INTRODUCTION
When someone hurts another person and money can fix the harm, the person who caused the harm must pay compensation. But sometimes, aside from paying compensation, the State also punishes the wrongdoer to keep peace in society and encourage good behaviour towards others and the community.
Yet, we face a dilemma- what actions should be banned or selected for punishment by society or the State? In simpler terms, what actions should be labelled as crimes? According to Terence Morris: “Crime is what society says is crime by establishing that an act is a violation of the criminal law. Without law, there can be no crime at all, although there may be moral indignation which results in law being enacted.”[1] Crime is when someone does something wrong and the State gets mad people do crimes for lots of reasons like being greedy, jealous, angry, wanting revenge or being too proud.
To consider something a crime, you need a person, a guilty mind (mens rea), a guilty act (actus reus) and harm to a person. To prove someone did a crime, the prosecutors have to be super sure and show all the important parts of the crime.
WHAT IS CRIME?
Crime is broadly defined as any action that violates the law or harms public welfare. In today’s intricate society, numerous behaviours can be detrimental to public welfare. Crime is perceived as a societal transgression committed by an individual. Criminal law delineates actions that are unlawful and forbidden by legal statutes.
Defining ‘crime’ is hard. Scholars have tried over time to explain it. To understand ‘crime’ better, let’s explore some key definitions.
Blackstone has defined crime as “an act committed or omitted in violation of Public law either forbidding or commanding it.”
According to Austin, “A wrong which is pursued at the discretion of the injured party and his representatives is a civil injury; a wrong which is pursued by the sovereign or his subordinates is a crime.”
Miller defines crime “to be the commission or omission of an act which the law forbids or commands under pain of a punishment to be imposed by the State by a proceeding in its name.”
CORE COMPONENTS OF CRIME
The core components which are necessary to constitute a crime are:
- Someone legally bound to act in a specific way and ready for suitable punishment;
- An evil intention from this person;
- An action taken with that intention;
- Harm caused to others or society by that action.
Crime, in simple terms, is all about the obligation of human beings, intent, action and harm.
HUMAN BEING
So, the first thing to remember is that a person has to do the act. Back in the day, animals or objects could get punished for causing harm. Those times were all about payback. Like, if a dog bites someone, that dog gets in trouble.
With the development of the notion of mens rea as an essential element of crime, the trial and punishment of animals and inanimate objects had to be given up. Even now vicious animals are destroyed not as punitive but as a preventive measure. Even today we hold the owner of the animal liable in some cases for any damage caused by his animals but the punishment now is not for what the animal has done but for the omission on the part of the owner to take proper care of his animals and thereby to prevent any mischief to others. Therefore, only a human being under a legal obligation and capable of being punished can be a proper subject of criminal law.”[2]
“Person” is defined in sub-section 26 of section 2 of the new proposed criminal act. The word “person” includes ‘any company or association or body of persons, whether incorporated or not.’[3] The term “person” encompasses both artificial and legal entities.
MEN’S REA
Another important component that is necessary to constitute a crime is the guilty mind. “Mens rea, which is a technical term generally taken to mean some blameworthy mental condition or ‘mind at fault’, covers a wide range of mental states and conditions, the existence of which would give a criminal hue to actus reus.”[4] So there’s this famous maxim in the world of criminal law ‘Actus non facit reum nisi mens sit rea’ which says that ‘the act itself does not make a man guilty unless his intentions were so’. Another important maxim ‘Actus me invito actus non est men’s actus’ says that ‘an act done by me is not my act at all.’ According to these two maxims, for an act to be punishable by law, it must be something you intend to do and done with criminal intent.
The term “mens rea” isn’t used in the criminal act. However, the creators of the code used words that mean the same thing as mens rea quite often.
Motive and intention are crucial elements in the realm of law and justice, playing a pivotal role in proving or disproving a case or crime. It is widely acknowledged that establishing a wrongful motive with a guilty intention is essential in proving criminal liability.
ACTUS REUS
Actus reus, which is a fancy Latin term for a criminal act, is the third core component of a crime. Simply put, you do something or fail to do something illegally you wanted to. Actus reus is showing your bad intentions in the real world. Professor Kenny came up with the term ‘actus reus’ and defined it as – “such result of human conduct as the law seeks to prevent”.[5]
An act includes illegal omission also. A person is considered liable when they have a legal obligation imposed on them by law, and they fail to fulfil that obligation. This implies that an omission must constitute a violation of a legal duty. Sub Section 14 of section 2 of The Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 lays down ‘the word ‘illegal’ applies to everything which is an offence or which is prohibited by law, or which furnishes ground for a civil action; and a person is said to be “legally bound to do” whatever it is illegal in him to omit.’
INJURY TO HUMAN BEING
For a crime to happen, there has to be caused injury to someone else or society as a whole. The term “injury” as defined in sub-section 13 of section 2 of the BNS, 2023 denotes ‘any harm whatever illegally caused to any person, in body, mind, reputation or property.’ An injury must be caused unlawfully to another individual, a group of people, or society as a whole.
CONCLUSION
So, what exactly is a crime and the core components of crime? Well, it’s an unlawful act that leads to punishment by the authorities. It harms not only individuals but also the community and society at large. To sum it up, a crime needs four key components – a person, intent (mens rea), action (actus reus), and harm to someone else. To hold someone accountable for a crime, the prosecution has to prove these components without a shadow of a doubt.
Author(s) Name: Shalu Sharma (Aligarh Muslim University)
References-
[1] S.N. Misra, Indian Penal Code (23rd edn, Central Law Publications 2023)
[2] S.N. Misra, Indian Penal Code (23rd edn, Central Law Publications 2023)
[3] Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita 2023, s 2(26)
[4] PSA Pillai, CRIMINAL LAW (13th edn, Lexis Nexis 2017)
[5] Priya Sepaha,‘Elements of Crime’ (Academia) <https://www.academia.edu/46962259/Elements_of_Crime?sm=b> accessed 11 July 2024
