Unless a statute clearly or be necessary implication rules out mens rea as a constituent part of the crime, a person should not be found guilty against the criminal law unless he has got a guilty mind. In few cases such as tort the punishment may increase the scope of liability. It was held by the SC that Mens Rea is not an essential ingredient for contravention of the provision of a civil act. In civil law it is not always necessary to prove the mental element. Mens Rea can be different in various crime for instance in murder the Mens Rea in the intention to incur a forbidden result that is to kill the other person whereas in assault cases it is to provide serious bodily harm. Motive is the reason for which the crime, but the law is more concerned with the intention of the accused.
Exception to Mens rea is the “Strict Liability offences” in which punishments are provided even when the act is done without a guilt intention. It is to be proven that the person accused really had the intention to cause such harm to the other person property and also knows about the consequences of his action. It is almost always necessary to prove Mens Rea. The mens rea means some blame worthy mental condition, whether constituted by knowledge or intention or otherwise. It is derived from the maxim “actus reus non facit reum nisi mens sit reas” which means “that an act is not guilty unless the mind is not guilty”. After having guilty mind and doing the guilty act if the injury does not occur then that crime is not considered as committed. Injury: for a particular crime to take place it necessary for the injury to occur. The guilty intention of person leads them to act in accordance to it and hence it turns into crime.Ĥ. An act will only be called a crime if both the elements are present. Actus reus: It is the guilty Act that follows the guilty intention. It means it was the intention of the wrongdoer to purposely/knowing/willing and with proper planning to cause harm to a person, animal or property.ģ. Mens Rea: Mens Rea is the most important element to prove a crime has taken place. Animals used to be punished in ancient times now their owners are made liable.Ģ.
#4 elements of a crime code
11 of Indian Penal Code the word person include artificial or judicial person hence they are punishable as well. Only a human can be made legally bound to act in a judicially appropriate way as laws are only applicable to human. Human being: The first and foremost element of crime is that the injury must be caused by a human being. There are mainly four elements of crime namely: human being, Mens rea, Actus Reus and injury caused.ġ. The facts that must be ascertained in order to prove criminal Liability are called The Elements of Crime. For an act to be declared as criminal there are certain steps that are examined whether they are present or not. Generally most legal systems impose criminal liability only when a person performs a prohibited act or incur a forbidden injury with a guilty state of mind. Criminal law prescribes definitions of crimes and the punishments relating to it. It provides provisions and rules regarding the criminal activities that take place. Criminal law came exists due to the presence of crime in a country. Such an act is punishable by the criminal laws. Crime is an act or omission of an act which causes harm to the society as a whole and causes disturbance and panic in the society.