What constitutes Criminal Conspiracy?

Criminal conspiracy is a complex legal concept that involves agreements between two or more individuals to commit unlawful acts in the future. The essence of a conspiracy lies not in the completion of the actual crime but in the agreement itself, where parties plan and conspire to engage in illegal activities. While the agreement can be implicit or explicit, its existence can be inferred through actions and circumstantial evidence.

What is Criminal Conspiracy?

Criminal conspiracy is defined as an agreement between two or more individuals to commit a crime, coupled with the intent to achieve the objective of the agreement. Most jurisdictions may also require an overt act to further the conspiracy, which refers to any step taken toward accomplishing the agreed-upon illegal act.

According to the Legal Dictionary, criminal conspiracy is an agreement between two or more people to commit an unlawful act or to deprive another person of their legal rights. The act of conspiring together to achieve an illegal end is the key aspect of the conspiracy. It is essential to note that conspiracy can be charged even if legal means are used to achieve an illegal result or if illegal means are used to accomplish a legal outcome.

What is Abetment? How it may be committed and its Punishments.

Britannica explains conspiracy as an agreement between two or more persons to commit an unlawful act or achieve a lawful objective through unlawful means. In most cases, conspiracy is inferred from circumstantial evidence, and the agreement can take various forms.

The Penal Code of 1860 defines criminal conspiracy under section 120A and provides the punishment for such conspiracy under section 120B. According to the said definition, when two or more individuals come to an agreement with the intent to engage in unlawful activities or achieve lawful objectives through illegal means should be termed as Criminal Conspiracy.

What constitutes Criminal Conspiracy?

According to Section 120A of the Penal Code of 1860, Criminal Conspiracy constitutes when,

1. an agreement between two persons or more for doing or cause to be done-
2. an illegal act, or,
3. a lawful act by illegal means.
4. Some act besides the agreement is to be done. But for an agreement to commit an offense, this condition is not applicable.

So, an agreement maintaining these requisites can be labeled as a criminal conspiracy. However, it is essential to understand that criminal conspiracy requires both the intention to commit a crime and the collaboration with others who share the same intention. The essence of the offense lies in the agreement itself, which can be proven by direct or circumstantial evidence or a combination of both.

What are Rights? Its Characteristics and Classification

In simpler terms, criminal conspiracy occurs when two or more individuals come together with the intent to engage in unlawful activities or achieve lawful objectives through illegal means. The actual commission of the crime may or may not take place, as the offense is committed at the moment of agreement. Moreover, for an agreement to be labeled as a criminal conspiracy, some act beyond the agreement itself must be performed in pursuit of the agreed-upon objectives.

Punishment of Criminal Conspiracy

Punishment for Criminal Conspiracy under the Section 120B of the Penal Code of 1860 is as follows:

1. When the offense conspired be punishable with Death, Imprisonment for life, or, Rigorous imprisonment for a term of two years or, above, the punishment shall be given in the same manner as if the conspirators have abetted the offense.
2. In every case, the conspirators are liable to an imprisonment of either description which may extend to six months or with a fine or with both.

The Ideal Form Of Law, How It Ought To Be!

Things worth mentioning are that every punishment as aforesaid, be it for abetment or criminal conspiracy is inflictable only when there is no specific provision for those offenses in this code.