This Article is written by Shatakshi Singh & this article disscuss the Crime and its elements, Doctrine of Mens rea and its application
Introduction
Criminal law is as old as civilization itself. Every society view crime and criminals with enormous disdain, but the study of crimes and the identification of their causes continue to pique the interest of jurisprudential jurists. It is always necessary to come up with strategies and tactics to stop these criminal tendencies among some members of the population in a civilized society. Whether behaviours should be outlawed or targeted for punishment by the state or society emerges. Public opinion has always influenced how crime is conceptualized.
In “Changing Concepts of Crime and its Treatment,” H.J. Klare noted that “the political process determines the law and accords with what most people recognize as the minimum standards prevailing.” The process also includes defining what constitutes a criminal, and violators’ rejection of the law is a form of protest that they may be vaguely aware of. Any behavior that deviates from the socially mandated norms is penalized and is not in line with the accepted standard, which is sometimes referred to as crime.
Definition
“Offenses are whatever the legislature has banned or prohibited for good or for bad reasons,” according to Bentham’s definition of crime. Suppose the inquiry pertains to a theoretical investigation aimed at identifying optimal rules based on utility principles. In that case, we designate an offense for any behavior we believe should be outlawed due to the harm it does or is likely to cause. Crime is defined as “an act committed or omitted in violation of a Public Law either forbidding or commanding it” by Blackstone in his commentary on the Law of England.
The definition of crime proposed by Stephen has been modified from Blackstone’s version to read as follows: “A crime is a violation of a right, considered about the evil tendency of such violation as regards the community at large.” According to Austin, “A wrong that is pursued by the sovereign or his subordinates is a crime; a wrong that is pursued at the discretion of the injured party and his representatives is a civil injury.”
Fundamental elements of a crime
Human being
The first element of a crime requires a human to commit a wrongful act, which means that any non-living object or animal is not regarded as a person or a human being. In contrast, punishment for harm caused to animals was meted out to them in the past when the theory of the ritter bit was a major influence on criminal law. The Indian Penal Code’s Section 11 defines “person” as “company, association, or body of persons, whether or not they are incorporated.” Artificial or legal persons are included in the definition of a person. Unlike a company established by a state legislature, he is a legal entity created by law rather than a natural person.
Mens rea or guilt intention
Actus Non-Facit Reum Nisi Mens Sit Rea is a well-known maxim from which the second element is drawn. There are two components to this maxim.
a) Mens rea (guilty mind);
b) Actus reus (guilty act)
It indicates that a crime is made up of both a guilty act and a guilty intention. It derives from the dictum that no one may be punished in a criminal trial until it is demonstrated that they are guilty. The second component is mens rea, which can be defined in several ways. For example, mens rea can be defined as having a guilty mind, a guilty or wrong purpose, criminal intent, guilty knowledge, or wilfulness.
Actus reus
This Latin phrase refers to an illegal activity. It is generally understood to mean criminal action resulting from voluntary physical movement. This is used to characterize physical acts that cause property damage or injury to other people. There are two different kinds of Actus reus: omissions and commissions. The act of commission is considered criminal as it resulted from a voluntary movement of the body.
Another instance of Actus reus, or criminal carelessness, is omission. Failure to alert others that you have created a risky situation could be considered an omission.
Injury
Injuring another person or the entire society is the fourth prerequisite for a crime to be considered legitimate. Any damage that is unlawfully inflicted on a person’s body, mind, reputation, or property by another individual is classified as an injury under Section 44 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860. A set of facts known as elements of crime must be established to find a person guilty of a crime. In areas where common law crimes are permitted, criminal components are outlined in criminal statutes or court decisions.
Doctrine of Mens Rea
The application of mens rea is widespread in Indian criminal law. The explanations behind this are obvious. One of the main causes is that India has a codified criminal code with accurate definitions for every offense. If mens rea is considered a prerequisite, it is then included in the definition of the crime and handled as one of its elements. The penal law has numerous definitions that require the commission of a crime to be done “voluntarily,” “dishonestly,” “knowingly,” “fraudulently,” and so on. Accordingly, the guilty mind is deceitful, dishonest, or careless.
Types of mens rea:
Purpose/ Intent
The purposeful use of one’s mental faculties to act to fulfil or accomplish a goal is known as intention. Consequently, the intention is often used about the results of an action rather than the action itself.
Knowledge
The consciousness of one’s thoughts is referred to as knowledge. Someone can be presumed to be knowledgeable when there is a clear appeal to their senses. Knowledge is the awareness of the consequences of the act.
Recklessness
When someone is considered reckless, it means that they are aware of the potential consequences of their actions but are not actively seeking to cause them. If a man sees that his acts may have consequences but neither wants nor expects them to, then he is considered reckless when it comes to those consequences.
Negligence
In legal parlance, negligence is the absence of care and caution that a reasonably prudent person would have exercised under the same conditions. According to the rules that ordinarily guide human affairs, negligence is defined as either doing something that a prudent and reasonable person would not do or neglecting to do something that a prudent and reasonable person would do.
Judicial Interpretations
In Ravule Hariprasada Rao v. State[1], the Supreme Court ruled that a person should not be found guilty of an offense unless he had a guilty mentality at the time of the behaviour unless legislation directly or by necessary inference removes mens rea as a component ingredient of a crime. In State of Maharashtra v. Mayer Hans George[2], the Supreme Court upheld the common law concept of mens rea, ruling among other things that it did not extend to statute offenses in India. Because of this, it is assumed that mens rea is a prerequisite for a statutory offense.
The court noted that a man is “motivated” when something motivates him to create a “intention,” and that he has “knowledge” when he is aware of the repercussions of his actions in the Basdev v. State of Pepsu case[3].
The Court noted in the Suresh Chandra Bahri v. State of Bihar[4], decision that “motive,” which is a driving force behind committing a crime, might occasionally become a relevant aspect.
The Court unequivocally stated in State of U.P. v. Arun Kumar Gupta[5], that evidence of “motive” alone, without proof of the essential elements of the offense, would not be sufficient to condemn the accused.
Conclusion
In summary, breaking the law is considered a crime if someone intends to commit it and really follows through on it, among other particular requirements. Different jurisdictions may have different laws defining what constitutes a crime. Striking a balance between the rights of individuals, the greater welfare of society, and preventing future crimes are all important aspects in dealing with criminal activity. To ensure that everyone’s rights are upheld and that justice is served, legal systems are in place.
References
1951 AIR 204
1965 AIR 722
AIR 1956 SC 488
AIR 1994 SC 2420
- (2003) 2 SC 20
