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:

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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.