Section 107 IPC: Abetment of a Thing
Section 107 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860 defined how a person could abet the doing of a thing. The section recognized three modes of abetment: instigation, participation in a conspiracy accompanied by the required act or illegal omission, and intentional aid by an act or illegal omission.
Definition of Abetment Under Section 107 IPC
A person abets the doing of a thing if that person:
- instigates any person to do that thing; or
- engages with one or more persons in a conspiracy for doing that thing, where an act or illegal omission takes place in pursuance of the conspiracy and in order to the doing of that thing; or
- intentionally aids, by any act or illegal omission, the doing of that thing.
Three Modes of Abetment
1. Instigation
Abetment may arise where a person instigates another person to do the thing in question. Explanation 1 also brings specified wilful misrepresentation and wilful concealment within the concept of instigation.
2. Conspiracy
For abetment by conspiracy under Section 107, engagement in the conspiracy is accompanied by a statutory additional requirement: an act or illegal omission must take place in pursuance of that conspiracy and in order to the doing of the thing.
3. Intentional Aid
A person may also abet by intentionally aiding the doing of a thing through an act or an illegal omission. Explanation 2 further explains when conduct amounts to aiding.
Explanation 1: Instigation by Misrepresentation or Concealment
A person who, by wilful misrepresentation or by wilful concealment of a material fact which the person is bound to disclose, voluntarily causes or procures, or attempts to cause or procure, a thing to be done is said to instigate the doing of that thing.
This explanation makes clear that instigation under Section 107 was not confined to an express verbal direction. Deliberately creating the relevant result through the forms of deception specified in Explanation 1 could also constitute instigation.
Illustration to Explanation 1
Illustration: A public officer, A, is authorized by a court warrant to apprehend Z. B knows both that fact and that C is not Z, but wilfully represents to A that C is Z and thereby intentionally causes A to apprehend C. The statutory illustration treats B as abetting the apprehension of C by instigation.
Explanation 2: What Amounts to Aiding?
A person who, either before or at the time of commission of an act, does anything in order to facilitate the commission of that act and thereby facilitates its commission is said to aid the doing of that act.
Explanation 2 links aid with conduct intended to facilitate the act and which in fact facilitates its commission. The main clause of Section 107 expressly refers to intentional aid.
Meaning of Illegal Omission
Section 107 expressly recognized that abetment by conspiracy or intentional aid could involve an illegal omission, not only a positive act. Whether an omission is legally relevant depends on the applicable legal duty and the facts of the case; mere inaction should not automatically be treated as abetment without satisfying the statutory requirements.
Abetment by Conspiracy Under Section 107
The conspiracy limb of Section 107 should be read according to its own wording. An agreement alone was not the complete statutory test for this form of abetment. The section required an act or illegal omission in pursuance of the conspiracy and in order to the doing of the thing. This requirement distinguishes the precise definition of abetment by conspiracy in Section 107 from a loose use of the word "conspiracy."
Section 107 and Section 108 IPC
Section 107 defined the ways in which the doing of a thing could be abetted. Section 108 IPC dealt with the meaning of an abettor and contained further explanations relevant to the law of abetment. The provisions should therefore be read together when determining whether the statutory requirements of abetment were satisfied.
Section 107 and Punishment for Abetment
Section 107 was principally a definitional provision. Punishment depended on the applicable provision governing the particular abetment. For example, Section 109 IPC addressed punishment where the act abetted was committed in consequence of the abetment and no express provision was made by the IPC for its punishment. Other provisions in the abetment chapter dealt with different factual situations.