Arjun Singh V/s State of Himachal Pradesh

Information Type: Judicial Information
Court: Supreme Court
Date of Judgment(s): 2009-02-06
Case No: 224 of 2009
Case Type: Appeal (Criminal)
Judge Name: Arijit Pasayat & Asok Kumar Ganguly
Subject: Criminal Law- Rape
Statutes / Acts: Indian Penal Code, 1860
Section: Sections 365, 366 and 511 IPC
Bench Strength: Double Bench
State of Appellant(s): Himachal Pradesh
History of Case No: Criminal Appeal No. 224 of 2009. From the final Judgment and Order dated 1.5.2008 of the High Court of Himachal Pradesh at Shimla in Crl. Appeal No. 112 of 2001
Case Note / Description :

The offence of rape in its simplest term is `the ravishment of a woman, without her consent, by force, fear or fraud', or as `the carnal knowledge of a woman by force against her will'. `Rape' or `Raptus' is when a man hath carnal knowledge of a woman by force and against her will; or as expressed more fully,' rape is the carnal knowledge of any woman, above the age of particular years, against her will; or of a woman child, under that age, with or against her will'. In the crime of rape, `carnal knowledge' means the penetration to any the slightest degree of the organ alleged to have been carnally known by the male organ of generation [Para 9] [989-C- F] Vishnu v. State of Maharashtra (2006) 1 SCC 283 and State of Chhattisgarh v. Lekhram (2006) 5 SCC 736, relied on. 2. In the instant case, though the rape does not appear to have been committed but the attempt to commit the rape is clearly established. That being so the conviction for offence punishable under Section 376 IPC is not made out but the offence punishable under Section 511 IPC is clearly made out. So far as the offence under Sections 365 and 366 IPC are concerned the Trial Court and the High Court had analysed the evidence in great detail. There is no infirmity in the conclusion to warrant interference. [Para 10] [989-H; 990-A-B] 3.1. Under Section 109 IPC the abettor is liable to the same punishment which may be inflicted on the principal offender, if the act of the latter is committed in consequence of the abetment and no express provision is made in the IPC for punishment for such an abetment. Law does not require instigation to be in a particular form or that it should only be in words. The instigation may be by conduct. Whether there was instigation or not is a question to be decided on the facts of each case. It is not necessary in law for the prosecution to prove that the actual operative cause in the mind of the person abetting was instigation and nothing else, so long as there was instigation and the offence has been committed or the offence would have been committed if the person committing the act had the same knowledge and intention as the abettor. The instigation must be with reference to the thing that was done and not to the thing that was likely to have been done by the person who is instigated. It is only if this condition is fulfilled that a person can be guilty of abetment by instigation. Further the act abetted should be committed in consequence of the abetment or in pursuance of the conspiracy as provided in the Explanation to Section 109. Under the Explanation an act or offence is said to be committed in pursuance of abetment if it is done in consequence of instigation, conspiracy or with the aid constituting abetment. Instigation may be in any form and the extent of the influence which the instigation produced in the mind of the accused would vary and depend upon facts of each case. [Para 11] [990-C-H; 991-A] 3.2. The offence of conspiracy created under Section 120A is bare agreement to commit an offence. It has been made punishable under Section 120B. The offence of abetment created under the second clause of Section 107 requires that there must be something more than mere conspiracy.

 
 
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