Criminal Attempt :

Meaning, Periphery,
Position explained under
the Indian Penal Code

Presented by-
Abhijeet Dwivedi
6thSemester,B.A.LL.B.(HONS.)
UNIVERSITY OF ALLAHABAD
 STAGES IN COMMISSION OF
CRIME

• NELSON- Every offence , before it reaches its

peak, passes through four stages, i.e.
i. The stage of possessing the intention to
commit an offence
ii. The stage of preparation to commit an
offence,
iii. The stage of an attempt to commit an
offence, and
iv. If the third stage is successful, the final
stage of commission of offence itself.
 STAGES IN COMMISSION OF
CRIME

• It has been recognized in State of Maharashtra

v. Mohd. Yakub [AIR 1980 SC 1111, 1114-15]
• The intention or ‘Mens Rea’ is not alone
punishable, however ‘preparation’ in some
cases have been made punishable.
• The third and the fourth stage are punishable.
 STAGES IN COMMISION OF
CRIME

• Ratanlal Dheerajlal – In every crime, there

is the first intention to commit it; secondly,
preparation to commit it. If the third stage,
that is the attempt fails the crime is not
complete but the law punishes the person
attempting the act. An ‘attempt’ if successful, it
is itself the commission of the offence.
• Intention, followed by preparation, and further
followed by an ‘act done towards a commission
of the offence’ is sufficient for punishment –
Asgarali Pradhamia v. Emperor [AIR 1933 Cal
893, 35]
 STAGES IN COMMISSION OF
CRIME

• There will be no offence unless there is some

act or deed towards the commission of the
offence.
 STAGES IN COMMISION OF
CRIME

• In all crimes, other than those brought about

by omission to perform a legal duty, some
active conduct whether brief or prolonged, on
the part of the offender must precede his
attainment of the actus reus. This preparatory
activity consists in a series of steps taken in
furtherance of his ultimate aim and anyone of
these steps may be (although none need to be)
in itself an independent, complete crime. They
are incitement, attempt, and conspiracy-
KENNY’S CRIMINAL LAW.
WHETHER THEY ARE
‘INCHOATE CRIME’ ?

• Ashworth- He has recognized them as

‘Inchoate crime’.

• He writes,” The common law has given birth

to three general offences which are usually
termed ‘inchoate’ or ‘preliminary’ crimes-
attempt, conspiracy and incitement. A
principal feature of these crimes is that they
are committed even though the substantive
offences (i.e., the offence it was intended to
bring about) is not completed and no harm
results
 WHETHER THEY ARE
‘INCHOATE CRIME’ ?

• The word ‘inchoate’ means ‘something which is

just begun, incipient, in an initial or early
stage, imperfect or underdeveloped.’- Oxford
English Dictionary
 WHETHER THEY ARE
‘INCHOATE CRIME’ ?

• However Kenny argues that the term

‘inchoate’ cannot be employed to indicate
something which is itself complete or which
has been done as a step towards an end which
has not yet been achieved. This is misleading
because the word ‘inchoate’ connotes
something which is not yet completed, and it is
therefore not accurately used to denote
something which is itself complete, even
though it is a link in a link in a chain of events
leading to some object which is not yet
attained.
 STAGES DEFINED

• Intention defined:- Intention is the

determination of the will to act in a particular
manner. It amounts to resolution or a settled
determination that a certain thing shall be
done. If such intention does not pass beyond
the stage of mental resolve or determination,
the law cannot punish it, because the law will
not take notice of an intent without an act.-
COLRIDGE IN DAGDALE CASE.
 STAGES DEFINED

• Intention is the direction of conduct towards

the object chosen upon considering the
motives which suggest the choice. The will is
not to be taken for the deed, unless there be
some external act which shows that the
progress has been made in the direction of it,
or towards maturing or effecting it.
The moment it emerges from
that stage, it ceases to be an intention and
develops into a preparation.
STAGES DEFINED

• Preparation:-
Preparation consists in devising or arranging
the means or measures necessary for the
commission of an offence. It implies the taking
of previous measures necessary for the crime.
In one sense, everything however remotely
connected with the commission may be
regarded as preparation towards it. Basically,
preparation in furtherance of the design or
desire to commit an offence, as a general rule
does not come within the purview of penal law.
It does not attract criminal liability.
 Preparation- Why generally not
punishable?

• Shamshul Huda ‘Principle of the Law of

crimes ‘ argues that a prepartition is not
punishable is based on a sound reason.
• He gives following reason :-(page 46 of the
book)
(i) In the first place, preparation apart from its
motive, would generally be a harmless act; and

(ii) It would be impossible in most of the case

to show that the preparation was directed to a
wrongful end or was done with an evil motive
or intent, and……
Preparation- Why generally not
punishable?

(iii) It is not the Policy of law to create offence

that in most cases, as it would be impossible to
bring home to the culprit or which may lead to
harassment of innocent persons,
(iv) A mere preparation does not affect the
sense of security of the individual to be
wronged, not would the society be disturbed or
alarmed as to rouse its sense of Vengeance.
 Preparation- Why generally not
punishable?

• The law in such cases allows a locus potentiate

and will not hold that the person has
attempted a crime until he has passed beyond
the stage of preparation – Ratanlal Dheerajlal.

• This is a case where the accused has not gone

through the series of acts necessary to
complete the offence apart from resulting
consequences. The offender may have stopped
its own free will abandoning the idea either as
a result of persistence, or in view of the
consequence that might befall him.
 Preparation- When an
independent offence?

• There are some exceptional cases where

preparation of contemplated offence is so
grave that it would be of the outmost
importance to stop it at its earliest stage.
• Criminalization of these preparation is plausibly
justified on the need to nip grave offences in
the bud and thereby to arrest criminality at
incipient stage.
 Preparation- When an
independent offence?

• The Indian Penal Code punishes preparations

to commit a few serious offences are :-
1. Preparation made for waging war against the
Government of India [Sec. 122]
2. Preparation made for committing depredation on
territories of any power in alliance or at peace with
the Government of India[S.126]
3. Making or selling or being in possession of
instruments for counterfeiting coins or government
stamps [SS.242,243,259,and 266]
4. Preparation made for committing dacoity [S. 239]
 Preparation- When an
independent offence?

• The first two categories are punishable because

of the grave and serious harm which they would
produce if not stopped.
• The later categories are punished, not merely on
the gravity of harm of the contemplated offence,
but preparation are of so peculiar a nature as to
preclude the likelihood of their being meant for
innocent purposes.
 Attempt Defined

• To give a precise definition of ‘attempt’ is a

cumbersome and frustrating exercise.
• However, authors have tried to analyses some
of the basic characteristics of an ‘attempt.’

• Stephen’s Digest of Criminal Law(5th

Ed.1894) defines attempt as
“An attempt to commit a crime is an act
done with intent to commit that crime, and
forming part of a series of acts which would
constitute its actual commission if it were not
interrupted”
 Attempt Defined

• In England ParkeB described the characteristics

of an ‘attempt’ in Reg v. Eagelton, follows:
“ the mere intention to commit a
misdemeanor is not criminal. Some act is
required and we do not think that all acts
towards committing a misdemeanor indictable.
Acts remotely leading towards the commission of
the offence, are not to be considered as
attempts to commit but acts immediately
connected with it are….”
 Attempt Defined

• This dictum is considered as locus classics on

the subject and the text of ‘proximity’ suggested
by it has been accepted and applied by the
English courts.
 Attempt Defined

• Archbold’s Criminal Pleading, Evidence and

Practice(36th Ed.) produced with approval in
Davey v. Lee was as follows:-
“…. The actus reus necessary to constitute
an attempt is complete if the prisoner does an
act which is a step towards the commission of it,
and the doing of which cannot reasonably be
regarded as having any other purpose than the
commission of the specific crime.”
 Attempt Defined

• Jenking, CJ in Luxman (1899)2 Bomb L.R. 286

defines,” An attempt is an intentional preparatory
action which fails in object –which so fails through
circumstances independent of the person who
seeks its accomplishment.
• When a man does an intentional act with a view
to attain a certain end and fails in his object
through some circumstances independent of his
own will, then that man has attempted to effect
the object at which he aimed.
 Attempt Defined

• The actus reus of an attempt to commit a

specific crime is constituted when the accused
person does any act which is a step towards the
commission of that specific crime, and the doing of
such act cannot reasonably be regarded as having
any other purpose than the commission of a
specific crime.
 Attempt Defined

• An attempt in order to be a crime need not to be

the penultimate act. It is sufficient in law, if there
is present an intent complied with some overt act
in the execution thereof .
 Attempt Defined

• Kenny defines ‘Criminal attempt’- “At common

law it consists of steps taken in furtherance of an
indictable offence which the person attempting
intends ‘to carry out if he can’.”
• He further writes” the criminality of the attempt
lies in the intention, the mens rea, but this mens
rea must be evidenced by what the accused has
actually done towards the attainment of his
ultimate objective. Thus the actus reus of attempt
is reached in such act of performance as first gives
clear prima facie evidence of the mens rea”.
 Attempt Defined

• In sum, any person commits the offence of

attempt to commit a particular offence” when (i)
he intends to commit that particular offence,
and (ii) he, having made preparations and with
the intention to commit the offence, does any
act towards its commission; such an act need
not to be penultimate act towards the
commission of that offence but must be an act
during the course of committing that offence-
State of Maharashtra v. Mohd. Yakub.