Joint and Constructive Criminal Liability

The joint and constructive liability in criminal law is best based on the fact that there can be no criminal act without a guilty mind, and in all cases, the persons who have committed a crime will be punished equally. Constructive liability is an exception to this general rule of criminal liability.

According to the IPC section 34, joint liability states that when several people have done a criminal act, they are liable for that act in the same manner as if it was done by each person alone. It means that if a crime is committed by one or more persons withholding common intentions to eat, they will be held liable for the crime as if the crime was performed by them individually. Let us learn about joint and constructive liability. Let us learn about joint and constructive liability.

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Joint Criminal Liability

Joint criminal liability alludes to the liability of 2 or more people for an offence. In this situation, two or more people have a prior engagement in the commission of a crime. If any one of them or more does an act that is forbidden by the law for their benefit, then every person engaged in the act is considered liable for the crime as it was done solely by him.

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Essentials of Section 34

To add up to Joint criminal liability under section 34, it must fulfil these essential points.

Common Intention

Common intention refers to the purpose shared by all the people involved in a crime. In this situation, the intention of the crime becomes common when it is shared by several people engaged in a particular act.

Scope of the common purpose of the crime shall include these points

• Several people must share it
• Prior meeting of people involved or prearranged plan 
• The intention of the crime may develop on the spot
• Must be from the same intention

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Several People

Here several people mean more than one person. If two or more people are occupied in the commission of an act, then several people say the act is said to be committed. Therefore, a minimum of 2 people is required.

Criminal Act

This term refers to an act that is a crime. As we all know, crime is always prohibited by criminal acts. The implementation of common intention is essential for constituting criminal liability under section 34 of the Indian Penal Code. 

Constructive Liability

It is the advanced version of joint liability. In constructive liability, the offence is committed by any one member of an unlawful assembly in the advancement of the common objective of that assembly. Then each member of that assembly is considered to be constructively liable for the act as if it is done by a person irrespective of the fact if the person is present at the time of the crime or not; mere involvement or membership is sufficient.

Section 149 of the Indian Penal Code refers to that if an offence is committed by any person of the unlawful committee in the implementation of the common object of that assembly, or if the members of the assembly already knew about the crime is likely to be committed in prosecution of that common object, every person at the time of the execution of the crime or offence is the member of the same assembly or committee is guilty of that crime.

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Some Essentials of Section 149

1. The Act should be Committed by a Member of the Unlawful Assembly

It lies under section 141 of The Indian Penal Code as an assembly of 5 or more people. If the common object of the people is composing, then that assembly is unlawful.

2. Common Object

As per section 141, it must be

• Criminal trespass
• Show off or using of criminal forces to override the government
• Forcible dispossession or possession of the particular property
• Illegal compulsion
• Resisting the law

3. Membership in the Same Assembly

A person is just a mere member of the assembly when an offence or crime is committed. Then it is sufficient to make that person liable for the offence committed.

Section 34 and Section 149: Difference 

1. In section 34, the number of people must be more than one, but in section 149, the unlawful assembly must consist of at least a group of five people. 
2. Section 34 requires common intentions, whereas section 149 requires common objects.
3. In section 34, a Prior meeting of the people is necessary, whereas, in section 149, the prior meeting of a group of people is not required.
4. Active participation in the crime is necessary for section 34, and in section 149, active participation in the offence is not required.

Conclusion

In this study of material notes of joint and constructive liability in IPC, we learned about the topic in detail. The concept of joint and constructive liability is under section 34 of the Indian Penal Code, and it does not give the punishment for the act performed. To understand section 34, it has to be read with various other sections like section 128, which states the definition of criminal conspiracy, section 120, which states the punishment for the same, and section 149, which deals with unlawful assembly. Apart from this, section 34 cannot be applied independently and has to be involved with other provisions to make the person jointly liable for the crime committed. This was all about joint and constructive liability.