Criminal Law – Learning Quiz 8

Principle: Nothing is an offence which is done by a person who is bound by law to do it.

Facts: ‘A’, a police officer, without warrant, apprehends, who has committed murder.

Principle: No communication made in good faith is an offence by reason of any harm to the person to whom it is made, if it is made for the benefit of that person.

Facts: ‘A’, a surgeon, in good faith, communicates to a patient his opinion that he cannot live. The patient dies in consequence of the shock.

Principle: Whoever, being legally bound to furnish information on any subject to any public servant, as such, furnishes, as true, information on the subject which he knows or has reason to believe to be false, has committed a punishable offence of furnishing false information

Facts: Sawant, a landholder, knowing of the commission of a murder within the limits of his estate, willfully misinforms the Magistrate of the district that the death has occurred by accident in consequence of the bite of a snake.

Principle: Whoever, being legally bound to furnish information on any subject to any public servant, as such, furnishes, as true, information on the subject which he knows or has reason to believe to be false, has committed a punishable offence of furnishing false information

Facts: Sawant, a landholder, knowing of the commission of a murder within the limits of his estate, willfully misinforms the Magistrate of the district that the death has occurred by accident in consequence of the bite of a snake.

Principle: Whoever unlawfully or negligently does any act which is, and which he knows or has reason to believe to be, likely to spread the infection of any disease dangerous to life, shall be guilty of a negligent act likely to spread infection of disease dangerous to life.

Facts: ‘K’, a person, knowing that he is suffering from Cholera, travels by a train without informing the railway officers of his condition.

Principle: Whoever drives any vehicle, or rides, on any public way in a manner so rash or negligent as to endanger human life, or to be likely to cause hurt or injury to any other person, has committed an offence, which shall be punished in accordance with the law.

Facts: X’, a truck driver, driving his vehicle rashly and negligently at a high speed climbed the footpath and hit Y’, a pedestrian, from behind causing his death.

Principle: Whoever causes death by doing an act with the intention of causing death, or with the intention of causing such bodily injury as is likely to cause death, or with the knowledge that he is likely by such act to cause death, commits the offence of culpable homicide.

Facts: ‘A’ knows ‘Z’ to be behind a bush. ‘B’ does not know it. ‘A’, intending to cause, or knowing it to be likely to cause Z’s death, induces ‘B’ to fire at the bush. ‘B’ fires and kills ‘Z’.

Principle: Whoever, intending to take dishonestly any movable property out of the possession of any person without that person’s consent, moves that property in order to such taking, is said to commit theft.

Facts: ‘Z’, going on a journey, entrusts his plate to the possession of ‘A’, the keeper of a warehouse, till ‘Z’ shall return. Then, ‘A’ carries the plate to a goldsmith and sells it.

Principle: Whoever makes any false document or part of a document with intent to cause damage or injury, to the public or to any person, or to support any claim or title, or to cause any person to part with property, or to enter into any express or implied contract, or with intent to commit fraud or that fraud may be committed, commits forgery.

Facts: ‘A’ without Z’s authority, affixes Z’s seal to a document purporting to be a conveyance of an estate from ‘Z’ to ‘A’, with the intention of selling the estate to ‘B’ and thereby of obtaining from ‘B’the purchase-money.

Principle: Whoever intentionally uses force to any person, without that person’s consent, in order to the committing of any offence, or intending by the use of such force to cause, or knowing it to be likely that by the use of such force he will cause injury, fear or annoyance to the person to whom the force is used, is said to use criminal force to that other.

Facts: ‘Z’ is riding in a palanquin. ‘A’, intending to rob ‘Z’, seizes the pole and stops the palanquin. Here ‘A’ has caused cessation of motion to ‘Z’, and ‘A’ has done this by his own bodily power.

Principle: Every person shall be liable to punishment under the Indian Penal Code and not otherwise for every act or omission contrary to the provisions of the Code of which he shall be guilty within the territory of India. In other words, the exercise of criminal jurisdiction depends upon the locality of the offence committed, and not upon the nationality or locality of the offender.

Facts: X’, a Pakistani citizen, while staying at Karachi, made false representations to Y’, the complainant, at Bombay through letters, telephone calls and telegrams and induced the complainant to part with money amounting to over rupees five lakh to the agents of ‘X’ at Bombay, so that rice could be shipped from Karachi to India as per agreement. But the rice was never supplied to the complainant.

Principle: When two or more persons agree to do, or cause to be done, (1) an illegal act, or (2) an act which is not illegal by illegal means, through such an agreement such persons are said to have been engaged in a criminal conspiracy to commit an offence. It is said that no consummation of the crime need be achieved or even attempted.

Facts: X’, Y’ and ‘Z plan to kill ‘D’. They agree that only one among them, that is ‘Z’, will execute the plan. In pursuance of it ‘Z’ buys a gun and loads it.

Principle: ‘Wrongful gain’ is gain by unlawful means of property to which the person gaining is not legally entitled. ‘Wrongful loss’ is the loss by unlawful means of property to which the person losing it is legally entitled.

Facts: “X’ takes away Y’s watch out of Y’s possession, without Y’s consent and with the intention of keeping it.

Principle: Nothing is an offence by reason that it causes, or that it is intended to cause, or that it is known to be likely to cause, any harm, if that harm is so slight that no person of ordinary sense and temper would complain of such harm.

Facts: X’ takes a plain sheet of paper from Y’s drawer without Y’s consent to write a letter to his friend

Principle: When an act which would otherwise be a certain offence, is not that offence, by reason of the youth, the want of maturity of understanding, the unsoundness of mind or the intoxication of the person doing that act, or by reason of any misconception on the part of that person, every person has the same right of private defence against that act which he would have if the act were that offence.

Facts: ‘X’, under the influence of madness, attempts to kill ‘Y’.

PRINCIPLE : Ignorance of Fact is excused but ignorance of law is not an excuse to criminal liability:

FACTS  : X was a passenger from Zurich to Manila in a Swiss Plane. When the plane landed at the Airport of Bombay on 22 November 2014 it was found on searching the X carried 34 kg of Gold Bars on his person and that he had not declared it in the ‘Manifest for Transit’. On 24 Novemeber 2014, the Government of India has issued a notification modifying its earlier exemption, making it mandatory now that the gold must be declared in the “Manifest” of the aircraft.

DECISION :

PRINCIPLES : Whoever dishonestly takes away any property from the possession of another, with an intention of such taking away, without his permission is liable for theft.

FACTS : Raja, a famous gangster, moves into an apartment in Kankurgachi, Calcutta. There, he discovers that the previous owner of the apartment had left behind a pair of beautiful ivory handled combs. Mesmerized by their beauty and confused as to whom he should be returning them to, he decides to retain them and starts using them. The previous owner of the combs gets to know; this and registers an FIR for theft against Raja. Is Raja liable?

DECISION :

PRINCIPLE : Whoever dishonestly misappropriates or converts to his own use any movable property is guilty of criminal misappropriation of property.

FACTS : A finds a government promissory note belonging to Z, bearing a blank endorsement. A knowing that the note belongs to Z, pledges it with a banker as security for a loan, intending to restore it to Z at a future time. Has A committed criminal misappropriation ?

DECISION:

 PRINCIPLES :

1. Whoever causes death by doing an act with the intention of causing death or with the intention of causing such bodily injury as is likely to cause death or with the knowledge that he is likely by such act to cause death commits the offence of culpable homicide.

2. Mens rea and actus reus must concur to result in a crime which is punishable by the law.

FACTS : A and B went for shooting. A knows Z to be behind a bush. B does not know it. A induces B to fire at the bush. B fires and kills Z. Has an offence been committed?

DECISION :

PRINCIPLES :

1. The crime of kidnapping involves taking someone away from the custody of their lawful guardian.

2. The crime abduction involves inducing or forcing somebody to go away from some place against their will.

FACTS : A steals B’s slave. Is it a crime ?

DECISION :

I. Kidnapping

II. Abduction

III. Neither

REASON :

(A) Slavery is illegal.

(B) Ahas taken him away from B’s lawful custody.

(C) A has forced somebody to go with him against his will.

YOUR DECISION :

PRINCIPLE : Whoever delivers to another person as genuine any counterfeit currency which he knows to be counterfeit, but which that other person is not aware of at the time when he received it, is guilty of counterfeiting currency.

FACTS : While returning home one day, Roshni realizes that the local shopkeeper has given her a fake note ot Rs. 1,000. Disappointed, she goes to the same shop and buys cosmetics worth Rs. 600. She then passes the same fake note to the shopkeeper. The shopkeeper while inspecting the note finds out that it is fake. Is Roshni guilty ?

PRINCIPLES :

1. To constitute a punishable criminal offence, guilty intention must accompany an illegal act.
2. Criminal mischief means causing damage to public property intentionally or with the knowledge that harm may occur.

FACTS : Neel being a Shahrukh Khan fan went for the premier of Happy New Year. As usual, he carried his pen-knife, a gift from his dead mother. At the security check, impatient of waiting in the queue, Neel slunk past the guards and the metal detector when no one was watching. Later, he was apprehended in the hall and charged for mischief and possession of a weapon when it was expressly forbidden.

PRINCIPLE :

1. Everyone has a right to defend their life and property against criminal harm provided it is not possible to approach public authorities and more harm than is necessary has been caused to avert the danger.

2. Nothing is an offence which is done in the exercise of the right of private defence.

FACTS : The accused found the deceased engaged in sexual intercourse with his 15 years old daughter. The accused assaulted the deceased on the head with a spade which resulted in his death. Accused claimed private defence and the prosecution claimed that the sexual intercourse was with the consent of the daughter. Here,

DECISION :