Criminal Law
Topic by topic
Sections 74 to 78 of the B.N.S. sit under the heading "Of criminal force and assault against woman", which also covers Section 79 (word, gesture or act intended to insult the modesty of a woman). Sections 74 to 78 protect a woman against an indecent touch, sexual harassment, being stripped, voyeuri…
24 min read
Sections 14 to 18 of the B.N.S. are the first general defences. Each one answers a familiar plea made by a person who has hurt someone or taken away someone's liberty:
17 min read
When a crime is reported, the first question is: who did it? A good lawyer asks a second question: who made it happen? The person caught with the stolen goods is often only the last link in a chain. Behind that person, someone may have planted the idea, someone may have shaken hands on the plan, an…
21 min read
Can a person be sent to jail for a crime that never happened, with a weapon that was never bought, against a victim who was never touched? In one corner of criminal law, the answer is yes. That corner is criminal conspiracy .
17 min read
Attempt is the stage at which a person has started to carry out a crime but has not completed it. Not every unfinished crime is treated alike: some people who stop short of the full offence are guilty of attempt, while others have committed no offence at all. These notes cover why attempt is punish…
16 min read
This topic explains the stages through which a crime passes, the elements that must be present for a complete crime, the stage at which criminal law steps in, the special cases where even preparation is punished under the B.N.S., and the three inchoate crimes: attempt, criminal conspiracy and abetm…
15 min read
Every criminal case asks two questions: what did the accused do , and what was going on in the accused's mind when doing it? The doing is called actus reus (the guilty act). The thinking is called mens rea (the guilty mind).
28 min read
These notes cover kidnapping and abduction under the B.N.S.: the definition of abduction (Section 138), the two kinds of kidnapping (Section 137), the meaning of consent (Section 28), lawful guardianship, punishment (Sections 137(2), 87 and 140), two Supreme Court cases, and the differences between…
18 min read
The central idea of this topic is simple: a plan can divide the work, but the law refuses to divide the guilt. When people commit a crime together, the law can hold each of them responsible for what the group did, even for a blow struck by another person.
24 min read
Key Point: For certain economic laws like FERA, intent (mens rea) is not needed to prove guilt.
23 min read
