“Law Master’s Publication”
“Stages In Commission Of Crime” Prof. Santosh D. Bhosale
26
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STAGES IN THE COMMISSION OF CRIME
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
1. Attempt
2. Preparation
3. Preparation and attempt stages in the commission of crime
4. Attempt to commit an offence
SYNOPSIS
I]
II]
A)
B)
C)
Introduction
Stages in the commission of crime
Contemplation or Intention
Preparation
Attempt
1)
Ingredients of attempt
a)
b)
Intention
Act
“Law Master’s Publication”
“Stages In Commission Of Crime” Prof. Santosh D. Bhosale
27
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)
b)
c)
d)
Proximity test
Impossibility test
Social danger test
Equivocality test
4)
Distinction between ‘preparation’ and ‘attempt’
a)
b)
Definition
Punishable/non-punishable
D) Actual Commission
I]
INTRODUCTION:-
An offence is committed either after premeditation. (i.e. plan) or at the spur
of the moment (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.
Contemplation or Intention:-
A)
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:-
“Law Master’s Publication”
“Stages In Commission Of Crime” Prof. Santosh D. Bhosale
28
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:-
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)
a)
b)
Ingredients of an Attempt:-
The following are essential ingredients of an offence of an attempt-
Intention:-
There must be intention or Mens Rea to commit the crime.
Act:-
He must have done some act, which constitutes an actus reus of a criminal
attempt.
c)
2)
a)
Failure:-
He must have failed to bring the intended result. i.e. actual crime.
Offence of attempt under IPC:-
An offence of attempt has been dealt with in three different ways in I.P.C.
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:-
“Law Master’s Publication”
“Stages In Commission Of Crime” Prof. Santosh D. Bhosale
29
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.).
Attempt to commit Culpable Homicide (Sec 308)
Attempt to commit suicide (S. 309).
ii)
iii)
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:-
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:-
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:-
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.
“Law Master’s Publication”
“Stages In Commission Of Crime” Prof. Santosh D. Bhosale
30
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:-
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:-
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)
a)
Distinction between Preparation and Attempt:-
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.
Actual Commission:-
D)
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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