are the modes of abetment under the Pakistan Penal Code which are as under;
(a) Instigation (Section 108):
The word “instigate” means to goad, to urge forward or to provoke. If a person abetting to
another person by instigating for commission of an illegal act or omission which is an
offence, it is called abetment by instigation and abettor also will be liable for this offence.
In instigation a person actively suggests and stimulates another person by any means to
commit that offence or stop him from doing his duty. So in this type of abetment, instigation
can be directly or indirectly, words, advices or gesture which is being used for instigation. An
advice can also become instigation if it actively encourages other to commit any offence.
Advice per se cannot be necessarily instigation. Instigation implies on the knowledge of
criminality of an act.
A person accused of instigation stimulates for beating of tenant for his maltreating. His
advice results in commission of the offence and therefore, his conviction under Section 330
and this section was proper. (A I R 1927 All. 730)
• Misrepresentation:
Misrepresentation means positive assertion or breach of any duty without intent to deceive
or gain advantage and innocently make a mistake as to substance of the thing. It was held
that if common intention is not borne out by facts, accused may be taken to be aiding one
another in crime. (P L D 1955 Lah. 575)
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2. Relevant Provisions:
Following are the relevant provisions of PPC;
i) Section 120-A.
ii) Section 120-B.
B) Ingredients:
Following are the essential ingredients of offence of criminal conspiracy.
i) Two or more persons: According to Section 120-A, at least two persons are required to
constitute the conspiracy. One person cannot be held guilty of conspiracy as he cannot
conspire with himself. Criminal conspiracy as envisaged in section 120-A, PPC must be
product of two consenting minds uninfluenced by any consideration of threat, intimidation,
coercion or undue influence. (P L D 1979 S.C. 53)
ii) Agreement between such persons: Agreement is not mere intention, but
announcement and acceptance of intentions. To Constitute a criminal conspiracy, there
must be an agreement of two or more persons to do an act which is illegal or which is to be
done by illegal means.
iii) To do illegal act: The word illegal is defined u/sec 43 PPC as;
“Everything which is an offence or which is prohibited by law or which furnishes ground for
a civil action”.
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iv) Legal act by illegal means: When two or more persons agree to do an act, which is
not illegal itself, may be guilty of criminal conspiracy u/sec 120-A when they agree to do or
cause to be done that act by ilegal means.
• Example:
A, B and C agree to sell clothes without paying custom duty on it. They are guilty u/sec 120-
A.
2) Form:
Abetment is a total complete offence. Conspiracy is one of the forms of abetment.
3) Punishment:
Section 109 of PPC is concerned only with the punishment of abetments for which no
express provision is made under the penal code. A charge u/sec 190, should therefore be
along with some other substantive offence committed in consequence of abetment. The
offence of criminal conspiracy is an independent offence. It is made punishable u/sec 120-B.
4) Scope:
Abetment by conspiracy is narrow in scope. Criminal conspiracy is wider in scope.
Conclusion:
To conclude, we can say that the offence of criminal conspiracy is a substantive offence and
is punishable as such. It has nothing to do with abetment although it is one of the ways by
which offence of abetment may be committed. It is wider in scope and covers acts which do
not amount to abetment by conspiracy within the meaning of section 107.
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