Criminal Conspiracy | 06 Nov 2023

Introduction

Section 120A of the Indian Penal Code, 1860 states: “when two or more persons agree
to do, or cause to be done, an illegal act, or an act which is not illegal by illegal means,
such an agreement is designated a criminal conspiracy.
Provided that no agreement except an agreement to commit an offence shall amount
to a criminal conspiracy unless some act besides the agreement is done by one or more
parties to such agreement in pursuance thereof.
Generally, the accused is charged with the offence of criminal conspiracy along with the
charge of some other substantive offence under the Indian Penal Code, 1860 or any
other law.
Chapter V-A of the Indian Penal Code, 1860 as inserted in 1913 deals with the offence of
criminal conspiracy.

Essentials of Criminal Conspiracy

There must be at least two persons who conspire.

Joint evil intent to do an illegal act or an act that is not illegal by illegal means is
necessary.
The agreement may be expressed or implied or partly expressed and partly implied.
As soon as the agreement is made, the conspiracy arises, and the offence is
committed.
The same offence is continued to be committed so long as the combination persists.

Proof of Conspiracy

The offence of criminal conspiracy can be proved by either direct or circumstantial

evidence.
A conspiracy is usually hatched in a secret and private setting which is why it is almost
impossible to produce any affirmative evidence about the date of the formation of the
criminal conspiracy, the persons involved in it, or the object of such conspiracy, or how
such object is to be carried out.
It was believed that agreement or meeting of minds is one of the main evidence to
prove the conspiracy under this section and also it is one of the hardest one to prove
because as we know the fact that offender by himself does not agree to a fact that he is
involved with someone.
It is only a matter of circumstances that one can prove that there is a meeting of minds
or an agreement between those two. Hence, criminal conspiracy is based on
circumstantial evidence as in most cases there is no direct evidence to prove the same.
There is no conspiracy between husband and wife because they are considered as the
one person.

Punishment of Criminal Conspiracy

Section 120B of Indian Penal Code, 1860 provides that “whoever is a party to a criminal
conspiracy to commit an offence punishable with death, imprisonment for life or
rigorous imprisonment for a term of two years 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”.
Whoever is a party to a criminal conspiracy other than a criminal conspiracy to commit
an 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.

Case Laws

Kehar Singh and others v. State (Delhi Administration) (1988):

The Supreme Court, in this case, has held that the most important ingredient of the
offence of conspiracy is an agreement between two or more persons to do an
illegal act.
Such an illegal act may or may not be done in pursuance of the agreement, but the
very agreement is an offence and is punishable.
Major E.G. Barsay v. The State of Bombay (1962):
The Supreme Court held that an agreement to break the law constitutes the gist of
the offence of criminal conspiracy under Section 120A of Indian Penal
Code,1860.
The parties to such an agreement are guilty of criminal conspiracy even if the
illegal act agreed to be done by them has not been done. The court also held that it
is not an ingredient of the offence of criminal conspiracy that all the parties should
agree to do a single illegal act and a conspiracy may comprise the commission of
several acts.
Ram Narain Popli v. C.B.I. (2003):
In this case, the Supreme Court held that mere proof of the agreement between
two or more persons to do an unlawful act or an act by unlawful means is
enough to convict the parties for criminal conspiracy under Section 120B.