Criminal Law Essentials — Practice

Question 1

Principle: A lawful act, done lawfully and with proper care, that causes harm by pure accident is not an offence.
Facts: A is chopping wood with due care when the axe head unexpectedly flies off the handle and injures a bystander.
Is A criminally liable?

Accepted Answer

B

Question 2

Principle: A mere guilty intention, unaccompanied by any act, is not a crime.
Facts: A tells a friend he wishes his wealthy uncle would die so that he could inherit the estate, but does nothing at all to bring it about.
Is A criminally liable?

Accepted Answer

B

Question 3

Principle: An act that moves beyond mere preparation towards the actual commission of an offence is a punishable attempt, even if the offence is not completed.
Facts: Intending to kill B, A mixes poison into B's food and places the plate before B. A is seized just as B lifts the first spoonful.
Is A liable for an attempt to murder?

Accepted Answer

B

Question 4

Principle: An act done by a person under a genuine and reasonable mistake of fact, believing in good faith that he is justified, is not an offence. (Mistake of law is no defence.)
Facts: Leaving a restaurant, A picks up an umbrella from the stand, honestly and reasonably believing it is his own identical umbrella. It actually belongs to another customer.
Is A guilty of theft?

Accepted Answer

B

Question 5

Principle: Ignorance of the law is no excuse — a mistake of law does not exempt a person from criminal liability.
Facts: A, newly arrived from another country, carries an item that is legal there but prohibited in India, genuinely unaware of the Indian ban.
Is A liable?

Accepted Answer

B

Question 6

Principle: The right of private defence is available only against an imminent threat and only to the extent of force proportionate to that threat.
Facts: X slaps Y once and immediately walks away. Enraged, Y chases X down the street and stabs him fatally.
Can Y claim private defence?

Accepted Answer

B

Question 7

Principle: When several persons act together with a common intention, each is liable for an act done by any of them in furtherance of that common intention, as if he had done it alone.
Facts: P, Q and R plan a robbery, agreeing beforehand to use force to overcome any resistance. During the robbery, R kills the guard who tries to stop them.
Are P and Q also liable for the killing?

Accepted Answer

B

Question 8

Principle: Selling adulterated food is an offence whether or not the seller knew the food was adulterated (a strict-liability offence).
Facts: S sells a sealed packet of food which, unknown to him, had been adulterated by the manufacturer.
Is S liable under this principle?

Accepted Answer

B

Question 9

Principle: A child below the age of criminal responsibility cannot commit an offence, as the law presumes he is incapable of forming criminal intent (doli incapax).
Facts: A six-year-old, treating it as a plaything, walks out of a shop with an expensive watch.
Is the child guilty of theft?

Accepted Answer

B

Practice — Criminal Law Essentials

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