ASM 2 Lecture Summary

ARUSHI SHARMA, 2021-22(LL.M)

PRN: 21010241002

A crime is a moral violation against society. It disturbs the calm, and certain crimes provoke widespread
terror and interruption of routine communal activities (example: the Orlando shooting). The State bears
the burden of proving a crime. The State protects the victims, deters the criminal from committing future
crimes, and compensates the victims. Aside from punishment, most countries provide reformation
programmes in prison to help offenders become law-abiding, responsible citizens. Since no animal can
commit a crime, it must be done by a human. However, crimes against animals are legal and punishable.
The ideas of mens rea and Actus Reus are employed in most common law countries. Mens rea is the ‘guilty
mind' or guilty desire to conduct a crime, causing harm to another person or animal, or disturbing the
peace. However, Actus Reus is the “guilty act” required to prove a criminal act. In all criminal cases, the
accused is granted the benefit of the doubt. The prosecution must establish guilt beyond a reasonable
doubt. The purpose of the defence is to give the judge or jury a reasonable doubt since a person cannot
be convicted unless the charge against them is established beyond a reasonable doubt. There must be an
Actus Reus, and there must be a Mens rea to commit the crime, with some exceptions. In some
circumstances, an illegal act may be undertaken but the accused is excused. [Example: a person who drives
in the wrong direction in a one way lane (no sign boards) and causes an accident is not criminally
accountable and may or may not be civilly liable.] Ignorantia facti excusat is the legal principle applied.
But legal errors are not excused. A person who sells an illegal substance without knowing that it is
prohibited is nonetheless guilty of the crime. The legal principle is Ignorantia juris non excusat, which
means ignorance of law is not an excuse. Some crimes, including criminal negligence, may not necessitate
malice towards a specific person. A person who leaves dangerous things, such as a firearm, may be
charged with criminal negligence if a crime is committed. The owner of the firearm may be guilty of
criminal negligence for neglecting to securely secure the weapon. Criminal negligence carries a prison
sentence. Some cases have Strict liability clauses that ignore mens rea such as in case doli incapax.
Examples include statutory rape and the sale of alcohol or tobacco to minors. No matter if the accused
thought his conduct were legal, he will be found guilty. Actus Reus alone is sufficient to demonstrate guilt
and convict in such circumstances.

Therefore, the four essential elements of a crime are:- (1) the crime must be committed by a person, (2)
there must be hurt or injury caused to another, (3) there must exist an Actus Reus, (4) there must be a
Mens rea to commit the crime, with certain exceptions.

1. Intention- Intention is the initial mental stage in the commission of an offence. Intention is the direction
of conduct towards the object determined based on the motives. But the law does not recognise an
intention to conduct an offence that is not followed by an act. The obvious rationale for not prosecuting
the accused at this stage is that proving guilt is difficult.

2. Preparation is the second stage in committing a crime. It implies to set up the necessary conditions for
the desired unlawful act. Intention alone, or intention plus preparation, does not constitute a crime.
Preparation is not punished since the prosecution has failed to prove that the preparations were made
for the commission of the crime. If A buys a pistol and keeps it loaded in his pocket to kill his nemesis B,
but does nothing else. A hasn't done anything wrong because he's still preparing, and the prosecution
can't establish A was carrying the loaded pistol just to kill B. Preparation to commit an offence is generally
not punished, but in some unique circumstances it is. War preparation against the state - Section 122, IPC
1860; (Section 126 of the IPC 1860) Preparation to depredate lands of a power at peace with India, Dacoity
preparation- Section 399, IPC 1860; Sections 233-235, 255, and 257; Having fake money, weights, or
measurements, or fraudulent paperwork. Sections 242, 243, 259, 266 and 474.

3. Attempt- Attempt is the action taken following preparation to commit a crime. According to English
law, a person can be charged with attempting to commit a crime even if the facts make it impossible to
perform the crime. An attempt must have three elements : Conviction of an offence; An act leading to the
commission of the crime; The act must be incomplete. Attempt Under IPC 1860- The Indian Penal Code
deals with attempt in four ways: Both completed and attempted offences are dealt with in the same
section and punished similarly. Sections 121, 124, 124-A, 125, 130, 131, 152, 153-A, 161, 162, 163, 165,
196, 198, 200, 213, 240, 241, 251, 385, 387, 389, 391, 394, 395, 397, 459, and 460 include similar
provisions. Secondly, efforts to commit infractions and specific offences have been dealt with separately,
with separate consequences. Culpable homicide is punished under section 304 and attempt to commit
Culpable Homicide is punished under section 308; Robbery is penalised under section 392 and attempt to
commit Robbery is punished under section 393. Attempting suicide is also punishable under section 309.
All other circumstances [where no explicit attempt is made] are covered by section 511, which specifies
that the accused will be punished with one-half the maximum period of imprisonment or fine, or both.

4. Accomplishment or Completion- The final stage in the commission of an offence. Succeeding in his
endeavour to conduct the crime, the accused is guilty of the entire offence, while failing to do so is merely
guilty of an attempt. For example, if A shoots B with the aim to kill him, A is guilty of murder, yet if B is
simply hurt, A is guilty of attempted murder.