Lacunae in Criminal Law

"Remember things are not so bad as we think they are bad. Thorns and
flowers are on the same plant"

Whether it‟s a crime scene, or a rape case or a forgery of the documents; criminal law is imbibing in
our daily activities similar to a daily routine, which is inescapable. Each day the newspapers are flooded
with the number of incidents where there are instances of robbery, theft, dacoity, or voyeurism. The
Bollywood-Hollywood movies are made with the inspiration taken from these day-to-day crime scenes.
Irrespective of nature, crime is such a preordained part that no one can spurt out.

There are lots of reasons that lead to this destructive behavior. Social, cultural, religious, language,
economic disparities are the pioneers among them. Man is a social animal but everywhere he is in
chains.[ii] We can see the instances in Shakespeare‟s writings mulled upon life as divided into three parts:
comedy, tragedy, and history. With the gush of the American Revolution and the French Revolution,
slowly every nation started progressing to the modernization and use of deep learning and Artificial
Intelligence. But are there blessings or boon involved with this? Is there a change in human behavior from
the past to the present world, if so, who can be responsible?

 History and background:-

We can observe the use of criminal law to punish people even during the times of Mughals,
Britishers, or the Maurya. All of them used to standardize the death sentence, transportation for life,
imprisonment for life as the punishments during that period. The crimes during that era include murder,
dacoity, theft, lurking, etc. There was no technology or online presence at that time. People were less
developed and so was the way they think. Due to strict laws, people feared death and thereafter were very
cautious before committing a crime.

 Today’s phrase:-

Today, we can observe life getting more and more complicated than our forefathers.
Whether it is shrewdness, accuracy, perception, or insight. Today, science has many admissions
to new forms and technologies. We encounter new gadgets every day.
Previously, there were simpler needs than today. It includes food, clothing, and shelter.
People were naïve and believed in superstitions and divine forces feared nature and its
phenomenon such as earthquakes, typhoons, cyclones, etc. With the advancement of technologies
in the field of science, people encountered difficulties maintaining decorum. This unleashed a
power struggle of „haves‟ and „have – nots‟, „rich‟ and „poor‟, „capitalists‟, and „bourgeoises‟.
Greed, jealousy, competition, lust, power-struggle, conflict dawned over them. The 19th-20th
century flooded the world with clout, where there was a smack of tugs – of – the war for more
and more land, area, money, etc.

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  Reasons for committing a Crime
There are various theories proposed with relation to this. This includes the „rational choice
theory‟, „the theory of social disintegration‟, „stress theory‟, „social learning theory‟, and „social
control theory‟.[iii]

There is a deviation because of the theories listed below:

Peer groups: Teenage is a tender age of change and development. This can be the most
productive phrase as well as the destructive one if not grounded by due-diligence. Due to certain
heart-breaks, family issues, poor academics, low self-esteem, bullying, and ragging; the peer
groups tend to influence how one thinks and acts upon in a certain situation.

Poverty: There are times when similar to „The Bishops Candlesticks‟, the people struggle to get
enough food shelter and clothing. They are not able to meet their requirements, which leads to
criminal behavior.

Mental illness: People with mental illness, depression, anxiety, trauma tend to engage in criminal
activities more often.

Modern Era:-
Today, with the use of technology and advancement there are modern ways to commit
crimes. Today in the digital era, there is the use of science and technology to commit such crimes.
Forgery, Bit-coins, cryptocurrency, frauds, and scams are the strings that bind together to form
tomorrow‟s history.

In the era of social media and cinema, today we can see that the movie industry makes most of
the movies based on landmark case laws, crime scenes, murder, rapes, etc. The youth today is not
vigilant as to which information he should let go and grasp. There is a situation of information
overflow, which is through Facebook, WhatsApp, Instagram, movies, and luscious songs. Due to
the large fan following and the influence on the people, youth becomes blinded by the person‟s
flaws, shortcomings, and starts following their style to show their superiority and boost self-
esteem.

 Key Questions:-

No one can live in isolation and neither does a human being, because of his natural
traits. We all are dependent on one another like any other species on the planet. There are times
when one cannot distinguish between the friends and the foes, the savior, and the fiend. There are
social, cultural, economic, personal reasons attached to the behavior.

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No one lives in isolation, and so are the sciences. The biggest lacuna of Criminal Law or any
other law is the fact that we think that one can understand the subject, master it, and is ready to
go. But the fact is all the subjects are co-related, there is sociology everywhere as we are social

creatures, science has upgraded the technology, mathematics helped us calculate time and speed
while launching rockets, psychology helps to understand the mental state of the individual,
biology has the DNA testing which has helped to solve complex crime scenes, etc.

Which patient becomes an offender?

Which offender becomes a patient?
What came first, the crime or the mental disorder?
Is a mental disorder present now?
Was it present during the time of the crime?
What is the level of responsibility of the offender for the crime?
What is the risk of reoffending and which risk factors are involved?
Is treatment possible to reduce the risk of reoffending?

These questions are a mixture of science, law, psychology, politics, sociology, statistics, and data
analysis. It is unruffling to say, “I am a scholar in Criminal Law or Constitutional Law is my
favorite, but similar to human nature, a science or a subject, like any other can‟t be learned and
understood in isolation.” Everything we do, study, and learn is interlinked and this fact is
inevitable.

Statistics:-
The following are the statistics of the crimes that take place all over the world.

World
By the report of Numbeo[v], it has been recorded that Venezuela has a crime rate index of 84.49.
Here India ranks 68th in the list with a score of 43.32. This is quite humiliating as we are known
for our rich culture, diversity, unity, and integrity. Qatar is ranked 129th with a score of 11.86.

Singapore[vi] is ranked as the safest and the nation with the least crime rate followed by
Luxemburg, Japan, Iceland, and Denmark. The tiny city of Tokyo is named as the safest city in
the world.

India[vii]
It is disgust that we are a nation that considers women as goddesses and worship them, but on the
flip side India‟s capital i.e. Delhi, itself is the most unsafe place for women followed by Gurgaon,
Hyderabad, Bengaluru, and Kolkata.

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  Author’s Opinion

There is truly said by Francis Beacon: “Some books should be tasted, some devoured, but only a
few should be chewed and digested thoroughly.”[viii] There is a need for critical thinking and

refining the trash that we encounter every day. We need to stop the information overflow by
limiting the sources and choices to the maximum of five options. Teenage can be the most crucial
period of life if utilized properly. Reading, writing, analyzing, channeling the energy into

something productive is the need of the hour. Parents and mentors should guide the children to
choose the path carefully. As it is truly said: “The media has made our nation curious for the
drama. This nation does not have fun until everything is played.”[ix]

Conclusion
Looking into the laws and the statistics, it can be concluded that there are many lacunae in
Criminal Law. There is no room for the confession of truth in a plea bargain, only minimal efforts
similar to the signature on a blank cheque can be observed. The Articles of the Constitution are
often ignored, i.e. in case of Joginder Nath v. State of Uttar Pradesh[x], where the arrested person
was innocent but still kept in the custody for more than 24 hours, challenging Article 14, 20, 21
of the constitution read with Section 340 of IPC and 57 of Code of Criminal Procedure.

Every year we can observe rape cases, such as the Nirbhaya case[xi], Kathua Gang Rape
Case[xii], Kerala Bishop Franco Mulakkal[xiii], Sitapur Rape case etc.[xiv]

Who is responsible? We or the government? The rules and regulations or the westernization?
Flyers and posts on social media or the degradation of morale, culture, and traditions?

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