Kidnapping:

• Section 359 of the Indian Penal Code deals with what is ‘Kidnapping’. According to this section,
kidnapping can be classified as ‘Kidnapping from India’ or ‘Kidnapping from Lawful
Guardianship’.
• Section 360 of the Code says that when a person is conveyed beyond the limits of India without
that person’s consent, the person who takes such person is said to kidnap that person from India.
• Section 361 of the Code provides that when a person entices a minor (16 years for male and 18
years for female) or a person of unsound mind, person so enticing will be held liable for
kidnapping such minor or person from lawful guardianship.

Abduction:

• ‘Abduction’ has been defined in Section 362 of the Indian Penal Code which says that if a person
either by force compels a person or induces another person to go from any place is said to abduct
such person.

Difference between abduction and kidnapping:

1. Age of the Aggrieved Person
• In case of Kidnapping, the age of the aggrieved person as according to Section 361 of the IPC
is 16 in case of males and 18 in case of females.
• In case of Abduction, there is no such thing as age. Any person either by force has compelled
or induced any other person to go from any place irrespective of the age, shall be booked with
abduction
2. Removal from Lawful Guardianship
• Here the lawful guardianship shall include any person who has been authorized by law to take
care of the person who has yet not attained the age of majority. A lawful guardian may be the
parents, in-laws, etc.
• As Kidnapping takes into consideration the age of the person being kidnapped, the crime
involves the taking away from the guardianship of a lawful person who has been authorized
by law to take care of such minor.
• Since Abduction considers only the person who has been abducted, lawful guardianship does
not come into the picture.
3. Means
• Kidnapping involves taking away or enticement by the kidnapper. The means used for such
purpose is irrelevant.
• The means used in case of abduction may be force, compulsion, or deceitful means.
4. Consent
• In case of Kidnapping, the consent of the person kidnapped is immaterial as the person being
kidnapped is a minor and according to law, such person is unable to provide for free consent.
The consent obtained from the person shall be a tainted one.
• In case of Abduction, the consent of the person abducted condones the accused from the
offence so charged against him/her.
5. The intention of the Accused
• In case of Kidnapping, the intention of the person kidnapping a minor is immaterial so as to
the crime committed by the accused.
• In case of Abduction, the intention of the person abducting is a very important factor in
determining the guilt of the accused person.
6. Continuity of the Crime: Unlike Kidnapping, Abduction is a continuing offence.
• Kidnapping is not a continuing offence. The offence is done as soon as the person accused
removes the person from his/her lawful guardianship.
• Abduction is a continuing process and it this the person so abducted is removed from one place
to another.

Hurt (Section 319) and Grievous Hurt (Section 320):

To constitute hurt any of the following essentials needs to be caused:-
1. Bodily pain (To cause hurt there need not be any direct physical contact. Where the direct
result of an act is causing of bodily pain it is hurt whatever be the means employed to cause
it. Hurt is constituted by causing bodily pain, not mental pain.)
2. Disease, or
3. Infirmity to another (It means the inability of an organ to perform its normal function which
may either be temporary or permanent.)
Section 320 designates eight kinds of hurt as grievous and provides enhanced punishment in such
cases. Thus, to make out the offense of causing grievous hurt, there must be some specific hurt,
voluntarily inflicted, and should come within any of the eight kinds enumerated in this section.
First.— Emasculation (This clause is confined to males only. It means to render a man
impotent.)
Secondly.— Permanent privation of the sight of either eye (The test of gravity is the permanency
of the injury)
Thirdly.— Permanent privation of the hearing of either ear.
Fourthly.— Privation of any member or joint.
Fifthly.— Destruction or permanent impairing of the powers of any member or joint.
Sixthly.— Permanent disfiguration of the head or face.
Seventhly.— Fracture or dislocation of a bone or tooth.
Eighthly.— Any hurt which endangers life or which causes the sufferer to be during the space
of twenty days in severe bodily pain, or unable to follow his ordinary pursuits.

Wrongful restraint (Section 339):

Whoever voluntarily obstructs any person so as to prevent that person from proceeding in any
direction in which that person has a right to proceed is said wrongfully to restrain that person.

Wrongful Confinement (Section 340):

Whoever wrongfully restrains any person in such a manner as to prevent that person from
proceeding beyond certain circumscribing limits, said “wrongfully to confine” that person.

Difference between Wrongful restraint and wrongful confinement:

As regards difference between the two, wrongful confinements, in the first place, is a form of
wrongful restraint. It is keeping a man-within limits out of which he wishes to go and has a right
to go while wrongful restraint is keeping a man out of a place where he wishes to go, and has a
right to be.
In the second place, in wrongful confinement a person is restrained from moving beyond a certain
area within which he is confined, but in wrongful restraint he is free to move anywhere other than
to proceed in a particular direction.
In other words, there is full restraint in the former, but only partial in the latter. And lastly, wrongful
confinement is a more serious offence inasmuch as it prescribes punishment with imprisonment,
simple, or rigorous, extending to one year, or fine up to Rs. 1,000, or both (Section 342), while
wrongful restraint is punishable with simple imprisonment up to one month or with fine up to Rs.
500 or with both (Section 341).