Home / The Nyaaya Weekly / 5 things you didn’t know about Criminal Conspiracy

Mar 11, 2022

5 things you didn’t know about Criminal Conspiracy

While granting bail to an accused person, the Supreme Court observed that an offence of conspiracy cannot be presumed from a set of unconnected facts or from conduct at different places and times without a reasonable link.

  1. Which law defines criminal conspiracy?

The offence of criminal conspiracy is defined under the Indian Penal Code of 1860.

  1. What is criminal conspiracy?

Section 120A of the Code defines criminal conspiracy. Criminal conspiracy occurs when two or more people agree to do an illegal act or any act by using illegal methods, and then actually take some steps to follow through with the agreement. It doesn’t matter whether an illegal act is the ultimate target of the agreement, or whether an illegal act happens in the course of fulfilling the agreement.

  1. What is the punishment for criminal conspiracy?

The punishment for criminal conspiracy depends on the nature of the offence which is planned by the agreement.

For a less serious offence, any person who takes part in a criminal conspiracy to commit the offence can be punished with imprisonment for up to six months and/or a fine.

The punishment is more severe for someone who is a part of a criminal conspiracy to commit an offence which is punishable with death, life imprisonment or rigorous imprisonment for at least two years. In such a case, the person can be punished as if he has assisted in committing the offence, and the punishment for actually committing such an offence will be applicable.

  1. Conspiracy to wage war

Sometimes, people may also conspire to wage war against the Indian government itself. In this case, the person who conspires to wage war can be punished with life imprisonment, or imprisonment for up to ten years, along with a fine. In case of a conspiracy to wage war, an agreement to do this illegal activity is enough, even if no act has actually been done to follow through with the agreement.

  1. The Rajiv Gandhi assassination case

The Supreme Court delivered a notable judgement on criminal conspiracy in State of Tamil Nadu v. Nalini.

Among other things, the Court said that a criminal conspiracy is a partnership in crime. In each conspiracy, there is a joint agency for the implementation of a common plan. If two or more people enter into a conspiracy, any act done by any of them to follow the agreement is considered as an act done by all of them, and they are jointly responsible. However, a conspirator is not responsible for acts done by a co-conspirator after the completion of the conspiracy.

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