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STAGES IN THE COMMISSION OF CRIME[1]

Table of Contents

QUESTION BANK

Q.1. Explain the different stages in the commission of crime. Which of these stages are punishable?

Q.2. Explain the provision relating to “attempt to commit an offence”.

Q.3 What is difference between an intention to commit an offence and the attempt?

Q.4 What are the stages of crime? Explain in detail attempt.

SHORT NOTES

Attempt
Preparation
Preparation and attempt stages in the commission of crime
Attempt to commit an offence

SYNOPSIS

I] Introduction

II] Stages in the commission of crime

A) Contemplation or Intention
B) Preparation
C) Attempt

1) Ingredients of attempt

a) Intention
b) Act
c) Failure

2) Offence of attempt under I.P.C.

a) Same section, same punishment
b) Different sections, different punishment
c) General provisions.

3) Tests of Separation between ‘preparation’ and ‘attempt’

a) Proximity test
b) Impossibility test
c) Social danger test
d) Equivocality test

4) Distinction between ‘preparation’ and ‘attempt’

a) Definition
b) Punishable/non-punishable
D) Actual Commission

I] INTRODUCTION:-

An offence is committed either after premeditation.[2] (i.e. plan) or at the spur of the moment[3] (suddenly without a plan). In connection with the former (i.e., when the offence is committed after premeditation), it is necessary to consider the different stages of the actual commission of the offence.

II] STAGES IN COMMISSION OF CRIME:-

The following four stages are involved in the commission of an actual crime.

A) Contemplation or Intention[4]:-

Mere intention to commit a crime is not punishable. According to the observation of Lord Mansfield, “So long as an act rests bare an intention, it is not punishable”. The reason is obvious, and it is impossible to prove the mental state of a man. The court can not punish a man for that which it can not know; Brain C.J. observed that “the thought of a man is not traceable for the devil himself knoweth not the thought of a man” (i.e. thought of man is not traceable to the devil and hence not to man).

But the person can be held responsible when such intention is expressed in words and inferred from his acts. I.P.C provides punishment to a person for criminal intimidation, which is a mere expression of one’s intention to inflict punishment, loss or pain on another, e.g. A for the purpose of inducing B to desist from prosecuting a civil suit against A, threatens to burn B’s house. A is guilty of criminal intimidation.

B) Preparation[5]:-

Preparation consists of devising or arranging means or measures necessary for the commission of a crime. Generally, preparation to commit an offence is not punishable because proving preparation for the commission of a particular crime is difficult for the prosecution. Another reason may be that the person prepared for a crime may repent and give up the idea of committing a crime.

Taking into consideration the gravity of the following offences, preparation to commit them is made punishable viz-

i) Preparation to wage war against the Government of India (S.122).
ii) Preparation to commit depredation on the territories of the friendly

country (S.126).

iii) Making, selling or being in possession of instruments for counterfeiting

of coins or stamps (S. 233 to 235, and S. 256 to S. 257).

iv) Preparation to commit Dacoity (S. 399).

C) Attempt[6]:-

An attempt is a direct movement towards committing the offence after preparation is over.

Stephen observed, “An attempt to commit a crime is an act done with intent to commit that crime and forming part of a series of acts which would constitute its actual commission if it were not interrupted.”

1) Ingredients of an Attempt:-

The following are essential ingredients of an offence of an attempt-

a) Intention:-

There must be intention or Mens Rea to commit the crime.

b) Act:-

He must have done some act, which constitutes an actus reus of a criminal

attempt[7].

c) Failure:-

He must have failed to bring the intended result. i.e. actual crime.

2) Offence of attempt under IPC:-

An offence of attempt has been dealt with in three different ways in I.P.C.

a) Same Section, Same Punishment

In some cases, the commission of an offence and the attempt to commit it are dealt with in the same section, and the extent of punishment prescribed is also the same for both. Such twenty-seven sections are in the Code, e.g., Ss. 121, 124, 124 A, 125, 130 etc.

b) Different sections, different punishments:-

Sometimes, attempts are treated as separate offences and mentioned in different sections. The punishment for that offence and an attempt differs in such circumstances. The following four offences are there in the I. P. C. viz-

i) Attempt to commit murder (Sec 307.).
ii) Attempt to commit Culpable Homicide[8] (Sec 308)

iii) Attempt to commit suicide (S. 309).

iv) Attempt to commit Robbery (S. 393).

c) General Provision:-

Thirdly, the offences of attempt which are not covered by the above two classes are governed by the general provisions contained in S.511. This is the residuary section providing punishment for those attempts of offences not mentioned in earlier sections.

3) Tests of Separation between preparation and an attempt[9]:-

The line of difference between preparation and attempt is very thin. Therefore, it becomes very difficult to distinguish between when preparation is over and when an attempt is started. To solve this problem, the courts, namely have evolved the following tests-

a) Proximity Test[10]:-

To constitute an offence of attempt, the act must be sufficiently proximate to the intended crime. It must not be remotely leading toward the commission of an offence. For example, A intends to murder Z, buys a gun and loads it intending to kill Z. A is not yet guilty of an attempt to murder. A fires at Z but misses him for want of skill or due to a defect in the gun itself; A has committed an attempt to murder.

In R. V/s Nidha

Facts: – The accused Nidha, along with another person, fired at a chowkidar (policemen) who had attempted to arrest them. Nidha had pulled the trigger of the gun, and the cap exploded, but the bullet did not go off. Nidha was arrested and tried for the attempt to murder.

Held: The court held that there was sufficient proximity between the offence intended and the attempt. He was convicted of an attempt to murder under S 307.

b) Impossibility Test[11]:-

An act which is impossible to commit cannot be attempted and, therefore, is not punishable. Accordingly, to shoot at the shadow, to administer sugar, mistaking it for poison, and to kill a man by witchcraft are not attempts in law. The impossibility, however, must be absolute and not relative, e.g., inadequate poison administered to the victim is an offence of attempt to kill, even though it was proved that the poison was not sufficient to kill the victim.

c) Social Danger Test[12]:-

Many a time, the seriousness of the crime attempted, and the apprehension of the social danger involved are considered while separating attempt from preparation. E.g. A tries to put a bomb in a crowded place while the police apprehend him. A would be held guilty of attempting to make a blast since the very act of putting a bomb is very dangerous to society, and it causes immediate alarm in society.

d) Equivocality Test[13]:-

To constitute an attempt, the act must clearly and unequivocally indicate the intention to commit the offence. In other words, an act must point towards the perfect intention of an accused to commit the crime and not to repentance. In the above case of Nidha, the fact of the accused’s firing a gun unequivocally points toward his intention of killing the Chowkidar.

4) Distinction between Preparation and Attempt:-

a) Definitions:-

The preparation consists of devising and arranging the means or measures necessary to commission the offence.

An attempt is a direct movement towards committing the offence after preparation.

b) Punishable / Non-Punishable:-

Preparation is not generally punishable, whereas an attempt is punishable.

D) Actual Commission[14]:-

The last stage in the commission of a crime is the actual commission of a crime. In other words, completing the intended consequences, e.g. committing actual murder, dacoity, etc., is punishable in all cases.

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[1] गुन्हयातील टप्पे [अपराध के चरण]

[2] विचारपुर्वक किंवा पूर्व नियोजित [पहले से सोचा या सोचा हुआ]

[3] कोणत्याही पुर्वविचारा षिवाय, अचानक घडलेले कृत्य/अपराध. [बिना किसी पूर्वचिंतन के अचानक किया गया कृत्य/अपराध।]

[4] गुन्हयाचा विचार / उद्देश [अपराध का इरादा / उद्देश्य]

[5] तयारी.

[6] प्रयत्न/प्रत्यक्ष कृत्य करण्यासाठी प्रयत्न करणे [प्रयास-अपराध करणे के लिये प्रयास ]

[7] In, Sachin Jana V/s State of W.B. (2008 All MR 1177 (SC)

Facts :- Accused persons assaulted with blows, kicks, iron- rods and poured acid on face and body of victims. Pouring of acid resulted in disfigurement of victims. Doctor opined that each of injured suffered more than 50% burns injuries and the same was sufficient to cause death if not attended by timely medical aid.

Held:- Accused persons are guilty of attempting to commit murder. Punishable under S.307 of I. P. C.

[8] सदोश मनुश्यवध

[9] तयारी व प्रयत्न यामधील फरक करणा-या चाचण्या/पध्दती [परीक्षण/तरीके जो तैयारी और प्रयास के बीच अंतर करते हैं]

[10] जवळीक/जवळचा/ निकटता कसोटी [निकटता-परीक्षण]

[11] अष्यक्य घटना

[12] सामाजीक धेाका- कसोटी [सामाजिक धोका- परीक्षण]

[13] केाणत्याही दुमता शिवाय/ संधीग्धता कसोटी [बिना किसी संदेह/अवसर की परीक्षा के]

[14] प्रत्यक्ष गुन्हा.[ वास्तविक अपराध।]