Criminal Law - Liability, Offences, Procedure and Evidence
Criminal Law tests general principles of liability, specific offences, and criminal procedure and evidence. The syllabus now overlaps the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita and Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, but older IPC, CrPC and Evidence Act concepts remain examinable during the transition.
Core rules
- General principles: mens rea and actus reus must concur. Common intention requires a prior meeting of minds; common object in an unlawful assembly is a distinct idea. Culpable homicide becomes murder only when a clause of the murder definition is satisfied.
- Offences: theft requires movable property and dishonest intention; extortion involves putting a person in fear; cheating requires deception and inducement; criminal breach of trust requires entrustment.
- Procedure and evidence: FIR under the BNSS (formerly CrPC Section 154), cognizance, bail, default bail, discharge and appeal. The burden lies on the prosecution; circumstantial evidence must complete the chain; a dying declaration must be voluntary; electronic records need the prescribed certificate.
Worked example
A and B plan to rob V. A stands guard while B stabs V. A is liable for murder with common intention if the plan or prior conduct showed a shared intention to kill or to cause injuries likely to cause death. Mere presence at the scene, without a prior meeting of minds or active participation, supports only a lesser or no constructive liability. The reasoning turns on the scope of the common intention, not on A’s physical act alone.
Traps
Do not use old section numbers without the current equivalent. Distinguish motive from intention. Provocation is not a free-standing defence to every offence. Bail and default bail have different triggers. A confessional statement to police is not substantive evidence.