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Quaid-e-Azam Law College, Lahore

LLB-I [3 years]

Criminology

Crimes and its constituting factors.

Mr. Abubakar Nauman

Deputy Director/ Deputy District Prosecutor

What is crime?

Crime:

1- An act or omission which constitutes an offence and is punishable by law is a

crime.
2- A crime is an offence that merits community condemnation and punishment,
usually by way of fine or imprisonment
3- Any act or behavior that harms others and society in general is a crime and is dealt with
accordingly.

Blacks Law:

A crime is an act committed or omitted, in violation of a public law either forbidding

or commanding it; a breach or violation of some public right or duty due to a whole
community,

Offence:

Means any act or omission made punishable by any law for the time being in force;
it also includes any act in respect of which a complaint may be made under section
20 of Cattle Trespass Act, 1871.

(Section 4(o) Criminal Procedure Code,1898)

Diagrammatical Inference

Crime

Injury Mens Rea

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Actus Rea

Mens Rea:

Bishop writes: There can be no crime large or small, without an evil mind.

The essence of an offense is the wrongful intent, without which it cannot exist.

Maxim:
Actus Non Facit Reum, Nisi Mens Sit Rea
(An act does not make a defendant guilty without a guilty mind)

A man is not responsible for his acts in themselves but his acts coupled with mens
rea or guily mind with which he does them.

Yard Stick for Mens Rea;

i- Whether an act is done with criminal intention
ii- Whether punishment should be imposed in case of such crime

Before Imposing Punishment Law must be sure of two things.

a- That an act has been done which by way of it having harmful tendencies or
result is fit to be dealt with penal response.
b- That the mental attitude of the doer towards his deeds was such as to render
punishment , effective as a deterrent for the future, and therefore just.

Recognition of Mens Rea in Different Legal Systems.

Some legal systems identify Mens Rea with the strict degree of committing a crime
with pure guilty mind while some even render the mere recklessness tantamount to
Mens Rea.

Mens Rea; to commit an act with is prohibited by law, with a criminal

knowledge.

Recklessness; An act committed without a higher degree of criminal intent

yet knowing the

Possible harmful result.

Negligence; A person may be held responsible for an act not done with due
and reasonable care

With which it ought to have been done.

Case Law:
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Mens Rea is element of criminal intent, a guilty mind, a guilty or harmful purpose. It
embodies criminal knowledge and willfulness. In the case of a statutory offence the
Presumption is that Mens Rea is an essential ingredient . PLJ 1974 Cr.C Kar 498

No offence can be constituted if Mens Rea in commission of offence is not proved.

2002 P.Cr.L.J 530

Mens Rea is an essential ingredient of a criminal offence. The mental element of

Mens Rea required is the intention or knowledge necessary for the criminal offence.
AIR 1970 Ker 98

Every criminal act in law has three stages first preparation , second the taking step
for its commission and third the positive step towards i.e. consummation/completion
of criminal act, but above all, intention Mens Rea is the most essential and integral
part of a crime. An intention though inferable from the act of an accused, but
manifestation must provide clear link therewith. 2005 P.Cr.L.J 22

Illustrations of Mens Rea in PPC,

The expressions Fraudulently Dishonestly Voluntarily Intentionally are the

examples which denote the presence of Mens Rea.

Exceptions:

a- Strict Liability; (1)Contempt of Court (2) Public Nuisance (3) Criminal Libel.
b- Wrongs excluded by Statutes.

Actus Reus

Actus Reus is the transformation of guilty intent into guilty action. It is actually the
embodiment of mens rea, as after the physical shape is given to an evil thought as
a consequence the Actus Reus part of crime is complemented.

Kinds of Actus Reus.

a- Conduct Crime:
Where the forbidden conduct is to be proved, e.g. Dangerous Driving. It has
to be proved only dangerous driving and not the consequences.
In perjury accused is guilty if he gives false statement in court regardless of
its consequences.
b- Result Crime
In result crimes accused must be proved to have caused the prohibited
consequences.

Scope of Omission with Reference to Actus Reus:

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If guilty intent behind the omission is proved the actual portion of omission shall be
tantamount to mens reus.

Modes of Actus Reus:

i- Direct
ii- Indirect (R v White [1910])
iii- Intervention of third person. (R v Smith [1959)

Case Law:

Citation Name : 2016 PLD 17 SUPREME-COURT

Side Appellant : Malik MUHAMMAD MUMTAZ QADRI
Side Opponent : State

Ss. 6(1)(b), 6(1)(c), 6(2)(a) & 7(a)---Penal Code (XLV of 1860), Ss.295-C & 302(b)---Qatl-i-amd, act of
terrorism---Reappraisal of evidence---Act of terrorism---Scope---actus reus and mens rea for
committing an act of terrorism---Murder of a Provincial Governor to intimidate the public or create a
sense of fear or insecurity in the society---Accused, while performing his duty as the official guard of
the deceased-Provincial Governor, fired at and killed the latter---Alleged justification provided by the
accused for the murder was that the deceased had committed blasphemy---Action of accused involved
firing at the deceased and thereby causing his death and, thus, his actus reus fell within the ambit of
S.6(2)(a) of the Anti-Terrorism Act, 1997---As regards the accused's mens rea he had himself stated in
his statement before the Trial Court under S.342, Cr.P.C. that the murder of deceased was "a lesson for
all the apostates, as finally they have to meet the same fate"---Such statement of the accused clearly
established that he not only wanted to punish the deceased privately for the perceived or imagined
blasphemy committed by him but also wanted to send a message or teach a lesson to all others in the
society at large who dared to follow the deceased---In such circumstances the causing of death of
deceased by the accused was surely designed to intimidate or overawe the public or a section of the
public or to create a sense of fear or insecurity in the society so as to attract the requisite mens rea
contemplated by S.6(1)(b) of the Anti-Terrorism Act, 1997---

Injury.

The ultimate constituting factor of the crime is injury. According to section 44 PPC any harm illegally
caused to body, mind or reputation of any person. After the infliction of injury the holistic concept of
crime is arrived at.