Parties to the crime

1. Parties to Crime
Presented by : Samrat Kunjeda
Roll: 06/078
LL.M. 1st Sem Day Shift
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Parties to the Crime
1.Classification of Parties to the Crime
2. Principal Offender
3. Secondary Offender
4. Innocent Agent

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• In modern criminal jurisprudence, the concept of parties
to the crime is considered as one of the vital,
controversial, debatable concepts of criminal law.
• Parties to the crime, basically, deals with the division of
participants who have played certain role and involved in
committing or commission of a crime, proper scope and
degree of liability for their involvement and participation
in commission of a crimes.
• Further, it deals with principles governing to the principal
liability and accessorial liability and different modes of
involvement and participation.

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Principles applied for imposing liability to parties to the
crime
• In modern criminal jurisprudence different principles are
applied imposing liability to principal and secondary offender.
1. Liability of principal offender:
• The liability of principal offender is considered as a basic,
fundamental, independent, perpetual and substantive.
• Liability is imposed because he himself has caused,
committed and perpetuated the incident of a crime.

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• There is a direct causal nexus between the act of the
accused and result of a crime or commission of a crime.
• He is imposed criminal liability because he has caused/
committed alleged substantive crime.
• So, it is independent and not derivate from other.
• So, it is independent, basic and substantive liability
because he has direct causal nexuses or connected with
the consequence or result of crime.

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2. Liability for secondary offender:
• The liability of secondary offender is considered as a form of derivative
liability.
• It is derived from the principal offender. In order to impose criminal
liability it should be proved that the principal offender had committed a
substantive offence and he assisted the principal to commit the
substantive offence.
• He himself is not committing and causing the result of a substantive
crime. He is indirectly relating with commission of a crime.
• There is no direct causal nexus with the result of a crime.
• So we are saying that accessorial liability is, in this context, derived from
the principal offender.
• If the principal offender is not identified or not convicted then there is no
liability for accessory and accomplice.

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Rationale for the liability of parties to crime
a. First, because it is committed with plan and
determination.
b. Second, they are involving with intention and knowledge.
c. Third, involvement of more than one person makes
difficult to withdrawal by individual and most of times
they are ended with commission of offence.
d. Fourth, involvement of group participants make more
frighten and threat.
e. Last, group involvement makes more courage and
determination toward commission of a crime.

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• In criminal enterprise from the stage of
conspiracy to completion of a crime several
persons play different roles and involved
differently to commit a crime or to cause the
crime.
• They may be involved from supplying tools,
providing information, advice, keeping look out,
instigating, planning, causing and perpetuated
the incident of a crime and destroying the
evidence relating to a crime.

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Modes of Participation in a Crime
• There are several modes of participation in the commission of a crime by
the parties to the crime.
1. Actual doer – Principal offender
2. Commanding – Principal may be absent at the scene of the crime
3. Planner
4. Procuring
5. Aid and assistance
6. Counseling
7. Encouraging
8. Innocent agent
9. Silent observer

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Hypothetical Case of Dacoity
• 'A' had made a plan of dacoity in jewelry shop located under
the first floor of Super Market – Master Mind
• 'A' shared his dacoity plan with 'B', 'C' and 'D' and requested
them to help and join with his plan. 'B', 'C' and 'D' were
convinced with 'A' and agreed to help him and participate with
him – Criminal Conspiracy
• 'A' and 'B’, according to their agreement, went to 'E' and 'F'
who are serving as night guard in the super market. 'A' and
'B' approached them and promised to provide some portion of
jewelry after completion of dacoity. E and F have provided
lots of information about planned shop and its location. They
informed them how to enter the super market at night.

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• 'C' and 'D' approached 'G‘, a van driver to drive and
transport stolen jewelry after commission of dacoity.
• They able to convince 'H' a nine year old boy to look
out outside the super market and warn them, in case,
if any body approaches in the scene of dacoity.
• After then, they approached 'I' for providing them
master key and Shutter cutter machine. All of them
met according to their agreement and they entered
into the super market and abled to cut Shutter of
jewelry shop.
• Suddenly 'J' a security guard of super market
mistakenly came to there. He observed all scenario of
dacoity. He did nothing and came back to his room
instead of informing police and slept.

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• In this hypothetical case we can see several participants are
involved and played different roles in the commission of dacoity.
• A – Master Mind – Principal Offender
• 'B', 'C', 'D‘ – Actual Doer (Perpetrator)
• 'E', 'F' – Accessory/ Counseling
• G – Aid / Procuring
• I – Help
• H – Innocent Agent
• J – Innocent Agent /Silent Observer

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Parties to a Crime
Secondary Offender
Innocent Agent
Actual
Doer
Co-principal
Co-offender Commander
Abettor Aider Counselor Procurer
Principal Offender

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Principal Offender
• Principal offender is that kind of participant, who have caused
the Actus Reus of a crime and is responsible for committing
the Actus Reus of crime.
• His act or conduct is causally linked with the result of a crime.
• The principal offender is a participant who have committed the
alleged, charged substantive offence.
• It is also known as perpetatorial liability because he has
caused and he is direct linking with the result of a crime that
was desired, planned and conspired by the participant of the
crime.
• He might be present and absent at the scene of the crime.

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Secondary Offender
• Besides the technical term “secondary offender”,
in modern criminal jurisprudence, other terms
used for it are accessory/accomplice, etc.
• Besides these terms, sometimes helper, aider,
councilor, processor, abettor, assister etc. are
used to indicate the concept of secondary
offender.

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• Secondary offender is that type of participant who assists or
accomplices to the principal offender to commit an alleged
substantive offence.
• So, the secondary offence is separate offence.
• Thus, the liability imposing to the secondary offender is always
derivative.
• It is derived from the principal offender.
• Its nature is dependent and derived from the principal offender.
• He is indirectly related with the consequence of alleged offence.
• Causally he is not directly related with result of a crime.

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• He had the knowledge about the nature of crime that is
committed by the principal offender and separate type of
intention to help or assist the principal offender.
• As the secondary offender, the participant might be involved
or engaged in several modes of participation.

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• Those involved in crimes to a lesser degree in
this way are referred to as secondary parties
and as a general rule their liability is the same
as that of the principal.
• Where there is a discretion in sentencing their
degree of involvement will be taken into
consideration.

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• The procedure whereby the accomplice could be charged, convicted and
punished.
• Modes of participation: They may be engaged or involved by aiding,
abetting, counseling and procuring to the principal offender in the
commission of a crime.
• The liability of the secondary party or offender is based on principle of
derivative liability. It is derived from the principal offender.
• Whether they involved in crimes to lesser degree of indictable offences.
• Accessories are equally blameworthy as the principal offender. They are
imposed the same punishment provided for principal offender.

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Innocent Agent
• Sometimes the principal offender acts or causes or commits a crime through
another person, who is unknown about the plan and conspiracy of alleged
offence.
• In another words, a principal may not always directly carry out the Actus
Reus himself.
• He may use an innocent agent to commit a crime.
• In theory, innocent agent is that participant of a crime who is involved in the
process of commission of an offence with knowledge or with out knowledge
of plan of a crime.
• He is used or forced to involve in process of commission of a crime.
• He is engaged and involved in commission of a crime, but he does not have
an intention to commit an alleged offence.
• Theoretically, he might be used as an actual doer or perpetrator or
accessory of a crime.

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• Innocent agent is not imposed criminal liability for
causing or involving in process of commission of
crimes because he is participating without knowledge
or with knowledge of plan, conspiracy and awareness
of committing or assisting to the principle offender
without having a common intention to commit alleged
substantive offence.
• He might be:
1.Totally innocent person
2.Person under the age of criminal responsibility
3.Person having any kind of general defence- Insane,
diminished responsibility, duress, induce influence,
etc.

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• He is not imposed criminal liability because he is not
blameworthy and not having a common intention to
commit alleged crime.
• He is regarded as an innocent and for him, the principle
of innocent agency and concepts are applied,
• Of course, there are certain criminal offences which are
not possible to cause or commit through innocent agent.
• Those crime should be committed personally by principal
offender himself, such as bigamy, adultery, religious
crime, conversion of religious fate etc.