ABSTRACT
The Indian Penal Code is one of the most unique penal law codes entailing several crime, their scope, nature, and punishments. It is best-taken care of in the hands of the judiciary, law practitioners, students, and varied law learners. The Indian Penal Code indirectly owes its origin to jeremy bentham, who is a well-known jurist on the subject of law reforms.
The Indian Penal Code was drafted by Macaulay. The Code was primarily aimed at bringing to an end the multiplicity of criminal law jurisdictions that prevailed in India at that time and introducing a uniform law of crimes.
The most striking feature of the IPC [1] is that it continues to survive as the substantive law of the land for more than one and a half centuries despite the tremendous changes the Indian society has undergone over the years, leading toward a progressive social order. The criminal law as enshrined in the Penal Code seeks to safeguard the socio-moral principles of society and protect society’s historical roots based on values on values while leading it towards development and modernization.
INTRODUCTION
research of the law of crimes has always been one of the most attractive branches of jurisprudence since the early year of human civilization. The law of crime has been as old as civilization itself.
In every organized society, certain acts are forbidden on the pain of punishment. Where one person injured another and the injury could adequately be compensated by money value, the wrong-doer was required to pay damages or compensation to the wrong individual.
More than any other branch of law, criminal law is the mirror of public opinion. As we already know law reflects the public opinion of the time. More than any other branch of law, criminal law is the mirror of public opinion. To know the nature and the content of crime we must first of all know what is law because the questions of crime and law are so closely related to each other that it is very difficult to understand one without knowing the other.
CRIME→ WRONGS → These are against norms.
Definition of crime[2]: As per section.40 of IPC any act or omission made punishable by IPC is an offence.
Acc. to Blackstone: An act committed or omitted in violation of a public law either forbidding or commanding it.
Acc. to Russel: “Crime is the result of human conduct, which the state seeks to prevent”.
>> A crime is an unlawful act punished by the state or any lawful authority. A crime or an offense is an act that is harmful not only to the person but also to the community, society, or state.
Nature of Crime
➢ Public wrong
– Dynamic nature
➢ Punishment is the remedy -because crimes such as rape, murder, kidnapping can not be Compensated.
What is the stage of crime under the Indan Penal Code,1860?
(1)Intention:
derived from the famous (actus non-facit reum nisi rea). The intention is the first & Initial stage. This stage has not been penalized under the IPC.
Ex: Kenny illustrates him with a very good example.’ A person picks up an umbrella to steal that umbrella from a club stand. But when he comes home and sees it the umbrella turns out to be his own’. In such a situation, criminal liability cannot be imposed on that person, although he intended to steal the umbrella.
(2)Preparation:
It is at this stage that the person prepares or does acts that will help him in committing the criminal act. therefore this stage is not punishable.
Ex: ‘A’ thinks of killing a person, he buys a pistol, buys a railway ticket to go to the place where the murder is to be done. Since he did not cross the preparation stage to do all this, he will not be considered a criminal.
(3)Attempt:
An attempt is a direct movement towards an offense after the preparation has been made. Punishable under IPC under certain circumstances:-
Section.307, S.309, S.398, S.308, S.393, S.511
(4)Commision:
It is the last stage of the commission of a crime. This is the stage where the offender has crossed all the three initial stage. At this stage, the person completes the ACTUS REUS. The act would also include omission. If the accused become successful in his attempt to commit the crime, he will be guilty of the complete offense.
BACKGROUND OF IPC,1860
- Written by: ‘Thomas Babington Macaulay ’.
- Extent : Whole of India ( the word Jammu & Kashmir was omitted from 31st oct 2019)
- Enacted : 6th oct 1860
- Commencement: 1st jan 1862
- Total chapters: 23
- Total sections: 511
- Shortest chapter : chap no.23(1 sections)
- Longest chapter: chap no.17 (84 sections)
- Crime is a concurrent subject so both the centre and state can amend IPC.[3]
HIGHEST CRIME RATE IN INDIA
According to data from the NCRB of India, some of the states with the highest crime rates in India include Maharashtra, Gujrat, Tamil Nadu, and Madhya Pradesh. These states generally have large populations and high levels of urbanization, which can contribute to higher crime rates.
According to the NCRB[4] report for 2019, the state with the highest crime rate in India was Assam, with a crime rate of 632.6 per 100,000 population. It was followed by Kerala (455.8)and Odisha (399.1).
In terms of the number of crimes, Uttar Pradesh reported the highest number of crimes in 2019 with 3,42,954 cases, followed by Maharashtra(2,61,714 cases) and Kerala (1,41,375 cases).[5]
TYPES OF CRIME
Crimes against women
Sexual assault against women in India is more and more. According to the NCRB, as of 2018, the majority of crimes against women were registered under ‘Cruelty by husband or his relatives followed by ‘Assault on women with intent to outrage her modesty’, ’Kidnapping & Abduction of women, and ‘Rape’. The crime rate per lakh women population was 58.8 in 2018, as compared to 57.9 in 2017.[6]
RAPE: disturbing incidents of rape on senior citizens and infants are more and more. The incidence of rape had gone up significantly during the COVID-19 pandemic in India.
CASE: Landmark Judgement
Tuka Ram And Anr Vs State of Maharashtra[i]
Facts–
In 1972 on March 26th, a minor girl was allegedly raped by two police officials while she was in police custody. This incident took place at Desai Gunj Police Station in Maharashtra. This case highlighted various issues in the context of Indian Rape laws, especially the issue of consent and the burden of proof.
Judgment–
The Sessions court held that the defendants were not guilty due to the voluntary consent of the victim. It was held that Mathura willingly gave her consent to the sexual intercourse as she was habituated to it.
DOWRY:
Most dowry deaths occur when the young woman, unable to bear the harassment and torture, commits suicide. Most of these suicide are by hanging, poisoning, or by fire. Dowries are considered a major contributor to the violence against women in India.
Domestic violence:
NCRB reveals that a crime against a woman is committed every three minutes, a woman is raped every 29 min, a dowry death occurs every 77 min, and one case of cruelty committed by either the husband or an Indian relative of the husband occurs every nine min. Women in india are legally protected from domestic abuse under the Protection of Women from Domestic violence Act.
Human trafficking:
In India, Human traffic is a serious issue. Comes in the form of offering employment to the poor and uneducated. Women are sold to brothels or families as maids, where they are raped, tortured, and sexually assaulted. India has passed a bill for fighting human trafficking, in 2021.
Illegal drug trade:
India is a transshipment point for heroin from southwest Asian countries like Afghanistan and Pakistan. Most heroin shipped from India is destined for Europe. There have been reports of heroin smuggled from Mumbai to Nigeria for further export. Mumbai is an important center for the distribution of drugs the s. A survey conducted in 2003-2004 by Narcotics Control Bureau found that India has at least four million drug addicts. The most common drugs used in India are cannabis, hashish, opium, and heroin.
Arms trafficking:
The Ministry of external affairs and the Ministry of home affairs drafted a joint proposal to the united nations, seeking a global ban on small-arms sales to non-state users. Chinese pistols are in demand in the illegal small arms market in India because they are easily available and cheaper.
Corruption:
In India corruption is widespread. Prevalent within every section and every level of society. In India, corruption takes the form of bribes, evasion of tax and exchange controls, embezzlement, etc. Corruption has taken the role of a pervasive aspect of Indian politics.
Cybercrime :
With the increasing use of computers, the use of various electronic devices, and by using multiple types of sites and social media. Cybercrime has become a significant problem. Because of technological advancement, man has become dependent on technology due to his needs. Cybercrimes are a new type of crime that is different from all other crimes. This more advanced type of crime is because it has no physical boundary, and most criminals are unknown.
In India, cyber crimes are increasing in using information and communication technology (ICT). It’s a catch-all phrase for crimes like phishing credit card fraud, bank robbery, illegal downloading, child porn, kidnapping minors through chat rooms, scams, cyber terrorism, production and distribution of viruses, spams, and more. In contrast, some people hack to infect other computers with computer viruses, which can even affect whole networks.
The Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015 This act was enacted to consolidate and amend the law regarding juveniles in conflict with the law and children in need of care and protection.
CASE: Jarnail Singh v. State of Haryana (2013)
The appellant was accused of kidnapping and raping the daughter of Savitri Devi while she was sleeping. The Supreme Court of India, in this case, observed that the procedure which is used to determine the age of a child who conflicts with the law as per the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Rules, 2007, can be followed in cases falling under the POCSO Act, 2012 as well.
CONCLUSION
Crime has existed in all societies, and that efforts to legislate, enforce, punish, or otherwise correct criminal behavior have not succeeded in eliminating crime. While some have concluded that crime is a necessary evil in human society, and have sought to justify its existence by pointing to its role in social change, an alternative view is that the cause of crime is to be found in the problems of human nature and human relationships that have plagued us since the origins of human history. Correcting these problems would effectively remove the source of crime, and bring about a peaceful world in which all people could realize their potential as individuals, and develop satisfying, harmonious relationships with others.
[1] Indian penal code ( Prof. S.N.MISHRA)
[2] Self notes
[3] Self notes
[4] National Crime Records Bureau
[5] https://ncrb.gov.in
[6] En.m.wikipedia.org
Written by
Mohammad Zaid