A two or more people working together for illegal ends is referred to as a conspiracy. It is an agreement between two or more people to do anything that is against the law. A substantive offence under the Indian Penal Code of 1860 is criminal conspiracy (I.P.C.). In most cases, the accused is also charged with another substantive offence under the I.P.C. or another statute in addition to the crime of criminal conspiracy. The crime of criminal conspiracy is covered in Chapter V-A of the I.P.C., which was added in 1913. With the aid of pertinent case laws, the author will make an effort to analyse the substantive crime of criminal conspiracy .

Originally, the term ‘conspiracy’ was used to refer to the acts of agreement of two or more persons to institute a false legal case against someone or to carry on legal proceedings in a vexatious or improper way.The House of Lords in Mucahy v. R.(1868) stated that “A conspiracy consists not merely in the intention of two or more but in the agreement of two or more to do an unlawful act by unlawful means. So long as such a design rests in intention only it is not indictable….” Thus, two or more persons must agree to carry it into effect and the very plot is an act in itself punishable for a criminal object or the use of criminal means.

Originally, when the Indian Penal Code (herein after referred as IPC) there was no such offence as criminal conspiracy, rather we had only abetment by conspiracy under section 107 (secondly) of the code, which had some discrepancies as follows:

1. Mere agreement to commit an offence is not punishable
2. Agreement to commit civil wrong or any act prohibited by law were not punishable.

Criminal conspiracy was added as an independent offence through amendment made in 1913, which adjudged Section 120A and 120B under Chapter V-A. When the Britishers added chapter V-A, they had a colonial mindset /agenda but even today in independent India it is relevant. Section 120A is a much broader and more comprehensive, also this section serves the purpose better than section 107.

The definition of criminal conspiracy under Indian Penal Code, 1860 incorporates three main ingredients of the offence which are

1. Two or more person

One of the main requirements for constituting the offence of criminal conspiracy is involvement of two or more person. The offence criminal conspiracy cannot be committed by a single person, therefore every the offence of criminal conspiracy is committed it will involve two or more person who will subsequently agree for the commission of any offence.

2. Agree to do or cause to be done

The second requirement for constitution the offence of criminal conspiracy is an agreement between the parties. There should be consensus ad idem (meeting of minds) between the parties as an agreement cannot exist unless and until there is meeting of minds between the parties. The word agreement itself includes the word ‘agree’ which stipulates that the parties to the agreement should agree for the same thing, if it not so then no agreement would exist between the parties.

3. An illegal act or an act which is not illegal by illegal means

The last but not the least requirement for constituting the offence of criminal conspiracy is commission of an ‘illegal act’. The most important ingredient for constituting an offence under criminal law is the presence of mensrea, any act would not be considered illegal unless and until it incorporates men rea.

Definition of Criminal Conspiracy

Section 120A of the I.P.C. defines criminal conspiracy as an agreement of two or more persons to do or cause to be done,-

1. An illegal act, or;
2. An act not illegal by illegal means.

Section 43 of the I.P.C. defines under section 43 of IPC as everything that comes under an offence or which is prohibited by law or furnishes ground for civil action.

In simple terms, when 2 or more person agrees to do or cause to be done an illegal act or act which is not illegal by illegal means or any legally prohibited act or any civil wrong.

This section will apply in cases where either the ultimate object or means of committing the act is illegal.

No agreement except agreementfor commission of an offence shall amount to a criminal conspiracy unless parties have done some act besides the agreement.

Actus reus is required in pursuance of agreement to commit an act prohibited by law or an agreement to commit any civil wrong except in agreement to commit an offence.

120 – B. Punishment of criminal conspiracy.

(1) Any person who is party to a criminal conspiracy done for commission of an offence punishable with death, imprisonment for life or rigorous imprisonment of minimum 2 year or upwards, shall, where no express provision is made in this Code for the punishment of such a conspiracy, be punished in the same manner as if he had abetted such offence.

(2) Any person who is party to a criminal conspiracy other than aconspiracy to commit any offence punishable as aforesaid shall be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term not exceeding six months, or with fine or with both.

Esher Singh V State of Andhra Pradesh (2004) 11SCC 585 It was held, that the policy behindcreating the offence of criminal’ conspiracy is to prevent immoderate power which a person may gain by accommodation of many people. A person may not be able to commit the offence himself alone but if he enters into an agreement with other, the others may give him the support to commit that Offence. 

Tapan Das v State of Bombay (1955) 2 SCR 881:AIR 1956 SC33

It was held that asingle person cannot commit an offence under criminal conspiracy but single person would be punished under criminal conspiracy in cases of

• Pardon
• Absconding
• Withdrawal from prosecution, etc

State of Jharkhand v. Lalu Prasad

There may comprise several larger conspiracy and smaller conspiracy which may evolve in successive stages including involvement of different accused persons .when defalcations have been made in various years by combination of different accused persons, there can be separate trials on the basis of law .

That “there must be two or more persons and one person alone can never be held guilty of criminal conspiracy”, and this view was approved by the Supreme Court in Haradhan Chakraborty Vs. Union of India ,(1990) 2 SCC 143

Parveen v. State of Haryana (2021)

This case dealt with the issue of whether a conspiracy can be established when the agreement is inferred from the circumstances. The Supreme Court held that a conspiracy can be inferred from the circumstances even if there is no express agreement between the conspirators.

Position of Husband and Wife to Criminal Conspiracy

under Common Law, husband and wife constitute one person and hence there cannot be any conspiracy to commit an offence. But, in India, Husband and wife by themselves alone can be parties to a criminal conspiracy.

Whether single person can be convicted for conspiracy?

The rule that ” One person alone cannot be held guilty of criminal conspiracy was abolished by Sec.5(8) of the Criminal Law Act, 1977, which provides that “unless conviction of one become inconsistent with the acquittal of the other even one of the two conspirators can be convicted. Bimbadhar Patradhan Vs. State of Orissa AIR 1956 SC 469, held that the Accused along with four other subordinated was chaged with the offence of criminal conspiracy to misappropriate Government funds. the Session court acquitted the four subordinates and convicted him. On appeal to high Court he was acquitted on the other charges, but conviction against conspiracy was confirmed by the high Court. He preferred an appeal before the supreme Court. The Supreme Court upheld the conviction and laid down tat, conviction of a single person against the criminal conspiracy is legal.

Punishment for Criminal Conspiracy

Punishment for criminal conspiracy is contained under section 120 B of the IPC. The punishment for section 120 A (criminal conspiracy) depends upon the nature of the offence. If the agreement is to commit a serious offence, the punishment is more severe.

Where a person conspires to commit an offence that is punishable wither by death or by imprisonment of life or by rigorous imprisonment for a term of two years or above, and no express provision is made in the Code for its punishment, then he will be liable for punishment in the same manner as if he had abetted such an offence. Abet means to encourage or assist someone in doing a crime.

Conclusion:

In conclusion, criminal conspiracy is a serious offence under the IPC that carries harsh implications for those found guilty of it. Criminal conspiracy is an offence that needs both an agreement between two or more people to perform an illegal act and the desire to carry it out.