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  • Read the passage very carefully and answer the following questions. The human mind created luxuries, due to the simultaneous increase in population, many people were depr

Read the passage very carefully and answer the following questions.

The human mind created luxuries, due to the simultaneous increase in population, many people were deprived of the necessities which led to the development of negative thinking. People wanted to fulfil their basic necessities at any cost and hence they started resorting to crime. For an act of crime to be accomplished, the following four elements are needed: · Individual: The first and the most important element for the commission of a crime is an individual who has an intention and is prepared to commit a crime. · Mens rea: Mens rea in Latin means “guilty mind”. For a crime to be committed, a criminal intention is an essential element. · Actus rea: Actus rea in Latin means “guilty act”. For a crime to be committed, along with a criminal intention there should also be an external act. · Injury/hurt: The criminal act should be accompanied by an injury or hurt which is physical, mental, or monetary which violates a law of the state. The commission of crime involves four stages: · Intention: For the commission of a crime, the first important stage is criminal intention. However, just having a criminal intention is not punishable until it is conveyed to someone else in words or by acts. Example: An intention to kill someone. · Groundwork: To commit a crime, prior preparation is necessary if the crime is intentional. It is difficult for the court to punish an individual purely based on a preparation plan until and unless it is executed. For example, murder, dacoity, etc. · Preliminary crime: An attempt to commit a crime is considered a preliminary crime. An attempt should include a criminal intention, an act towards committing a crime, and an act of crime that is not completely accomplished. Example: Attempt to murder · Completion of crime: This is the last stage in the commission of a crime. The criminal completes the crime. A suspect is guilty of an offence only if he succeeds in his criminal activity. Example: Successful accomplishment of murder.

Question: S, with the intention to pick A's pocket, followed him into a fair and there it was seen lifting the tail of A's pocket to ascertain if there was anything in A's back pocket. Seemingly feeling the pocket empty by touching it only from outside, S came out of the fair disheartened. What will be your answer if S put his hands into A's pocket but found it empty?

 

 

Option: 1

S can be prosecuted for an attempt


Option: 2

S cannot be prosecuted for an attempt

 


Option: 3

A frivolous case has been made out


Option: 4

None of the above

 


Answers (1)

best_answer

Attempt begins where preparation ends and the culprit commences to do something to commit the offence and this is a step towards the commission of the offence. However, such an act must be proximate to the intended result about intention. When S merely ascertained A's pocket, he can be said to be in a stage of preparation; if at that moment he changes his mind, his act would have seen harmless, moreover, the offence contemplated was far removed from the completion (as required by "change of mind" test). Thus, S cannot be prosecuted for an 'attempt'. If S put his hands into A's pocket but found it empty, then S can be prosecuted for an 'attempt'. As in that case, S's act is a step towards the commission of the crime because such act is proximate to the intended result concerning intention. The offence contemplated is not far removed from the completion, thus the "change of mind" test cannot be applied in that case.

 

Posted by

Ajit Kumar Dubey

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