The body of law which relates to crime is called Criminal law. The wrongful
actions which are included in criminal law are threatening, harmful, or
otherwise endangering to the property, health, safety, and moral welfare of
people. Those people who violate this law are punished or sent for
rehabilitation.[1]
In criminal law, the charges for offenders involve the
government punishing an individual for an act or an omission. There are three
major acts in which Indian criminal law was divided i.e., Indian Penal
Code,1860, Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973, and Indian Evidence Act, 1872.
Any act or omission which involves in violation of a law prohibiting the action
or omission is called a
Crime.[2]
Types Of Criminal Law:
Indian Penal code:
The Indian penal code is created to set down what is
right and what is wrong in society and to enforce penalties who are committing
those wrongs or errors. The 'will' of committing a crime under criminal law
plays an important role in determining the offense's liability. In 1860 The
Indian Penal Code was introduced in different parts of Indian territory.
It
follows the theory of English Common Law that was changed from time to time but
the Indian Penal Code follows the country's general code of criminal law, this
is the distinctive characteristic of the India Penal Code. Various section of
the Indian Penal Code covers different crimes such as murder, abduction, rape,
robbery, stealing, etc. and punished under those sections. There are 576
sections.[3]
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Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC):
The code of criminal procedure was
formed in 1973 and is applicable from 1 April 1974. It is the main legislation
for the administration of substantive criminal law in India. CrPC signifies that
Penal Law is meant to protect society and CrPC is a key method for achieving and
implementing the significance of Law. to isolate the judiciary from the
execution is the main purpose of CrPC.
CrPC provides various machinery for crime
investigation, collecting evidence, determination of guilt or innocence of the
accused, and punishment of guilty. It deals with maintenance of wife, children,
and parents, public nuisance, and prevention of offense. There are 484 sections,
2 schedules, and 56 forms in the act.[4]
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Indian Evidence Act:
The act was passed by the Imperial Legislative
Council on 1 September 1872 at the time of the British Raj. The act contains a
set of rules, regulations, and allied issues governing the suitability of the
evidence in the Indian court of law. Adoption of the Indian Evidence Act was a
judicial measure introduced in India. The Indian evidence act contains 11
chapters and 167 sections. The Indian Evidence Act introduced a standard set of
laws that is applicable for Indians.[5]
The objective of criminal law
Criminal law was formed to identify, acknowledge, punish and educate the
offenders of Law regarding the consequences of their actions through the
criminal justice system.
The five-key purpose of criminal law is as follows:
- Retribution:
The main aim of retribution is to punish the criminal in
some way he commits a crime. Justice is provided in the same sense the crime is
taken place. "Rightening the balance" is the theory that is related to
Retribution.
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- Deterrence:
It is the theory of criminal law with well-defined
punishment that discourages individual to repeat offense and discourage other in
society from attempting a similar type of crime or activity out of fear of
punishment.[6]
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- Incapacitation:
It is simply keeping away the criminals from society so
that the public is protected from their misconduct. This is achieved through a
prison sentence and the death penalty or banishment has the same purpose.[7]
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- Rehabilitation:
This is a type of punishment is to treat and train the
offenders so that they can return to society and functioning as law-abiding
members of the community.[8]
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- Restoration:
it is an approach to repair harm which is caused by
offenders by providing an opportunity for those harmed and those who take
responsibility for the harm.[9]
Elements of crime
There are two main elements of crime which are as follows:
- Actus Reus:
It is the physical element of crime i.e.; it is made up of
all the parts of crime except the mental state of the defendants. Actus Reus is
something that was done by the defendant but sometimes there is an omission that
causes Actus Reus. Most of the crimes related to Actus Reus were harm or loss to
a person or a group, damage to property.
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- Mens Rea:
It means an intention to do a forbidden act. Mens Rea is
defined as a mental element with intent or knowledge that the conduct may result
in death. Under Mens Rea the accused know that he was doing wrong intentionally,
knowingly, negligently.
Selected Criminal Laws
There are different types of crime and the criminal punishment varies with
jurisdiction. Some typical aspects of criminal laws are as follows:
- Fatal Offence:
Killing someone means Murder is an unlawful act that comes
under fatal offense. There is no exact definition of crime but it depends on the
jurisdiction, the consequences of murder. Punishment under Fatal Crime includes
Life Imprisonment, Death Penalty, Fines, and other Punishment and penalties. The
punishment is based on the seriousness of the crime.[10]
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- Personal Crime:
These are the crimes committed by an offender against
another person, state, damaging another property, assault, rape, sexual assault,
and many more. In this crime, the victim is directly harmed, whether mentally,
physically, or emotionally by the offenders. Most of the time personal crimes
are associated with violence against victims.[11]
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- Property Offence:
Property crime generally involves private property.
These crimes are taken place to obtain the money, property of another person.
Offenders generally use force or threat to extract money from the victims.
Property offenses are generally divided into two groups: destroyed property and
stolen property.[12]
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- Participatory Offence:
The person who commits the crime is not the only
offender. The person who helps or participates in the offense is also the
criminal if there is some evidence of involvement of that person. Participatory
Offence is also a serious crime that results in punishment.[13]
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End-Notes:
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Criminal_law
- https://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/criminal_law
- https://www.lloydlawcollege.edu.in/blog/criminal-law.html
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Code_of_Criminal_Procedure_(India)
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indian_Evidence_Act
- https://legal-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/Deterrence
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Incapacitation
- https://www.britannica.com/topic/punishment/Rehabilitation
- https://www.justice.gc.ca/eng/cj-jp/rj-jr/index.html
- https://www.educationrights.com/criminal_fataloffenses.php
- https://study.com/academy/lesson/personal-crimes-types-motivations-effects.html
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Property_crime
- https://www.educationrights.com/criminal_participatoryoffenses.php
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