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CRIMINAL CONSPIRACY UNDER THE INDIAN PENAL CODE


A Criminal Conspiracy is an agreement of two or more persons to do an illegal act or to do an illegal act by an illegal means. To constitute a conspiracy, an agreement between two or more persons is necessary. One person alone cannot conspire. A conspiracy being an agreement implies the meeting of two minds with reference to a common goal. Criminal Conspiracy is being given in chapter V-A of the Indian Penal Code, 1860 which contains two Sections that is section 120(A) which defines Criminal Conspiracy and Section 120(B) which talks about the punishment for Criminal Conspiracy. Conspiracy can create criminal liability even if no preparation of the contemplated offence has begun. In many jurisdictions an act is required after the agreement has been done.


Brief of Criminal Conspiracy in India


Though Conspiracy was initially considered as only a civil wrong, but later on it was brought under the scope of Indian Criminal Law. Conspiracy was not an offence under the Indian Penal Code 1860 until the 8th Criminal Law Amendment Act of 1913 was passed which added the sections 120-A and 120-B to the IPC.


Definition of Criminal Conspiracy


Criminal Conspiracy has been defined in section 120A of IPC which says,

When two or more persons agree to do, or cause to be done-

● an illegal act, or

● an act which is not illegal by illegal means, such an agreement is designated a criminal conspiracy:

Provided that no agreement except an agreement to commit an offence shall amount to a criminal conspiracy unless some act besides the agreement is done by one or more parties to such agreement in pursuance thereof.

Explanation- It is immaterial whether the illegal act is the ultimate object of such agreement, or is merely incidental to that object.

The important thing on which criminality lies under section 120A is the “agreement”, which requires at least two persons.

Relevant legal provisions under IPC

The relevant legal provisions under the Indian Penal Code which deal with the offence of criminal conspiracy are as follows:

Section 120A and Section 120B which deal with conspiracy as a substantive offence that is an act, which in itself constitutes a crime and a punishment for the same.

Section 107 which deals with conspiracy as a form of abetment.

Section 121A which deals with an act constituting an offence of conspiracy to wage, attempt to, or abet war against the Government of India.

● Section 310, Section 311, Section 400, Section 401 and Section 402, which deal with conspiracy as constituting involvement in the commission of an offence.


Essentials of Criminal Conspiracy


● Agreement between two or more persons

There is a case named State of H.P. v. Krishna Lal 1987, in this case it was held that the offence of Criminal Conspiracy consists in a meeting of mind of two or more persons for agreeing to do or causing to be done an illegal act or an act by illegal means. So, the mandatory requirement for criminal conspiracy is that there should be two or more persons to conspire because one alone cannot conspire about things. We can also say that the essence of criminal conspiracy lies in the agreement.


● Conviction of one only

In the case Topandas v. State of Bombay 1956, it was said that one alone cannot be convicted if others are not caught because two or more persons must be there to conspire.

In the case Bimbdhar Pradhan v. State of Orissa 1956, Honorable Supreme Court held that it is not essential that more than one person should be convicted of the offence of conspiracy, one alone can be convicted.

● To Do Illegal Act

The word illegal is being defined under section 43 of IPC which says:

§ any act which is offence

§ which is forbidden by law

§ which furnishes ground for civil action


● Illegal means

Agreement to do act which is lawful by unlawful means constitutes conspiracy. The end does not justify the means. Suppose if a man wants to take admission in the college but he is not able to qualify the entrance of that college so he decided to threaten the principal of that college by unlawful means. So here the motive of that man is legal but the way of getting it is wrong.


Overt Act

It is an act which is directly proved by the evidences and which has the criminal intent inferred in it. In the case Rajaram Gupta v. Dharamchand 1983, it was held that an overt act which constitutes a conspiracy are acts either signifying the agreement, or shows the preparation to the offence or it can be an act which itself constitutes the offence, therefore conspiracy lies in forming the agreement between the parties. So, the overt act of the crime is jointly arranged by which mutual consent to a common purpose is exchanged. Now there's a case of Sushil Suri v. C.B.I. 2011, it was held in this case that essential ingredient of Criminal Conspiracy is agreement to commit the offence. Mere proof of agreement between the accused is enough to bring about a conviction under section 120B of Indian Penal Code. Proof of overt act by any of the accused is not necessary.


Proof of Criminal Conspiracy


Circumstantial Evidence are enough to prove criminal conspiracy.

Section 10 of Evidence Act: This section talks about the things said, done or written by any conspirator in relation to common intention. In this section, some expressions have been used like things said, done or written, in relation to their common intention. Each of the word has its own importance in the application of this section and all these things must be properly taken into consider by the courts before applying this section.

This section is based on the “Doctrine of Agency”. So, the things said or done by one conspirator are permissible against the other if they relate to the conspiracy.


Doctrine of Agency

The general principal is that no person can be made liable for the acts of another except in cases of abetment in criminal proceeding and contract of agency in civil proceeding. But in conspiracy the persons who take part in conspiracy are considered to be the mutual agent or confederates for the purpose of the executive of the joint purpose.


State N.C.T. of Delhi v. Navjot Sandhu 2005, honorable Supreme Court held that those who committed the offence pursuant to the conspiracy by indulging in various overt acts Will be individually liable for those offence in addition to being liable for criminal conspiracy but those conspirators who have not participated cannot be found guilty of the offence or offence committed by the other conspirators.


Punishment of Criminal Conspiracy


Section 120B specifies the punishment given to the persons convicted for the crime of conspiracy. The nature of this section is punitive. This section is limited to providing punishments after the accused has been convicted. This section says that:

1. Whoever is a party to a criminal conspiracy to commit an offence punishable with death, imprisonment for life or rigorous imprisonment for a term of two years or upwards, shall, where no express provision is made in this Code for the punishment of such a conspiracy, be punished in the same manner as if he had abetted such offence.

2. Whoever is a party to a criminal conspiracy other than a criminal conspiracy to commit an offence punishable as aforesaid shall be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term not exceeding six months, or with fine or with both.


Explanation:

Paragraph 1 says that when there is a conspiracy related to an offence punishable with death, imprisonment for life & a rigorous punishment for two years also there shall be no express provision about its punishment mention in this code in those circumstances offender were treated as like they abetted the same offence means the punishment is same as for abetment of the offence which is the object of the conspiracy,

Paragraph 2 talks about the imprisonment for six months or fine, or both.

In the case State of Tamil Nadu v. Nalini 1999, honorable Supreme Court held that the conviction of accused under section 302 and120B of Indian Penal Code proper.


Conclusion


So criminal conspiracy is an incomplete offense in itself that means it is not a crime in itself, it requires a meeting of at least two criminal mind and a substantive offense supporting it. The offence of criminal conspiracy is an exception to the general rule that in order to constitute a crime, both mens rea and actus reus must be involved, here merely guilty mind is sufficient to render a person guilty if the agreement was to commit an illegal act. The criminal conspiracy can be inferred from the surrounding circumstances and the conduct of the suspect. A person found to be guilty of criminal conspiracy, is punished under Section 120B of the Indian Penal Code, 1860. This Section of the Code, is slowly losing its essence and there is a need to ensure that due diligence is maintained in cases of criminal conspiracy to propagate true manifestation of the law and justice.

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