In this article you will learn about the Difference Between Abetment and Criminal Conspiracy in IPC.
Abetment
Abetment is a legal term that refers to the act of urging, assisting, or influencing someone to commit a criminal offence in the Indian Penal Code (IPC). It entails actively encouraging or enabling criminal activity. Section 107 of the IPC defines abetment as follows :
Abetment of a thing — A person abets the doing of a thing, who — Firstly - Instigates any person to do that thing; or Secondly — Engages with one or more other person or persons in any conspiracy for the doing of that thing, if an act or illegal omission takes place in pursuance of that conspiracy, and in order to the doing of that thing; or Thirdly — Intentionally aids, by any act or illegal omission, the doing of that thing.
Engaging with one or more persons in a conspiracy to commit an act or illegal omission, where an act or illegal omission takes place as a result of that conspiracy and is intended to facilitate the commission of said act, is referred to as abetment by conspiracy. If an act or illegal omission takes place in pursuance of that conspiracy then only it will constitute abetment by conspiracy. If the act abetted is committed in consequence of the abetment, and no express provision is made by this Code for the punishment of such abetment, the offender shall be punished with the punishment provided for the offence(Sec. 109).
Illustration
X engages with Y to commit theft in the house of Z. Y entered into Z's house and committed the offence of theft as per to the plan given by X. Here, X is the abettor by conspiracy and Y is the principal offender.
Criminal Conspiracy
According to Section 120A of the I.P.C., a criminal conspiracy is an agreement between two or more people to carry out an illegal act, a legal act through an illegal means, or to cause such an act to be carried out. Anything that is an infraction, is forbidden, or gives rise to a civil lawsuit is considered "illegal" in accordance with Section 43.
Simply put, a criminal conspiracy is defined as an agreement between two or more people to carry out an act that is illegal by nature; it is irrelevant whether the act carried out is the ultimate goal of the conspiracy or merely a byproduct of it. No agreement except an agreement to commit an offence shall amount to a criminal conspiracy unless some act besides the agreement is done by one or more parties to such agreement in pursuance thereof.
Section 120B states the : Punishment of criminal conspiracy — (1) Whoever is a party to a criminal conspiracy to commit an offence punishable with death, [imprisonment for life] or rigorous imprisonment for a term of two years or upwards, shall, where no express provision is made in this Code for the punishment of such a conspiracy, be punished in the same manner as if he had abetted such offence. (2) Whoever is a party to a criminal conspiracy other than a criminal conspiracy to commit an offence punishable as aforesaid shall be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term not exceeding six months, or with fine or with both.
Illustration
X agreed with Y to commit the offence of theft together in the house of Z on next Sunday. X and Y have committed the criminal conspiracy.
Points of Differences
| DIFFERENCES | ABETMENT | CRIMINAL CONSPIRACY |
|---|---|---|
| Section | Section 107 | Section 120A |
| Meaning | Engages with one or more other persons in any conspiracy for the doing of that thing, if an act or illegal omission takes place in pursuance of that conspiracy and in order to the doing of that thing is called abetment under conspiracy. | When two or more persons agree to do an illegal act or an act which is not illegal by illegal means it is called a criminal conspiracy. |
| Name of the Parties | Abettor or Principal Offender | Conspirators |
| Concept | Whoever abets any offence shall, if the act abetted is committed in consequence of the abetment, and no express provision is made by this Code for the punishment of such abetment, be punished with the punishment provided for the offence. | No agreement except an agreement to commit an offence shall amount to a criminal conspiracy unless some act besides the agreement is done by one or more parties to such agreement in pursuance thereof. |
| Engagements/Agreements | Engages with one person in any conspiracy for the doing of that thing. | Agreement to do an illegal act. |
This article on Difference Between Abetment and Criminal Conspiracy in IPC is contributed by Dipshikha Anand. If you like LawStudyPoint.com do follow us on our Twitter handle.