The Current Status of Mining Industry in India

The country is having a well-developed mining sector, which has vast geological potential with over 20,000 known mineral deposits. Up to the Seventh Plan period (1990), significant progress was made in the development of mineral resources in the country which is amply depicted in the appreciation of mineral inventory. This helped the country to enter the realm of plenty in respect of certain minerals in which it was hitherto deficient.

The discovery of huge bauxite deposits, particularly in the East Coast, is a case in point, which took the country from the phase of a nonentity to one having the fifth largest inventory of bauxite in the world.

In the Tenth Plan, greater emphasis was laid on mineral exploration by adoption of improved technologies like remote-sensing, geotechniques, etc., particularly for those minerals in which the resource base of the country is poor such as gold, diamond, nickel, tungsten, rock phoshpate, sulphur, etc. Today, the reserves details are available for as many as 20,000 mineral deposits all over the country.

The Indian Bureau of Mines has prepared inventory of mineral deposits for the country and updates it every five years. The country is self sufficient in case of 36 minerals and, deficient in respect of a number of minerals. The position is summarized as follows:

The search for minerals did not re­main confined to landmass only. It was extended to off shore area and even Deep Ocean. Result was the discovery of large petroleum deposits in the Arabian Sea which came to be known as Bombay High.

The exploration work in the deep ocean led to the discovery of polymetallic nodules bearing cobalt, nickel, copper and manganese at a death of 3,000 metres. This work earned India the status of Pioneer Investor in seabed mining conferred by the United Nations.

What are the Wildlife Acts passed by the Indian Law?

Legislatures of eleven states of the Indian Union, viz Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Gujarat, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Manipur, Punjab, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, and West Bengal resolved to delegate their law making power with respect to wildlife to the parliament. A number of Wildlife Acts have been promulgated in most states and Union Territories. Some of them are:

(i) Madras Wild Elephant Preservation Act, 1873

(ii) All India Elephant Preservation Act, 1879

(iii) The Wild Birds and Animals Prohibition Act, 1912

(iv) Bengal Rhinoceros Preservation Act, 1932

(v) Assam Rhinoceros Preservation Act, 1954

(vi) Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972.

The Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972 adopted by all the states except Jammu and Kashmir (which has its own Act), governs the wildlife conservation and protection of endangered species both inside and outside forest areas. Under this Act, trade in rare and endangered species has been banned; India is a signatory to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Flora and Fauna. Under this treaty export or import of endangered species of flora and fauna are subject to strict control and commercial exploitation of such species is prohibited.

The Indian Board of Wildlife has listed 36 species which need protection lion, wild ass, pangolin, brow- antlered deer, swamp deer, musk deer, gharial, four-horned antelope, clouded leopard, Nilgiri stag, lesser panda, Kashmir stag, wild buffalo, rhinoceros, Nilgiri langur, golden langur, gazelle, markhor, spotted linsang, pigmy hog, blackbuck, snow leopard, golden cat, marble cat, hunting leopard or cheetah (now considered extinct), dugong, great Indian bustard, Jerdon’s courser, mountain quail, pink-headed duck, white-winged wood duck, tragopan, crocodile, leathery turtle, water lizard and python.

Wildlife Action Plan:

The National Wildlife Action Plan provides the framework of strategy as well as programme for conservation of wildlife. The first National Wildlife Action Plan (NWAP) of 1983 has been revised and the new Wildlife Action Plan (2002-2016) has been adopted.

The Indian Board of Wildlife, headed by the Prime Minister, is the apex advisory body overseeing and guiding the implementation of various schemes for wildlife conservation. At present, the protected area network comprises 89 national parks and 490 sanctuaries covering an area of 1.56 lakh sq. km.

The Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972 adopted by all States of 1.56 lakh sq kms. The Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972 adopted by all States except Jammu and Kashmir (which has its own Act), governs wildlife conservation and protection of endangered species.

The Act prohibits trade in rare and endangered species. An Inter-State Committee has been set up to review the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972 and other laws. India is a signatory to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) of wild flora and fauna.

The Wildlife (Protection) Amendment Bill 2002 was passed by the parliament during the Winter Session, 2002. The Bill proposes to enhance penalties for violation of the provisions of the Act. Under this, export or import of endangered species and their products are governed by the conditions and stipulations laid down therein. India is also a signatory to the Memorandum of Understanding concerning the conservation of Siberian Cranes.

The Government provides financial and technical assistance to States for development and improved management of national parks protection of wildlife and control of poaching and illegal trade in wildlife product; eco-development in areas around national parks and sanctuaries; conservation of elephant and its habitat; and conservation of rhinos in Assam.

What are the Major Hydro Power Projects in India?

Major Hydro Power Projects in India

In a multi-purpose river valley project, a huge single dam or a series of small dams are built on a river and its tributaries. In the first place these man-made lakes help in impounding huge amounts of rain water and help in controlling floods and protecting soils. The same water comes very handy in irrigating farms in command areas during the dry season when water is in great demand. The catchment areas of these dams are systematically afforested.

The afforestation helps in avoiding silting’ of dams, lakes, river channels and irrigation canals. Multi­purpose river valley projects often provide for inland water navigation through main rivers and canals. The stored water in the hilly and mountainous tract generally provides high head. The stored water when made to fall from a high head helps in generating power even in dry seasons.

Power derived from running or falling water is known as hydel power or hydro-electricity. It is one of the neatest, cleanest and pollution free forms of energy. Equally important is the fact that hydro-electricity is derived from water which is a renewable resource. Thus in every respect it scores over fossil-fuels which are exhaustible and are the least free from pollution.

Another economic benefit of these projects is the ideal conditions they provide for development of fisheries. Fish hatcheries and nurseries are developed to stock water bodies with chosen varieties of fish that are allowed to grow to their full.

They are harvested only at regular intervals through controlled fishing. Such well-developed fish farms can be the cheapest source of protein for our people whose diet is otherwise extremely poor in it. Such well cared for and scientifically developed river valley projects become centres of tourist attraction. It is for all these reasons that the multi-purpose river valley projects are called the new temples of modern India.

Bhakra-Nangal Project:

This project was commissioned in 1948 and is the largest multi-purpose project of India. It is located in Himachal Pradesh. It is a joint venture of Punjab, Himachal Pradesh, Haryana and Rajasthan. Delhi also benefits from it.

1. It consists of two dams the Bhakra and the Nangal. The Bhakra Dam is 518m long and 226 m high, and 312 m in width making it the highest dam in Asia. It is constructed across the Bhakra gorge in the Shivaliks, about 80 kms north of Ambala city.

2. The Nangal Dam is located about 13 kms

Downstream from the Bhakra Dam. Its height is 29 m length 305 m and width 121 m. It is an auxiliary dam and serves as a balance reservoir for the Bhakra Dam. It diverts the excess water into the Nangal Hydel Channel which is 64.4 km long 42.62 m wide and 62.8 m deep.

3. Behind the Bhakra Dam, a very large reservoir known as the Govind Sagar Lake is created with a storage capacity of about 9,868 million cubic metres. It is 88 kms long and 8 kms wide.

4. The Bhakra-Nangal Canal system has about 1,100 km of canals and 3,400 km of distributaries and is designed to irrigate an area of 15 lakh hectares of agricultural land in Punjab (37.7%), Haryana (46.7%) and Rajasthan (15.6%).

5. Under this project there are four power houses (1204 Mw) located at Bhakra, Ganguwal, Nangal and Kotla. Together these powerhouses have the capacity to produce 1204 MW of hydroelectricity.

Electricity is supplied to Punjab, Haryana, parts of Rajasthan and Delhi. It provides electricity for industrial, agricultural and domestic use. Electricity is used to energize tube wells which are the main source of irrigation in areas where canals cannot reach. Haryana is the first state to achieve 100% rural electrification.

6. This project has reduced the occurrence of floods in the river Satluj downstream. It has increased production of food-grains, cotton, sugarcane and oilseeds.

Damodar Valley Project:

This was the first multi-purpose project of Sind undertaken in India soon after independence. It was based on Tennessee Valley Authority of U.S.A. This project is administered by the Damodar Valley Corporation. It consists of a series of dams on the river Damodar, located in Jharkhand and West Bengal. The Damodar is a small tributary which flows into the Hooghly River, a distributary of the Ganga.

This project benefits the region of Bihar and West Bengal which is a rich agricultural and industrial region and one of the richest areas with mineral deposits of coal, iron-ore, manganese and limestone in India.

There are four dams constructed at Maithon dam, constructed on the confluence of Basakar and Damodar rivers, 994 m long and maximum height is 49 m; completed in 1958; capacity is 60 MW, Konar, on Konar river in Hazaribagh; 3549 m long, maximum height 49 m, completed in 1955; supplies electricity to Bokara Steel Project.

Tilaiya its length is 366 m and maximum width is 30 m; is the only concrete dam in the area; has two power station of 2000 MW on Basakar river started in 1950 and and completed in 1953. Panchet dam on Damodar river; completed in 1959; is 254 m long and maximum height is 49 m; generating 40 MW. There are Hydel power stations located at all these dams except the Konar Dam.

In addition to these hydel power stations, there are three thermal power stations at Durgapur, Bokaro and Chandrapur There is a large network of canals, measuring over 2,400 kms that provides irrigation to over 5 lakh hectares in Bihar and West Bengal. This has resulted in increased production of rice and Rabi crops. Its installed power-generating capacity is 1,181 MW.

It is because of the availability of cheap hydroelectricity due to which this region has a high concentration of heavy industries, electro­chemical industries and electrified coal mines in this region.

Cheap transportation is available through a 136 km long navigation-cum-irrigation canal which connects the coal fields of this region with Calcutta. This project has been successful in controlling disastrous floods and has turned the “river of sorrow” into a “river of plenty” and brought agricultural prosperity to this region.

Hirakud Project:

The Hirakud Project, also known as the Mahanadi River Project, is located in the state of Orissa.

1. The main dam, the Hirakud Dam is the world’s longest dam with a length of 61 m high, 4801 m long. It is constructed across the river Mahanadi, 14 km away from Sambalpur.

2. Two other dams are constructed at Tikkarpara and at Niraj near Cuttack.

3. The total length of canals is over 880 kms and has the capacity to irrigate about 10 lakh hectares of agricultural land.

4. There are two power houses the Hirakud Power House and the Chiplima Power House. These two power houses have an installed capacity to generate over 270 MW of electricity.

5. Cheap hydroelectricity has helped in the industrial development of this region. Steel plants and fertilizer plants are a few of the heavy industries located in this region.

6. It is possible to navigate the main canal for over 480 kms to the sea.

Tungabhadra Project:

This project is a joint venture of the states of Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka.

1. The Tungabhadra Dam is located at Mallapuram on the river Tungabhadra, which is a tributary of the Krishna. The dam is 2,441′ m long and 50 m high.

2. The project has two canal systems—the left bank canal. It is built in Bellary District of Karnataka which is 225 kms long and the right level canal which is 570 kms long. The right level canal has two branches, the low level canal and the high level canal. Together these canal have the capacity to irrigate about 2.5 lakh hectares of agricultural land.

3. There are two power houses on the right side of the dam, one at Mallapuram and the other at Hampi. Another power station has been constructed on the left side of the dam at Mallapuram. All the three power stations have a total installed capacity of 99 MW.

Rihand Valley Project:

The Rihand Valley Project is the most important multi-purpose project in Uttar Pradesh.

1. It is 934 m long, 92 m high dam on river Rihand (a tributary of Son), near Pipri in Mirzapur.

2. The Rihand Dam is built across the Rihand which is (a tributary of the Son) river. The Rihand is a swift-flowing river with plenty of water during the monsoons but is quite dry during the summer months. The river has its source in the Manipat Hills in Chhattisgarh.

3. The dam, which is 976 m long and 80 m high, is located about 46 kms south of the confluence of the Sone and Rihand rivers near Pipri in Mirzapur district.

4. Behind the dam, a very large reservoir known as Govind Vallabh Pant Sagar Lake is created. It occupies an area of about 468 sq. kms making this the largest artificial reservoir in Asia.

5. Water from the lake is released periodically into the Son River so as to ensure a perennial supply of water for irrigation in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar.

6. There is one hydel power station located at Pimpri, at the foot of the dam. At Obra, which is not very far from the dam, a thermal power and a hydel power station have been constructed, producing 270 MW of thermal power and about 100,000 KW of hydroelectricity.

7. This scheme has helped in the rapid industrialization of this region rich in mineral wealth. It also makes cheap hydroelectricity available for energizing tube wells.

Farraka Barrage Project:

The main objective of this project was River Navigation and to augment the water flow river is a barrage across the Ganga River, 2,240 in length to maintain 271 akh cusec of flood discharge 60,000 cusec of floodwater flow to be maintained by a barrage across the Bhagirathi river length will be 213 m. A feeder canal 38.38km in length to divert 40,000 cusecs of water to Hugh River Providing infrastructure to develop river navigation and to build a rail cum Road Bridge to connect West Bengal with North East India.

The Farakka Barrage Project is designed to subserve the need of preservation and maintenance of the Calcutta Port by improving the regime and navigability of the Bhagirathi-Hooghly river system. The principal components of the project are:

1. A 2,240 m long barrage across the Ganga with rail-cum-road Bridge and necessary river training works.

2. A 213 m long barrage across the river Bhagirathi at Jangipur.

3. Navigation works such as locks, lock channels, shelter basins, navigation lights and other infrastructures.

4. Farakka Barrage Hydro Electric Project with a capacity of 125 MW generation, estimated to cost Rs. 602 crore, is under consideration.

Narmada Valley Project:

Also known as Sardar Sarovar Project, the Narmada River Valley project is one of the largest projects under implementation anywhere in the world. It was conceived in 1945-46. It is sponsored by the states of Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra and Rajasthan. This project is still under construction.

1. The main dam is built across the Narmada River (98% completed). Narmada originates near Amarkantak pleateau (M.R.) and is the fifth largest rivers of India.

2. Two hundred and sixty-three km of canals provide water to the states of Gujarat and Rajasthan (90% complete).

3. This project, when complete, will provide irrigation facilities to over 3393 villages in Gujarat, irrigating over 2, 00,000 hectares of land.

4. On completion there will be 2 power houses. The river bed power house will produce 1200 MW and the canal head power house 250 MW. A series of micro hydel power stations are planned on the branch canals where convenient falls are available.

5. The project aims to have 29 major and 3000 small dams.

6. The largest project in Sardar Sarovar project which has the capacity of 77 lakh hectare and will provide irrigation to 17.92 lakh hectare in Gujarat.

7. Second major project is Narmada Sagar project started in 1984.

Indira Gandhi (Rajasthan Canal) Project:

It is an ambitious scheme to bring new areas under irrigation so that new areas could be cultivated. The waters of the Beas and the Ravi (Pong Barrage) had to be diverted to the Satluj.

The Pong Dam on the Beas has been constructed. It impounds 6, 90,000 hectare metres of water. It has helped to divert Beas water into the Satluj in a regulated manner so that Rajasthan Canal, the longest irrigation canal in the world, can irrigate Ganganagar, Bikaner and Jaisalmer districts of north-west Rajasthan.

The Kosi Project:

It was started in 1955 in Bihar and has been taken up in cooperation with Nepal. Its main aim has been to control floods brought by the river Kosi, known as the River of Sorrow of north Bihar; other aims being power generation, land reclamation, fishing and navigation.

It has a capacity to irrigate 8, 73,000 hectares of land in Bihar. The main canal is taken off from Hanumannagar barrage (Nepal) on the Kosi and is 1149 m long, 72 m high, built in 1965. Another important joint venture of India and Nepal is the Gandak Project. Flood embankments, built in 1959, 270 km. Eastern Kosi canal is 43.5 km long and a power house of 20 MW, has been installed which is shared both by India and Nepal.

The Nagarjunasagar Projects:

It is built on the river Krishna in Andhra Pradesh. It irrigates 8, 67,000 hectares of land. Ancient temples of great architectural value would have been submerged in the man-made reservoir. They were dismantled stone by stone and have been reconstructed as before on a new site. This shows how we can preserve our cultural heritage while adopting modern technology.

The Chambal Project:

It is a joint venture of Bihar and U.P. It helps irrigate parts of Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan. Its main purpose is soil conservation in the Chambal basin. The project consists of:

i. Gandhi Sagar Dam (64 m high and 514 m long) Chaurisigarh, built in 1960 (Madhya Pradesh)

ii. Rana Partap Masonary Dam which is 56 km from Rawarbhata.

iii. Jawahar Sagar Dam which is 548 m long and 45 m high, built in 1970 in Rajasthan. It has the total capacity to irrigate nearly half a million hectares of land.

The project for harnessing the waters of the mighty Narmada, which originates in Amarkantak in Madhya Pradesh, envisages the construction of nearly 30 large and more than 3000 small dams. The implementation of this 18,000 crore project has progressed satisfactorily in spite of opposition from the Narmada Bachao Andolan (NBA) on the ground that the tribunal oustees were not rehabilitated properly and environmental damages of building such a dam would be huge. Ninety eight percent of the main dam excavation is complete. Work for the main canal Phase I is 90% complete.

In October 2000, the Supreme Court, through a 2:1 split judgement asked the authorities to seek clearance from Environmental and Rehabilitation Authority (ERA) and resume work as per the award of the tribunal.

The dam has a height of 88 m but in 1999 the court gave clearance for increasing it to 90m. The tribunal envisages the maximum height of the dam at 138 m. The significance of the dam height lies in the fact that only if the dam level is above 95 m will the waters of the Narmada reach the drought stricken regions of Saurashtra and Kutch.

Vyas Project (Beas):

1. It is a joint venture of Punjabi, Haryana and Rajasthan.

2. It has two parts, Beas Sutlej link and Pong dam.

3. Beas Sutlej is 61 m high and is in Pandoh (H P), and Pong is 116m, high at Dhauladhar in Pong near Beas.

Ramganga Project:

1. Ramganga is a tributary of Ganga

2. Aim of the project is to provide irrigation facilities to about 6 lakh hectares of land in western U.P, to supply 20 cusecs of drinking water to Delhi and to control the floods in western and central U.P

3. This project includes:

A 625.8m long and 125.6m high earth and rock filled dam across the Ramganga river and a Saddle dam of height 75.6m across the Ghuisot steam near Kalagarh in dist of Garhwal Across the river a 546m long weir at Here oli.

4. A feeder canal, 82km in length originating from Hereoli River Remodelling of 3388km of existing dam and 3880km long new branch canals A powerhouse on the river at its right bank with an installed capacity of 198 MW.

Mayurakshi Project:

1. Mayurakshi is a tributary of the Hooghly River

2. Purpose behind this project is four fold Create irrigation potential Generate power Control floods and Control erosion

3. A barrage is constructed across the Mayurakshi River at Tilpara.

4. Two irrigational canals are attached with the lilpara barrage with total length of 13b7 km and providing irrigation in West Bengal and Bihar 4,000 KW of electricity is supplied to Birbhum, Murshidabad and Santhal Pargana, which is generated by this project.

Pochampad Project:

This irrigation project is the second largest project in Andhra Pradesh.

1. It involves 812m in length and 43m of height masonry dam on the Godavari River in Adilabad district.

2. The storage capacity of the dam is 230.36 cross m3 -A canal of length 112.63km will provide irrigation facilities in Karimnagar and Adilabad districts.

Tehri Dam Project:

1. Alaknanda is the river on which this dam is being constructed in Tehri district of Uttarakhand.

2. Motives behind this project is to collect the flood water of the Bhagirathi and the Bhilangana rivers in a large reservoir behind the dam Hydroelectricity generation, To provide irrigation facilities to agricultural land in the western U.P.

3. Tehri dam has a distinction of highest rock fill dam in the country.

4. 2, 70,000 hectares of agricultural land in western U.P and Delhi with the supply of 300 cusecs is going to be facilitated by this project 2,400 MW is the installed capacity of power generation A concrete dam at Kateshwar, 22km away from the Tehri dam will impound water released by the Tehri dam, from where another 400 MW of electricity will be generated.

Machkund Project:

1. It is a joint venture of Andhra Pradesh and Odisha.

2. A dam of height 54m and 410 m in length, has been constructed on Machkund River.

3. Project includes a powerhouse with 115 MW as the installed capacity.

Parambikulam Project:

1. This Project is a joint venture of Kerala and Tamil Nadu.

2. Under this project 185 MW of electricity will be generated and 1.01 lakh hectare of land will be irrigated.

3. Water of 8 small rivers would be utilized.

Mahi Project:

1. It is on Mahi River, which has its origin in Vindhyas in Dhardis of M P.

2. Is stage 796 m in length and 21m of height dam is being constructed at Banakbori village? This stage also has 74km long canals to irrigate 1.86 hectares of land.

3. 2nd stage construction of a dam of 1,430m in length and 58 m high to irrigation 80,000 of area near kodana.

4. A generation of 40 MW of electricity with irrigation of 2.75 lakh hectares of land is going to be done by this project.

Project Kakrapara Project:

1. Project is in Gujarat on Tapti River.

2. Project involves a dam 14 m high and 621m long.

3. 2.27 lakh hectares of land will be irrigated with the help of two canals of 505 km and 837 km in length.

Koyna Project:

1. In Maharashtra, on Koyna River.

2. Project involves construction of a dam 250 m in height.

Hansdev Bango Project:

1. Project involves construction of a 85m high stone dam on Hansdev river in M.P.

2. It will irrigate 3.28 lakh hectares of land and also be used for industrial purposes.

Bargi Project:

1. It is on river Bargi near Jabalpur in M.P.

2. It is a multipurpose project once completed will irrigate 2.45 lakh hectares of land. 25, Bhima Project.

3. This project includes construction of two dams -One dam on river Pabna near Pune in Maharashtra, which will be 1,319 m long and 42m high.

4. Other dam with a length of 2467m and a height of 56.4m will be constructed on river Krishna in Sholapur district of Maharastra.

India’s water power resources have been estimated at over 40 million kilowatts. The north-eastern India falling largely in the Brahmaputra basin accounts for nearly 30 per cent of our water power resources. Yet another chunk of 30 per cent is widely spread over the rest of the Himalayan lying within the Indian Territory. Half of it belongs to the Indus and her tributaries.

The Ganga and her Himalayan tributaries together with the rivers like Tista and Manas lying further east, claim the remaining half. The remaining 40 per cent is claimed by the rivers of peninsular India. Half of it is attributed to the east flowing rivers rising in the Western Ghats and a quarter each is shared by those small rivers that rise in the Western Ghats and flow into the Arabian Sea, and the rivers of central India.

What is the Importance of Irrigation for Indian Agriculture?

The importance of irrigation in the Indian agriculture cannot be overestimated in view of the peculiar nature of rainfall in the country. Irrigation in India has been practised from ancient times and irrigation tanks and wells are a familiar feature of the India landscape to supplement and conserve the rainfall. Artificial lakes and canals that dot the country in hundreds are centuries old and some of them have served for more than thousand years.

The Grand Anicut across the Cauvery in Tamil Nadu built in the second century and the Bhojpur Lake (Bhopal) constructed during the 11th century bear testimony to the skill the Indians had acquired in the development of irrigation works in the ancient times.

During the medieval period, Ferozeshah Tughlaq built a part of the present Western Yamuna Canal towards the middle of the 14th century. Present Bari Doab Canal in Punjab incorporates canal from the Ravi which was built by Ali Mardan Khan in the 17th century. During the pre-independence period, the British using systematic western technology built a network of canals in the country which was remarkable by any standards.

When India entered upon an era of planned development in 1951, it was clearly recognised that the foremost requirement in rebuilding the agricultural economy of the country is large-scale development of irrigation and power. The pride of place in the Planning era was accordingly given to irrigation and, as a result, the gross irrigated areas in the country increased many fold.

Total irrigation potential before 1951 was 22.6 million hectares which increased to 93.98 mha by the end of the Ninth plan. The country has reduced its dependency on rain-fed irrigation/agriculture to a certain extent.

The irrigation potential created in the country has increased from 102.70 mha during 10th plan period to 109.87 mha at the end of 11th plan. A storage capacity of about 253 billion cubic metres (BCM) has been created in the country so far. The per capita water storage capacity in India is about 209 m3. The average annual per capita water availability in the country as per census 2011 is 1545 per cubic metres.

If a person abets someone to committee a crime outside India, can he be punished under Indian Penal Code?

Section 108-A. Abetment in India of offences outside India:

A person will be guilty of abetment who abets the commission of any act outside India which would be an offence if committed in India (i.e., an offence under Indian law).

Illustration:

A, in India instigates B, foreigner in Karachi, to commit a murder in Karachi. A is guilty of abetting murder.

“A person abets an offence within the meaning of this Code who in India abets the commission of any act without and beyond India which would constitute an offence if committed in India”. (Section 108-A).

Several provisions of the Indian Penal Code are so framed as to promote International convenience in punishing and preventing crimes. Thus, it is an offence under Section 125, I.P.C., to wage war against an Asiatic power at peace with the Government of India.

This is based on the principle of International co-operation against crime. The principle does not apply to crimes only; it extends also to abetments of crimes. Section 108-A, I.P.C., provides for the application of this principle to the law of abetments.

Abetment of offences in other countries to be punishable in India must be committed in India. The following three conditions are necessary under such circumstances:

(1) The abetment must be committed in India.

(2) The abetment must be of an act which is committed outside India.

(3) The act so abetted must be an offence in India.

Any person may be punished for abetment in the above circumstances. In other words, the law punishes both nationals and aliens guilty of such abetment. It is against the law of nations that one State should breed conspirators against another.

Apart from political considerations, crime often assumes an International character, the plan and the finance for crime being provided in one country, its execution being done in another, without the knowledge of the respective Governments. Some crimes are essentially International in their character, e.g., the crime of smuggling.

Ingredients of Section 84 of IPC (Insanity) – Explained!

Section 84 embodies the fundamental maxim of criminal law—’atus non facit nisi mens sit rea’ — (an act does not constitute guilt unless done with a guilty intention). In order to constitute a crime, the intent and act must concur, but in the case of insane persons, no culpability is fastened on them as they have no free will furious mulla voluntas est, which means mad man has no Wills. It is necessary for the application of Section 84 to show —

1. That the accused was of unsound mind;

2. That he was of unsound mind at the time he did the act and not merely before or after the act; and

3. That as a result of unsoundness of mind he was incapable of knowing the nature of the act and that what he was doing was either wrong or contrary to law.

Persons of unsound mind:

These persons may be said as persons of unsound mind:

(i) Idiot— Idiot is such a person who cannot count upto twenty or cannot tell the name of days of week or his parents.

(ii) Lunatic.—It a person who is permanently mad without any interval is said as natural insanity.

(iii) Non compos mentis.—If a person has become non compos mentis due to regular illness he is exempted from criminal liability.

(iv) Disease of mind.—If the accused is suffering from disease of mind at the time of commission of offence, he is entitled to get the exemption of Section 84.

It is not enough to prove mere mental derangement or what is termed as medical insanity. The accused must show that his cognitive faculties were so impaired that he was deprived of the power of understanding the nature of the act or distinguishing right from wrong.

Conversely if his cognitive faculties are not so impaired as to make it impossible for him to know the nature of his act or that what he was doing was either wrong or contrary to law, he is not exempt from criminal liability. Besides this state of mind must be proved to exist at the time of the commission of the act.

On this question the state of his mind before and after the crucial time is relevant. If a person is, by reason of unsoundness of mind, incapable of knowing the nature of the act or that he is doing what is either wrong or contrary to law, he cannot be guilty to any criminal intent. Such a person lacks the requisite mens rea and is entitled to an acquittal.

Crucial Point of Time:

The crucial point of time for deciding whether the benefit of Section 84 should be given or not is the material time when the offence takes place. It is the state of the mind at the time of the offence, neither ‘before’ nor ‘after’ the commission of the offence, which is to be determined, although to arrive at the conclusion, the state of the mind, both antecedent and subsequent to the event would be relevant.

As yet there is no instrument to be proved to get knowledge with mathematical accuracy of the mental condition of the accused at the time of the commission of the offence. It has to be inferred on the appreciation of the evidence of the persons who had the occasion to observe the behaviour and conduct of the accused prior to, at the time of, and after the commission of the offence and the available medical evidence.

The antecedent and subsequent conduct of the accused is relevant only to show the state of his mind at the time the act was committed and the Court is only concerned with the state of the mind of the accused at the time of the act.

If at the time of commission of the offence the man is found to be labouring under such a defect of reason that he is not capable of knowing the nature of the act which he is doing or he knows the act but does not know that it was either wrong or contrary to law, application of Section 84 would be justified.

For the application of the section it would not be sufficient to show that the accused was mentally unsound at the time of the commission of the offence. Apart from this it must be clearly proved that his mental condition was so defective that he was not knowing the nature and quality of the act which he was doing or that he was knowing the act but he was not knowing that it was wrong.

Where at the time of the commission of the offence, the accused knew the nature of the act he was committing he could not be absolved of responsibility for the grave offence of murder. It has to be assumed that he was rightly convicted because he knew the nature of his act when he committed the offence with which he was charged.

Burden of Proof:

Section 105 of the Indian Evidence Act throws the burden of proving the existence of the circumstances bringing the case under Section 84 on the accused and directs that the Court shall presume the absence of such circumstances.

The law presumes every person of the age of discretion to be sane unless the contrary is proved; and even if a lunatic has lucid intervals, the law presumes the offence to have been committed by him in a lucid interval, unless it appears to have been committed during derangement.

Although, the burden of proof of defence under Section 84 is on the accused, it is not as heavy on the accused as on the prosecution. The burden of proof of insanity lies on the accused. The prosecution has to prove the guilt of the accused beyond reasonable doubt.

The burden on the accused is analogous to that of the plaintiff or the defendant in a civil proceeding. The burden on the accused is discharged if the Court is satisfied that the version of the accused is reasonably probable or true though it might not have been proved beyond reasonable doubt. Mere conjectural possibilities cannot, however, be sufficient to discharge the onus.

The Supreme Court has highlighted the provision of insanity as a benefit to the accused in the case of Shrikant Anand Rao Bhosale v. State of Maharashtra. The facts of the case were that a police constable killed his wife in day light and made no attempt to run away or hide.

It was held that keeping in view the totality of facts and circumstances in the light of evidence on record the accused was suffering from paranoid schizophrenia. The unsoundness of mind before and after the incident would be a relevant fact.

From the circumstances of the case an inference can reasonably be drawn that the accused was under a delusion at the relevent time. He was under the attack of ailment. The accused was incapable to know, the nature of his act by reason of unsoundness of mind and that he would be entitled to the benefit of Section 84 of the Indian Penal Code.

In Pulu Mura v. State of Assam?- the facts were that four young kids were killed by their own father for late coming to the house after watching movie on the. T.V. which the accused father did not appreciate. The Court held that it cannot be said that the accused was of unsound mind or he did not understand the implication of what he was doing. The accused was not really unsound within the meaning of Section 84 of the Indian Penal Code.

There was no evidence as to how exactly the accused and her child fell into the well. It may be possible that she attempted to commit suicide by jumping along with her child but it is also possible that she was in such unsound state of the mind that she did not know what she was doing when she jumped into the well.

In the absence of any evidence clearly indicating as to how exactly they fell into the well, it would be wrong to play on the imagination and hold the accused guilty and exclude the operation of Section 84, I.P.C., the benefit whereof should have been given to the accused.

The burden can be discharged by the accused from the circumstances which preceded, attended and followed the crime.

Ingredients of Section 34 of IPC – Acts done by Several Persons in Furtherance of Common Intention

When a criminal act is done by several persons in furtherance of the common intention of all, each of such persons is liable for that act in the same manner as if it were done by him alone.

Ingredients of Section 34:

For the applicability of Section 34 following elements are necessary:

(i) Criminal act;

(ii) Done by several persons;

(iii) In furtherance of common intention of all.

In Surendra Chauhan v. State of M.P.,it was held that to apply this section, apart from the fact that there should be two or more accused, two facts must be established: (1) Common Intention (2) participation of the accused in the commission of an offence.

(i) Criminal Act:

The section speaks of a “criminal act” being done by several persons. If the act in question is a lawful act, this section will not apply. Where four persons were exercising their right of private defence, they were engaged in a lawful act in the course of which one of them unlawfully caused death.

The other accused could not be held responsible with the help of Section 34 for the reason that acts jointly done by them was a lawful and not a criminal act. Holding the same view the Supreme Court pointed out that the question of common intention could not arise in the circumstances and constructive liability of individual accused had to be ruled out.

It means that if the act is a lawful and not a criminal act, and if in the course of such act any one of the persons jointly doing that act commits an offence, then only such person shall be liable for it and not others; Section 34 shall not apply.

A “criminal act” is not the same thing as an “offence”. An offence is the result of a criminal act. A criminal act is not equivalent to an offence which is composed of a physical act, its effect and the intention or knowledge with which the physical act is done.

The words “criminal act” are wider than the words “offence” as defined in Section 40. A criminal act means the entire series of acts committed by several persons resulting in something which is punishable under the Code or any other law.

It indicates the unity of criminal behaviour which results in something for which an individual would be punishable if it were done by him alone. Section 33 lays down that an “act” denotes as well a series of acts as a single act and omission denotes as well a series of omissions as a single omission.

Section 32 says that words which refer to acts done extend also to illegal omissions. A ‘criminal act’ in Section 34 includes a series of acts, omission to act being included within the meaning of the word ‘act’, e.g. an omission to interfere in order to prevent a murder being done before one’s very eyes.

The criminal act in Section 34 means a single act as a series of acts. But a different view was held in the following cases, wherein it has been said that a criminal act must include at least two acts; if only one act has been done, Section 34 cannot apply. The part played by one of the several persons need be identical.

“Criminal acts” does not denote a single act but refers to a whole criminal transaction in which several persons are engaged, a transaction comprising the doing of separate acts, similar or diverse by several persons.

In a case some of the assailants came in one truck and attacked the deceased and the other accused person came in another truck and attacked the companion of the deceased. The prior concert and planning by all the accused persons was clear from the evidence.

Supreme Court held that this fact would not make any difference as both the attacks were part of the same transaction. Therefore, Section 34 was held applicable. Cunning, J. has explained in K.E. v. Barendra Kumar, that it is impossible to conceive two individuals doing identically the same act; such a thing is impossible.

Therefore, to have any meaning the expression “criminal act done by several persons” must contemplate an act which can be divided into parts each part being executed by a different person, the whole making up the “criminal act which was the common intention of all”.

(ii) “Done by several persons”:

It is necessary that the act must have been done by several persons. Criminal act is done by one person, even if there is series of acts, Section 34 will not apply. More than one person should be involved in the criminal act.

The offenders must be shown to be engaged in a criminal enterprise, that is to say, though they may not be engaged in doing the same act, each one of them must be a participant in some act connected with their common intention.

In a case two persons being the partners of a business had taken a room on rent for their business purposes. One of them alone defrauded third party in that room. Supreme Court held that the other partner having no knowledge of the fraud was not liable to be punished with the aid of Section 34, I.P.C.

It is not necessary that a similar or the same act may be committed by different offenders. The acts may be different, e.g., where out of several burglars some keep out a watch and one of those who enter the house shoots and kills an inmate or there may be similar acts as where several persons combine to assault another.

There must be evidence of some distinct act by the accused which may be regarded as a part of the criminal act. Actual participation is necessary though the participation may be passive.

(iii) “In furtherance of common intention”:

What is the meaning of the expression “in furtherance of the common intention”? The dictionary meaning of the word “furtherance” is “advancement or promotion”. If four persons have a common intention to kill A, they will have to do many acts in promotion of that intention in order to fulfil it.

Some illustrations will clarify the point. Four persons intend to kill A, who is expected to be found in a house. All of them participate in different ways. One of them attempts to enter the house but is stopped by the sentry and he shoots the sentry.

Though the common intention was to kill A, the shooting of the sentry is in furtherance of the said common intention. Section 34 applies. In a case father and son were accused. Along with co-accused they attacked deceased and his family members. Accused brought out deadly weapons from house by which accused and co-accused attacked deceased. One of the accused dealt only one blow on arm of deceased.

The circumstances indicate the intention of causing death, Section 34 applies. Take a third variation of the illustration. The intended victim has a twin brother who exactly resembles him and the accused who is entrusted with the part of shooting the intended victim, on a mistaken impression shoots the twin brother.

The shooting of the twin brother is also in furtherance of the common intention. The common intention may be to do one act and another act may be done in furtherance of the common intention. Such other act in furtherance may be a preliminary act necessary for achieving the common intention, or it may be done while achieving it or it may be done after achieving it.

If such other act has no connection with the common intention, it shall not be in furtherance and consequently Section 34 shall not apply. Thus, while the common intention is to kill a person, a theft is also committed by one of the several persons participating in the criminal act, Section 34 shall not apply in respect of the theft which shall be the separate act of the individual concerned and none others of the remaining persons shall be liable for it.

Emphasising this third aspect the Supreme Court in a case observed that it is true that in order to convict persons vicariously under Section 34, I.P.C., it is not necessary to prove that each and every one of them had indulged in overt acts. Even so, there must be material to show that the overt act or acts of one or more of the accused was or were done in furtherance of the common intention of all the accused.

Common intention may develop on the spot. :

In certain circumstances common intention may suddenly develop on the spot, which may be inferred by the conduct of the accused. This opinion was expressed by the Supreme Court in the case of Krishna Gobind Patil v. State of Maharashtra. The similar opinion was also approved by the Supreme Court in Hari Om v. State of U.P.

The Supreme Court, in Pratap Singh v. State of M.P., held that the common intention in criminal jurisprudence is the premeditated meeting of minds. No doubt the common intention can also be formed on the spot.