Exploring the core components of criminal liability

Exploring the core components of criminal liability

**Author: Anushka Thakur student at Presidency University, Bangalore

The concept of crime has existed since the dawn of time. However, the concept of crime is difficult to define precisely. Russell admits that defining crime is a difficult assignment that no writer has completed adequately. It has been understood and described from various perspectives from various social strata. If we try to define crime, we can say that it is an act that is both illegal and against the moral feelings of society.

To be a crime, a conduct must be contrary to the law in effect at the time. In T.K. Gopal v. State of Karnataka, the Supreme Court decided that a crime is a conduct that brings the perpetrator to legal punishment.

Law is a dynamic notion that evolves in response to societal requirements. As a result, the definition and scope of crime may vary. What is not a crime in one generation may be a crime in another. Moral ideals, too, vary from society to society. What might be morally unacceptable in one community may not be so in another.

There are four essential elements of a crime:

1. Human Conduct

Section 11 of the Indian Penal Code defines "person" as "any company, association, or body of persons, whether incorporated or not." The term "person" refers to both natural and artificial beings. 

To fulfil the first element of a crime, a human being must commit a wrongful act, which means that any non-living thing or animal is not considered in the category of a person or a human being, whereas in ancient times when criminal law was closely dominated by the idea of ritter bit theory, punishment was also inflicted on animals for the injury caused by them. In the Indian Penal Code, we do not hold the animal liable; rather, the owner is held liable for such injury; thus, the first element of crime is human beings, who must be punished appropriately and should be under legal supervision.

2. Mens Rea

It indicates that the guilty purpose and the guilty act together constitute a crime. It derives from the notion that no one can be punished in a criminal procedure unless it can be demonstrated that he has a guilty mind. The second factor is mens rea, which can be defined in several ways: a guilty mind; a guilty or wrongful aim; a criminal intent, guilty knowledge, and wilfulness are all examples of mens rea. 

Motive and Intention are both significant components in the world of law and justice.

3. Actus Reus

Actus reus is a critical component of criminal responsibility that encompasses the physical component of a crime. It refers to the intentional and criminal act or omission that creates an offence. The prosecution must prove both the actus reus and the mens rea of the accused in order to establish criminal responsibility.

4. Injury to human being

Section 44 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860, injury is defined as any illegal harm done to another person's body, mind, reputation, or property. Elements of crime are a set of facts that must be shown in order for a defendant to be convicted of a crime. Criminal elements are defined in criminal statutes or cases in jurisdictions where common law crimes are permitted.

Actus reus and mens rea both play important roles in committing an offence. Criminal guilt is a necessary component of breaking the law. As a result, any offence must have wrongful purpose.

Bare act of Indian Penal Code

Indian Kanoon

Criminal Liability: Crime, Stages Of Crime and Inchoate Crime (legalserviceindia.com)

Principles of Criminal Liability- Individual and Joint Liability - Law Times Journal