This article has been written by Ms. Naina Singh, a 2nd year Law student from Amity University, Punjab.

ABSTRACT

Generally, the term criminal law refers to substantive criminal laws. Substantive criminal laws state crimes and decide punishments. In contrast, Criminal Procedure describes the process by which the courts enforce criminal laws. E.g., the law which prohibits murder is a substantive criminal law. In this article, the various ‘stages of crime’ will be discussed in detail.

INTRODUCTION

A crime is defined as the commission of an act that is prohibited by law, or an omission of an act that is obligated by the law. In other words, crime may be defined as the disobedience of the law. Another important aspect of a crime is that it affects the public interest, rather than the rights of a single individual, which shall be a part of civil law.

In India, criminal law is operated through substantive as well as procedural law. The substantive law includes the Indian Penal Code, 1860 (the Code), and the procedural law includes the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (Cr.P.C.). These laws implicitly and also various cases have enunciated that in the commission of a crime, there exist four stages. The same forms the scope of the present article and has been discussed hereafter.

STAGES OF CRIME

The stages of crime or elements of a crime include intention, preparation, attempt, and accomplishment. The constitution of a crime includes all the elements. Some of these elements are even punishable before the accomplishment of the crime. All the stages can be explained further as follows:

1. Intention: The fundamental elements of a crime are ‘mens rea’ and ‘actus reus’, the former being the intention to commit a crime and the latter being the act done in furtherance of the intention. The criminal liability of a person shall be decided only when he or she has a mala fide intention. It is the direction of conduct towards the objects chosen upon considering the motive which suggests the choice. Mere intention shall not constitute a crime, as it is almost impossible to know the intentions of a person. As the famous saying goes “the devil himself knoweth not the intention of a man”. Since it is hard to know the intentions of a man, a criminal liability at this stage cannot be drawn.

1. Mens rea: Mens rea literally means guilty mind. This basically implies that a person committing the crime is mindful of his/her actions and knows that accomplishment of that act would result in a crime. To simplify, the intention of the person committing a crime should be mala fide. Further, mens rea can be further divided into four levels depending upon the degree of the intent of committing the crime.

These four levels are:

1. Negligence: This is the least and in fact the mildest form of mens rea where the person is negligent of his/her actions and does not ensure reasonable care in his/her act/omission.
2. Recklessness: This is of a slightly higher amplitude than negligence where the person can anticipate the crime which may arise out of the act/omission but did not expect or intended the same and acts negligently.

iii. Knowledge: The third level is knowing where the person is associated with the risks that may occur in his act/omission and still continues with such act/omission. Here, he/she is not negligent.

1. Intent: This is of the highest amplitude where the person intentionally carries out an act or omits something in order to commit the crime.

• Actus reus: Actus reus is the act or omission on part of the person which causes a crime and involves some physical activity. It is imperative to note that not just an act but an omission can also be a crime.

For example, non-payment of taxes or maintenance is a crime

1. Preparation: The next stage of a crime is preparation. It can be understood as an act in furtherance of the mala fide intention of a person. It is an act that shall be a means to the attempt and accomplishment of the crime. In the previous illustration, if A purchases a weapon legally and carries it with himself, it shall amount to the preparation of the crime.

The general rule under the law is that the preparation of a crime shall not be punishable. The reason behind the general rule is that it is nearly impossible to prove that the accused made the preparation to execute the crime. Apart from this, the test of locus penitential is applied in cases where the culpability of preparation is in question. The test provides that a person has an opportunity to withdraw from his act before he actually commits the intended crime. The test has been further explained in the subsequent sections.

Exceptions to the general rule that a person cannot be held criminally liable for the preparation of an act have been provided under the Code. These exceptions include:

1. Preparation to wage a war against the Government of India – Section 122 of the Code provides that collection of arms, ammunition, or associating with people with an intention to wage a war against the State shall be a punishable offense with imprisonment for a term that may not exceed ten years, and such the offender shall also be liable for fine.
2. Counterfeiting coins – Section 233, Section 234, and Section 235 of the Code provide the punishment for counterfeiting any coin, including an Indian coin, and the possession of any counterfeit coin. These provisions also provide punishment for the preparation of producing or using a counterfeit coin.
3. Manipulation of the weight of the coins – Section 244, Section 246 and Section 247 of the Code provide the punishment for altering or diminishing the weight of any coin. In these circumstances, even the preparation to commit such crimes is punishable.
4. Counterfeiting Government stamps – Section 255 of the Code provides that “Whoever counterfeits, or knowingly performs any part of the process of counterfeiting, any stamp issued by Government for the purpose of revenue shall be punished with imprisonment for life or with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to ten years, and shall also be liable to fine.” In addition to this, the provision also criminalizes the possession (Section 256) and selling (Section 257) of counterfeiting Government stamps.
5. Preparation to commit a dacoity – Section 399 of the Code provides that “Whoever makes any preparation for committing dacoity, shall be punished with rigorous imprisonment for a term which may extend to ten years, and shall also be liable to fine.” 
6. Possession of forged documents – Section 474 of the Code provides the punishment for the possession of forged documents. The intention behind the provision is to prevent any type of fraud that may occur by using such forged documents.

These offenses are punishable at the stage of preparation due to the gravity of the outcome of the crime if committed.

1. Attempt: There exists a very thin line of distinction between the preparation of a crime and an attempt to commit the same. It may be defined as an action in furtherance of the intention and preparation of a person to commit a crime. Thus, an attempt to commit a crime is often termed a “preliminary crime”. An attempt to commit a crime is punishable under the Code. It has been provided under various provisions for specific crimes. However, in case of the absence of punishment for an attempt to commit a particular crime, Section 511 of the Code comes into the picture. Some of the specific provisions of the Code under which an attempt to commit a crime have been enumerated hereunder:

1. Section 121 – Attempt to wage a war;
2. Section 131 – Attempt to seduce a soldier, sailor, or airman from his duty;
3. Section 307 – Attempt to murder;
4. Section 308 – Attempt to culpable homicide;
5. Section 309 – Attempt to suicide;
6. Section 326B – Attempt to throw suicide;
7. Section 356 – Attempt to commit theft;
8. Section 357 – Attempt to wrongfully confine a person;
9. Section 393 – Attempt to commit robbery;
10. Section 397 – Robbery or dacoity with an attempt to cause death or grievous hurt;

Circumstances under which an attempt becomes impossible

In the 19th century, English law established that an attempt to commit an impossible act shall not be punishable. Cases of the early 19th century were decided on the notion that an attempt cannot be made on a crime that cannot be committed. Thus, where a pickpocket thrusts his hands into an empty pocket of a person, he shall still not be held liable.

However, the courts found the notion to be illogical and unreasonable in the later part of the 19th century, and hence, overruled the judgments. This was the first time an attempt to commit an impossible act was made punishable.

Section 511 of the Code particularly provides that any attempt to commit an impossible act is punishable. The illustrations provided under the provision are indicative of the same. Thus, under the Indian Penal Code, an attempt to commit an impossible act is punishable.

1. Accomplishment: The accomplishment of a crime is when an attempt to commit a crime is successfully executed. Every person shall be liable for the act, offense, or crime that he commits or accomplishes. The provisions of the Code provide specific punishments for various crimes in the country.

STAGES AT WHICH LIABILITY COMES

The above discussion reveals how these four stages of crime decide the criminal liability of an accused. Undisputedly, at the level of accomplishment, the criminal liability of a person shall arise. Nevertheless, the above discussion reveals how the liability can commence even at the stage of the attempt and in some cases, even at the stage of preparation. Usually, in such instances, the crime committed is very serious and poses a threat to society. Hence, the main object of ascertaining liability at such stages is to create a deterrent effect in the minds of people and prevent them from committing such heinous crimes.

CONCLUSION

The four stages of a crime have been defined and adopted by the judiciary for a long time now. The classification of these stages is necessary in order to decide the culpability of a crime at each stage. Generally, the liability arises during an attempt and the actual commission of the crime, as the courts cannot overlook the legal maxim of locus penitential. The problem before the courts that arises more than often is the differentiation between the preparation and the attempt to commit a crime.

Various cases have been adjudicated by the courts wherein an attempt has been made to distinguish the thin line between an attempt and the preparation of a crime. The courts have been of the view that an attempt shall not be considered only as the penultimate act of the crime. Rather, a series of acts shall constitute an attempt to commit the crime and the differentiation between preparation and attempt shall depend on the facts and circumstances of each case.

REFERENCES

https://blog.ipleaders.in/all-you-need-to-know-about-stages-of-crime/#Stage_at_which_liability_commences

https://www.toppr.com/guides/legal-aptitude/indian-penal-code/stages-of-crime/

https://www.legalservicesindia.com/article/1228/The-Elements-and-Stages-of-a-Crime.html