Meaning of Crime:

An action committed or omitted, which constitutes an offence and is punishable by law, is a crime. A crime is an unlawful act that is forbidden and punished by the state or the law. In other words, anything that is injurious to the public’s welfare is a crime. It is a ‘Crime ‘ is a public wrong. It is an offence against the community or society as a whole. It causes a threat to social security and creates social disorder. Actually, crime does not have a properly and precise definition. However, many attempts were made to define the term ‘Crime’ prominent among them are given below:

According to Blackstone’s Definition: Sir William Blackstone, in his ‘Commentaries on Law of England’, defines ‘Crime’ as an act committed or omitted in violation of public law forbidding or commanding it.

“Crime is an act, that is both forbidden by law and revolting against the moral sentiments of society, as” defined by Sir James Stephen.

Kenny defines crime as “wrongs whose sanction is punitive and in no way remissible by any private person, but is remissible by the Crown alone, if remissible at all.

an offence takes place in two ways 1. commission of an act; and 2. omission of an act. Therefore, all acts and omissions are described as offences under the penal code. Crime is public wrong in the sense; any member of the public can institute criminal proceedings against the person accused of an offence.

the fundamental principal of criminal liability is that there must be a wrongful act combined with wrongful intention. This Principle is laid down in the Maxim “Actus Non Facit Reum Nisi Mens Sit Rea,” which means intent and act both must concur to constitute a Crime.

Elements of Crime:

1. Human being
2. Mens Rea (mental element or evil intent)
3. Actus Rea (Act or Omission)
4. Injury

1. Human being: The first element of crime is that it must have been committed by a human being. The IPC makes every person liable for punishment for every act or omission contrary to law. ” Person” means a natural person, i.e., a human being. In ancient days, the theory of retribution was in vogue. ” A tooth for a tooth and an eye for an eye” was the law. Hence, animals were punished. it means if a dog kills a child or a horse kicks a man, the animal could be punished. At present, its owners is subject to civil or tortuous liability.
2. Mens Rea (mental element or evil intent): The second constituent of crime is Mens rea, guilt of mind, or evil intent. the mental element is necessary for element of a Crime. An act itself is no crime, unless it is coupled with evil intent or guilt of mind. a) mens rea (guilty mind); b)  Actus reus ( guilty act ). Motive and Intention are both aspects in the field of law and justice both are very important. They are also associated with the purpose of proving or disproving a particular case or crime. A wrong motive with guilty intention is necessary to prove criminal liability. The word ‘mens rea’ has never been used in I.P.C but it applied in two different ways to avoid confusion.

a) The actual intent required for the offence was used in defining the offence.

b) The expression was fraudulent. dishonestly, unintentionally, etc., are used in definition to indicate the criminal intent.

Although mens rea is an essential element of crime, some offences can occur without it. For example, Section 304-A of IPC makes death by negligence a criminal offence. In such cases, a “negligent act” would not include the intention to cause death. However,  negligence or mistake itself is sufficient to constitute a crime.

3. Actus Rea (Act or Omission): The third element, ‘Actus Reus’ denotes ‘Physical Act’ Actus reus basically refers to an act or omission which leads to the completion of an offence. Both mens rea, as well as actus reus, are important to create an offence. Actus reus can be a positive act, such as stabbing a person to cause his death. It can also be an omission (failure) to perform an action. An act also includes omissions. A man is also held liable if some duty is imposed upon him by law, and he omits to discharge that duty. An omission must be a breach of a legal duty. The act committed must be one that is forbidden or punished by the law. Omission as a subset of Act. All omissions are acts, but not all acts are omissions.

4. Injury: The fourth requirement of a crime is injury to another person or to society at large. It means a cause must be illegal. The injury should be illegally caused to any person’s body, mind, reputation, or property. ‘Injury’ has been defined in Section 44 of the I.P.C. as ‘any harm whatever illegally caused to any person in body, mind, reputation, or property.

Conclusion:

Elements of crime are a set off acts that must be shown in order for a defendant to be convicted of a crime. Criminal elements are defined in criminal statutes or cases in jurisdictions where common law crimes are permitted. Mens Rea embodies the essence of the crime. It is not a crime in the eyes of the law if there is no intent to act in such a way that it causes harm to another person or property. Mens rea is also employed in some civil disputes, requiring the defendant to have been aware of the consequences of their conduct in order for civil culpability to arise, but in most cases of civil liability, the Actus Reus takes precedence.