This article has been written by Ms, Riddhi khanna , a 1st year BA LLB student from new law college ,Bharati Vidya Peeth New Law College, Pune.

In this article, we will delve deeper into the concept of abduction, including its legal definition, elements, examples, objectives and punishment.

Abduction is a offence under chapter XVI of the Indian Penal Code.

Offences affecting the Human Body, particularly from section 359 to 366 of Indian Penal code.

INTRODUCTION

Abduction is a term used in the Indian Penal Code (IPC) to describe the act of forcibly taking away or kidnapping a person against their will. While the literal meaning of abduction may suggest a specific criminal offense, the IPC uses the term to refer to a specific type of act that may be punished under different sections of the code depending on the circumstances. Abduction and kidnapping are oVen used interchangeably, but they are not exactly the same thing under the Indian Penal Code (IPC). Abduction requires the abductor to have a specific purpose in mind aVer taking away the victim, while kidnapping is considered a crime just by the act of taking someone away against their will.

In abduction, the abductor takes someone away by force or deceitful means, with the intent to use the victim for a specific purpose, such as for ransom, forced labor, or to cause harm. In contrast, kidnapping occurs when someone is taken away against their will, regardless of the intention or purpose of the act.

According to the data from the NCRB’s 2019 report, a total of 26,672 cases of abduction were reported in India that year. This represents a 1.4% increase from2018 , of these cases 19,144 were of women and 7,528 were of men.

In terms of the motive for abduction, the majority of cases (68.1%) were for the purpose of marriage. Other motives included ransom (3.2%), sexual exploitation (3.0%), and human trafficking (2.7%).

DEFINITION

Section 362 of the IPC provides the following definition of abduction: “Whoever by force compels, or by any deceitful means induces, any person to go from any place, is said to abduct that person.”

Therefore, under the IPC, abduction refers to the act of taking someone away against their will by force or deceitful means. However, to constitute the crime of abduction, the act of taking someone away must be accompanied by a specific intent or purpose, such as for forced marriage, ransom, revenge, human trafficking, or custodial dispute, among others, as specified under different sections of the IPC.

Essential elements of abduction

1. The use of compelling force or deceitful means to induce a person to move from one place to another.

1. The intention to commit an offense, which may include murder, ransom, forced marriage, slavery, illicit intercourse, or other unlawful acts.

1. The act of inducing or taking away the person must be against their will or without their consent.

PUNISHMENT

While abduction, as a general act, is not punishable in the Indian Penal Code, certain specific types of abduction do attract punishments. These include:

Case Laws

1} State of Maharashtra v. Madhukar Narayan Mardikar:

In this case, the accused was charged with the offense of abduction under Section 366 of the IPC for abducting a woman with the intent to compel her to marry him. The Supreme Court

held that the accused’s act of abducting the woman with the intent to compel her to marry him amounted to abduction and upheld the conviction.

2} The Gudiya Rape Case:

In this case, a five-year-old girl was abducted and raped in 2018 in Haryana. The case led to widespread protests across India and brought attention to the need for stricter laws to protect children from sexual offenses.

CONCLUSION

Under criminal law, taking a person away without their consent may considered as abduction, Abduction in itself is not a crime when it is in its pure and simple state, however, when abduction is accompanied with an intention to commit another offence it becomes punishable .

In India, there have been numerous cases of child trafficking, where children are forced into begging or sexual exploitation. To combat this issue, it is essential for government and non- government organizations to work together. Creating laws alone is not enough; there must be a concerted effort to raise awareness of these laws so that adults can protect children who may not be able to protect themselves. Educating people about these laws will ultimately benefit minors and help to prevent them from becoming victims of these heinous crimes.