ABETMENT

Section. 107-120
➢Abetment is defined as inciting, encouraging, or assisting someone in doing a
criminal conduct that is punished by law.

➢This provision of law discusses Abetment, which is included in Chapter V of

the Indian Penal Code, 1860.

➢When it comes to inflicting punishment and holding people accountable for

crimes, criminal law is extremely clear.
➢The first offence in Chapter V of the Indian Penal Code, 1860 states that the
mastermind behind the commission of the offence should not be set free simply
because the actusrea has not been done by the person behind the offence
committed or yet to be committed.

➢ The idea of abetment has broadened the scope of criminal law to include these
criminal intentions and penalise them in accordance with the provisions of
Chapter V of the Indian Penal Code, 1860.
 STAGES OF CRIME
1. A human being should be present when an offence is committed or instigates
another person to conduct one. Human beings play a significant part in any
type of criminal act, whether done by themselves or by others, and they are
accountable for the same.

2. Intention and knowledge are crucial factors in each illegal conduct committed
by a human being. A non-criminal behaviour, such as purchasing a knife for
domestic usage, turns illegal when there is any criminal intent behind the
purchase.If done with a guilty mentality, none of the acts may be called crimes.
3. After the creation of an intention, only execution is required, which is
followed by actusrea. the act done in response to the created intention,
inflicting hurt to others.

4. The last stage is the offence itself, which is the outcome of any criminal
purpose and criminal act punished by law. For example, murder, rape,
robbery, and so on.
So, abetment may occur in the middle of the above four phases, i.e. at the very
early stage of planning when the intention is developed by one person but the act
is performed by another as a consequence of incitement for the commission of a
crime. Abetment is a substantive offence in which the performance of the act is
not taken into account; instead, one is held accountable for merely inciting,
plotting, and assisting another in the commission of the offence.
➢The great majority of crimes are committed by two or more persons.

➢In most of these crimes, there are persons who do not engage in the crime but
help others do it by different ways, such as incitement, assistance, or offering
help or collaboration.

➢As it is rightly said, "just as a man with property and wealth has a sentinel to
protect his assets, a thief or criminal requires others to assist him in committing
an offence."
 SCHEME OF PROVISIONS
Section 107 defines abetment as one of three types: abetment by incitement,
abetment by conspiracy, and abetment by help.

Section 108: Explains when an abetment of an offence occurs, and Section 108-A
deals with abetments-in-India of an offence committed in another nation.

Section 109 defines the punishment for abetment when the offence aided is
performed, but Section 110 prescribes the punishment for abetment when the
person assisted does the act with a different purpose or knowledge than the abettor.
Section 111 Provides for circumstances of abetment that results in a different
offence but is a likely consequence of the first.

In instances covered by Section 111, Section 112 provides for cumulative

punishment.

Section 113: Supplementary to Section 111 and provides for punishment where
the act aided has a different impact than the abettor intended.

Section 114: Provides for situations in which the abettor is present at the time of
the offence and renders him accountable for the main offence rather than only as
an abettor.
Sections 115 and 116 prescribe the punishment in circumstances when the offence assisted is

not committed.

Section 117: Deals with abetment of crimes by the general public or a large number of people.

Section 118 of the Indian Penal Code prescribes the penalty for concealing the presence of a

purpose in another to commit a serious crime.

Sections 119 IPC and 120: Punishment for concealment of a purpose in another person to

commit the offence not covered by Section 118 in the case of public officials and others,

respectively.
Section 117: Deals with abetment of crimes by the general public or a large
number of people.

Section 118 prescribes the penalty for concealing the presence of a purpose in
another to commit a serious crime.

Sections 119 IPC and 120: Punishment for concealment of a purpose in

another person to commit the offence not covered by Section 118 in the case of
public officials and others, respectively.
 ABETMENT S-107
➢Sections 107-120 of the Indian Penal Code 1860 discuss abetment.

➢According to Section 107, which defines abetment, to abet means to initiate,

assist, or encourage someone to carry out his unlawful intent.

➢Section 107 defines abetment as the following three acts:

1)Abetment by instigation

2)Abetment by conspiracy

3)Abetment by aid
1. Abetment by instigation:

It is commonly stated that one can motivate another in two ways:

1. Motivating one for a good purpose and motivating another for a harmful one, which is
abetment by instigation and therefore, held accountable for such instigation regardless
of whether the act assisted is accomplished or not.

2. A person who deliberately causes or procures, or attempts to cause or procure, the

performance of a thing by intentional misrepresentation or wilful suppression of a
material truth which he is required to reveal. This is referred to as abetment through
instigation.
Assume A, a public official, is authorised to seize Z by a warrant issued by a

court of justice. Knowing that C is not Z, B willfully represents to A that C is Z,

causing A to arrest C on purpose. B aids in the apprehension of C in this case.

Abetment by conspiracy:

➢Abetment by conspiracy is defined as participating with one or more people in

any conspiracy with the purpose of performing that thing, if an act or illegal
omission is committed in furtherance of that conspiracy.

➢Abetment by conspiracy is only said to occur when two or more people conspire
to commit a criminal act; if the act is committed, it constitutes abetment by
conspiracy; if the act is not committed, it constitutes conspiracy and is
punishable under Section 120A, but not for abetment by conspiracy.
Abetment by aid:
➢Abetment by willfully assisting (by an act or illegal omission) the commission of
any criminal offence is the third type of abetment.

➢Explanation 2 to Section 107 states that a person is said to help the doing of an
act if he or she does anything previous to or during the conduct of an offence to
enable the doing of that act.

As an illustration, a priest officiated at the wedding of a married man and an

unmarried woman. In this case, the priest is accountable for both deliberate help
and abetment through aid.
 ABETTOR
Abettor is defined in Section 108 of the Indian Penal Code,1860 as a person who

aids and abets either the commission of an offence or the conduct of an act

that would be an offence if performed by a person capable by law with the same

intent or knowledge as the abettor.

 FIVE CONTENTIONS OF SECTION
108
1. Abetment of the illegal omission of an act may constitute an offence, even though the

abettor is not required to do the act. Thus, if a public worker is guilty of an illegal

neglect of duty punished by the code, and a private person instigates him, the abettor

abets the offence of which the public servant is guilty, even if the abettor, as a private

person, could not have been guilty of the offence himself.

2. It is not essential for the act assisted to be committed to constitute the offence
of abetment. The purpose of the person who abets, rather than the actual act
done by the person assisted, determines the offence of abetment.

As an illustration, A incites B to murder. C. B. is adamantly opposed. A is convicted

of assisting B in his murder.
3. It is not essential for the person abetted to be legally capable of committing an
offence or to have the same criminal purpose or knowledge as the abettor to
conduct the offence of abetment. Abetment is a substantive offence regardless
of whether the abettor's criminal purpose or knowledge is the same as that of
the abettor; just incitement to commit a criminal offence is required, and the
abettee, i.e. the person to whom the abettor abets, is not considered.
Illustration:

A, with a criminal purpose, aids and abets a child or a lunatic in

performing an act that would be an offence if undertaken by a person
capable of committing an offence under the law and with the same
intention as A. Here A person is guilty of abetting a crime whether the act
is done or not.
4. When abetment of an offence is a crime, abetment of such an abetment is
likewise a crime.

As an illustration, A instigates B to incite C to kill Z. As a result, B instigates C to

murder Z, and C conducts the crime as a result of B's incitement. B is liable to be
punished for the crime with the death penalty, and because A instigates B to do the
crime, A is also accountable for the same punishment.
5. It is not essential for the abettor to collaborate with the perpetrator to commit
the offence of abetment by conspiracy. He will be accountable if he participates
in the conspiracy in which the offence is committed.

Section 108A deals with where a person commits an offence within the meaning of
this code by assisting in the commission of any conduct outside of India that
would be an offence if performed in India.
 PUNISHMENTS FOR ABETMENT
Section 109: Punishment of abetment if the act abetted is committed in
consequences, and where no express provision is made for its punishment:

If a person abets an offence, and the act abetted is committed in consequences of

the abetment where no expressed provision is made under this code for the
punishment of such abetment, be punished with the punishment provided for the
offence with is abetted and committed.
➢In some cases of abetment, the punishment is expressly provided for.

➢It should be noted that an act or offence is considered to be performed as a result

of abetment when it is committed as a result of incitement, conspiracy, or
helping, all of which constitute abetment.

➢Depending on whether the offence is cognizable or non-cognizable, bailable or

non-bailable, triable in court, and non-compoundable.
Illustration:
1. A induces B to provide false evidence, and B commits an offence at A's
request. In this case, A is guilty of abetting the crime and is accountable for
the same offence as B.

2. As a return for displaying some official favour to A, A presents a bribe to B, a

public servant. If B accepts the bribe, A has aided and abetted the crime and
is accountable for the offence outlined in Section 161 of the IPC.
Section 110: Punishment of abetment if person abetted does act with different
intension from that of the abettor:

➢This section established the punishment for abettee, i.e. the person abetted, if
does the act with different knowledge or intent than the abettor, is punished with
the punishment provided for the offence that would have been committed if the
act was done with the abettor's same intent and knowledge.
➢The person who abets the commission of an offence and does an act cannot
claim immunity simply because the conduct committed as a result of the
abetment is done with different intent and knowledge than the abettor; he will
face the same punishment.

➢According to whether the offence is cognizable or non-cognizable, bailable or

non-bailable, triable in court, and non-compoundable.
Section 111: Liability of the abettor when one act abetted and different act done:

When an act is abetted and a different act is committed, the abettor is liable for the
act committed in the same way as if abetted directly, provided that the act
committed was likely to be caused as a course of offence abetted and was
committed under the influence of instigation, aid, or pursuance of conspiracy,
which constitute the abetment. And if any conduct is undertaken that is not a
likely result of abetment, the abettor is not accountable for any other type of
offence committed. The offence assisted may be cognizable or non-cognizable,
bailable or non-bailable, triable in court, or compoundable.
Illustration:

A instigates a child to poison Z's meal and gives him the poison for that aim. As a
result of the incitement, the child accidentally slipped the poison into Y's meal,
which was stored very next to Z's, resulting in Y's death. Because the kid is acting
under the effect of abetment, A is responsible in the same way and to the same
amount as if he had helped the child in poisoning Y.
Section 112: Abettor when liable to cumulative punishment for act abetted and for act done:

➢Section 112 expands on Section 111 of the Indian Penal Code.

➢According to Section 111, if the offence committed is not the same as the conduct abetted but
is the likely result of the abetment, done under the influence of incitement or helping in the
commission of an act.

➢The abettor is held accountable for the act in the same way as if personally aided.

➢It is also stated that the phrase cumulative employed in this section means that the act abetted
and act done in consequence of abetment surpasses in nature, resulting in additional act
resulting in additional offence of that abetted.

➢Abettor is accountable for the extra offence if the new offence is the likely result of abetment.
Section 113: Liability of abettor for an effect caused by the act abetted different
from that intended by the abettor:

Intention and knowledge are critical components in each illegal conduct committed
or aided. If an act is abetted with distinct intentions, resulting in a different effect,
the abettor will be accountable for the impact caused, on the grounds that he knew
the conduct was likely to create such effect. Although intention differs from the
conduct caused, one is accountable for the impact only on the basis of knowledge.
The main difference between sections 111 and 113 is that in section 111, the act

assisted and committed is the same, but in section 113, the act abetted and

committed is the same but the result cause is different. According to whether the

offence is cognizable or non-cognizable, bailable or non-bailable, triable in court,

and non-compoundable.
Section 114: Abettor present when offence is committed:

➢This section states that whenever a person who is absent and would be punished
as an abettor is present when the act or offence for which he would be punished is
being committed as a result of the abetment for which he would be punished, the
law will assume that the abettor himself has committed such offence and act.

➢And the abettor will be penalised for the offence committed rather than the
abetment of the offence.

➢According to whether the offence is cognizable or non-cognizable, bailable or

non-bailable, triable in court, and non-compoundable.
 PUNISHMENT PROVISIONS UNDER
SECTIONS 115, 116, 117, 118, 119, AND 120
Section 115: abetment of offence punishable with death or imprisonment for life-
if offence not committed:

If offence not committed in consequences of abetment- 7 years of

imprisonment +Fine

If act causing harm be done in consequences- 14 years of imprisonment +Fine

Section 116: abetment of offence punishable with imprisonment- if offence be
not committed:

➢Offence not committed in consequences of abetment- of the longest

term of punishment provided for the offence / fine /both.

➢If abettor be a public servant whose duty id to prevent offence.- of the

longest term of punishment provided for the offence / fine /both.
Section 117: Abetting commission of offence by the public or by more than ten
persons:

➢Any person who abets the commission of offence by the public generally or by
any number or class of person exceeding ten, shall be punished with
imprisonment for the term which may extent to three years, or fine or both.

➢According as offence abetted is cognizable or non- cognizable, bailable or non-

bailable, triable by court and non- compoundable.
 PUNISHMENT FOR CONCEALING DESIGNS
OR PLANS TO COMMIT OFFENCE
Section 118,119 and 120 of Indian Penal Code,1860 laid down the provision for
punishment of concealing the design voluntarily by any act or illegal omission
which lead to the commission of an offence be punishable under these sections.

Section 118: Concealing design to commit offence punishable with death or

imprisonment for life:

If offence committed in consequences of abetment- 7 years of imprisonment/ fine

If offence not committed in consequence of abetment- 3 years of

imprisonment/Fine
Section 119: Public servant concealing design to commit offence which it is his
duty to present:

If offence committed in consequences of abetment- of the longest term of

punishment provided for the offence / fine /both.

If offence not committed in consequence of abetment- of the longest term of

punishment provided for the offence / fine /both.

If offence committed whichis punishable with death or imprisonment for life- 10

years of imprisonment.
Section 120: Concealing design to commit offence punishable with imprisonment:

If offence committed in consequences of abetment- of the longest term of

punishment provided for the offence / fine /both.

If offence not committed in consequence of abetment- 1/8 of the longest term

of punishment provided for the offence / fine /both.