Abetment

 Abetment

Law keeps a check on human behavior. It categorizes them into criminal and non-criminal behaviors. A non-criminal behavior can turn into criminal behavior at any time, buying a knife for your kitchen becomes criminal when there are criminal intentions behind it. 

Chapter V of Indian Penal code 1860, abetment is the first offense that starts in the penal code.  The abetment  is the act of helping or encouraging someone to do something wrong or illegal ; 

• Such an act will be treated as abetment of fraud 

• It would be wrong to treat the offense of abetment lightly 

Example 

• Abetment in the offense of murder is as serious as the offense of murder itself.

• Such activities may be considered abetment of fraud 

Case; Sanju v. State of Madhya Pradesh. In this case honorable supreme court defined 'Abet" as meaning to aid, to assist or to give aid, to command, to procure or to counsel, to countenance, to encourage, or to set.  It should be stated that at least two people are involved, which further directs us towards the arrangement and operation of the act.

Abetment is constituted by ;

• Instigating a person to commit an offense or

• Engaging in a conspiracy to commit it  or 

• Intentionally aiding a person to commit it 

Section 107, of the Indian Penal code, talks about the abetment.  There was a famous case named Rajat Prasad v. CBI supreme court in this case saw that wrongdoing does not stand crushed or exonerated just in light of the fact that its benefits extend to the public at large. 

Suppose a person fails to prevent a murder from taking place, as a result, the inquiry emerges, whether it is abetment or not. This was then attested by the Supreme court, which anyway held that even though he isn't an accomplice, the court would even now need proof on material specifics as he is the main observer of the wrongdoing and it is dangerous to hang the accused on his sole declaration, except it, the court feels persuaded that he is talking reality. 

Case; Sheo Dail Mal, in this case, it was held that instigation may be direct or it may be through a letter. Where A writes a letter to B instigating thereby to murder C, the offense of abetment by instigation is complete as soon as the contents of the letter become now to B.

Case; Queen v. Mohit, in this case, A woman prepared herself to become sutti in the presence of the accused persons. They followed hereto the pyre and stood by her stepsons crying 'ram ram’ .one of the accused also admitted that he told the women to say ‘ RAM RAM ‘. It held that all those that followed her to the pyre and stood by her crying ‘ ram would be guilty of abetment as they actively abetted her.