Abetment is a criminal offense that involves assisting or encouraging someone to commit a crime. The definition provides three ways in which a person can be said to have abetted a crime these are as follows:
- Instigation: The first way in which a person can abet a crime is by instigating someone to do it. Instigation means urging someone to commit a crime. The person who instigates the crime needs not to be physically present when the crime is committed, but their actions must have led to the commission of the crime.
- Conspiracy: The second way in which a person can abet a crime is by engaging in a conspiracy to commit the crime. A conspiracy is an agreement between two or more people to commit a crime. If an act or illegal omission takes place in pursuance of that conspiracy, all the members of the conspiracy can be held liable for abetment.
- Intentional aid: The third way in which a person can abet a crime is by intentionally aiding the commission of the crime. This can be done by any act or illegal omission that assists in the commission of the crime. The aid provided must be intentional that means that the person had reason to believe that their actions would help in the commission of the crime.
Case laws:
Malan vs. State of Maharashtra:
The ingredients of the offence of abetment were laid down as follows, which are essential for completing abetment as a crime:
- The person instigates someone else to do a particular thing.
- The person participates in any conspiracy to do such thing with one or more individuals.
- The individual intentionally facilitates the doing of such activity through an illegal act or omission.
Emperor vs. Parimal Chatterjee:
It was decided that an abettor is a person who aids in the commission of a crime or aids in the commission of an act that would be an offence if undertaken by a person capable of committing an offence with the same intent or knowledge as the abettor. The essentials for the same are as follows:
- There must be an abettor.
- The abettor must abet.
- The abetment must be an offence or an act that would be an offence, if committed by a person capable in law of committing the offence with the same intention or knowledge as that of the abettor.
MENS REA IS THE MAIN ELEMENT OF ABETMENT Abetment refers to the active and intentional support of a person in committing a crime and requires both the intention and conduct of the person who abets. Therefore, Mens Rea, is crucial to consider when examining the law on abetment. Instigating, conspiring, or intentionally aiding someone all involve knowingly assisting or encouraging any other person committing a crime. Case law: Shrilal vs. State of Madhya Pradesh It is not only essential to prove that he/she participated in the innocent parts of the transaction, but it is also necessary to connect them with the criminal steps of the transaction in some way. Similarly, it cannot be stated that a person who offers his support willfully aids or facilitates the commission of a crime and that he is an abettor if he does not know or has no cause to believe that the act he is assisting or supporting is in itself a criminal act. Barendra Kumar vs. King Emperor The Privy Council declared that a person’s presence at the scene of an incident amounts to abetment if it facilitates the commission of the crime. It is insufficient to show that the offence charged could not have been committed without the abettors guidance.
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