Theft, in layman the act of dishonestly taking something that belongs to someone else and keeping it. We generally describe theft to be the act of stealing property belonging to somebody else. However, theft under IPC has certain specific requirements and ingredients. According to Section 378, theft means dishonestly taking any movable property out of the possession of a person. This taking must always be without the concerned person’s consent. Therefore, in order to constitute theft under IPC, the following conditions must exist: Ingredients: To constitute theft, the following ingredients are required: a) The accused must have a dishonest intention to take the property, b) The property must be movable, c) The property must be taken out of the possession of another person, d) Resulting in wrongful gain by one and wrongful loss to another, e) Taking must be without the person’s consent (implied or expressed) All of these requirements must exist in order to complete the offence of theft. If anyone of them is missing, the offender is not guilty of theft. For example, a person may take and move somebody else’s property thinking it actually belongs to him. In this case, since the offender moved the property as a mistake, he did not commit theft.

1. Anonymous**** University
Department Of Law
Theft and Robbery
Assignment On
Submitted To
Dr. XYZ........................ S******* H********
Submitted By
(H.O.D)- Department Of Law LL.B(1st
Year, Sem-II)

2. Regulation of the administration is mandatory for the human society. It requires
the protection of not only the person as an individual but also their property.
Therefore, all systems of jurisprudence have made provision for its protection
from the earliest times. Provisions for the violation of property rights have been
provided in civil law and remedies are sought by private individual in civil court
to obtain specific relief. Thus, Chapter XVII (378- 382) of Indian Penal
Code,1860 deals with the Offences Against Property.
Introduction
Theft, in layman the act of dishonestly taking something that belongs to
someone else and keeping it. We generally describe theft to be the act of
stealing property belonging to somebody else. However, theft under IPC has
certain specific requirements and ingredients. According to Section 378, theft
means dishonestly taking any movable property out of the possession of a person.
This taking must always be without the concerned person’s consent. Therefore, in
order to constitute theft under IPC, the following conditions must exist:
Ingredients: To constitute theft, the following ingredients are required:
a) The accused must have a dishonest intention to take the property,
b) The property must be movable,
c) The property must be taken out of the possession of another person,
d) Resulting in wrongful gain by one and wrongful loss to another,
e) Taking must be without the person’s consent (implied or expressed)
All of these requirements must exist in order to complete the offence of theft.
If anyone of them is missing, the offender is not guilty of theft. For example, a
person may take and move somebody else’s property thinking it actually
belongs to him. In this case, since the offender moved the property as a
mistake, he did not commit theft.

3. a) Dishonest Intention
Prerequisites of Theft
Section 24 of IPC provides that dishonesty means the intention of wrongful gain
or wrongful loss. Section 23 of the IPC provides the definition of both wrongful
gain and wrongful loss. Wrongful gain means gaining any property unlawfully,
the person who is losing the property is the legal owner of such property.
Wrongful loss means the loss brought about by unlawful means.
In the case of M/s. Shriram Transport Finance Co. Ltd. v. R. Khaishiullah
Khan, payment for a hire-purchase agreement defaulted and the property was
seized and the court held that it would not constitute theft as the financer was
entitled to seize such property. Further, there were no dishonest intentions.
b) Movable Property
Section 22 of IPC has provided the definition of movable property; means that
any corporeal property except land and things permanently attached to the earth.
Only movable property can be stolen as it is impossible to take immovable
property away. Immovable property can be converted into movable property
and once it has been converted such property can be stolen.
Electricity has been ruled to be immovable property according to the case
of
Electricity:
Avtar Singh v. State of Punjab but stealing of electricity has been made a
punishable offence. The punishment for theft is provided under section 35 of
Electricity Act, 2003 as up to three years of imprisonment with or without a
fine.
Growing crops are attached to the earth and hence cannot be considered
movable property but once they are converted into movable property by
removing them from the earth, it can be considered as theft.
Crops:

4. The human body cannot be considered to be movable property and hence
Section 378 cannot be applied in case of theft of human body. But in case of
instances where the body has been preserved or the skeleton has been kept, then
such property is covered by Section 378 and falls under the definition of
movable property.
Human Body:
In order for theft to have occurred, the property being stolen must be taken from
the possession from the owner of such a property. If the property does not have
an owner then such property cannot be said to have been stolen if a person
acquires such property. For example; if A finds a gold nugget in a stream and he
takes the gold home, it cannot be considered theft as the gold nugget has no
owner.
Property in possession:
The property that is in question must have been taken without the consent of the
owner of such a property. The consent can either be implied or express. The
consent given must also be free meaning that such consent must not be acquired
through means of coercion or fear of injury or misrepresentation of facts.
No Consent:
Consent given during state of drunkenness or intoxication as well as consent
given by a person of unsound mind cannot be considered to be a valid consent.
In Pyarelal Bhargava v. State, AIR 1963 , a govt. employee took a file from the
government office and presented it to B, and brought it back to the office after
two days. Held that permanent taking of the property isn’t required, even a
temporary movement of the property with dishonest intention is enough and
thus this was theft.
Punishment for theft is provided under Sections 379-382. Different punishments
have been provided for different circumstances of theft are mentioned as below:
Punishment for Theft:

5. A person committing the crime of theft may be imprisoned for a period of time
that may extend up to 3 years or a fine or both.
Section 379- Punishment for Theft
The offence under this section is cognizable, non-bailable, compoundable by the
owner of the property stolen with the permission of the Court , and triable by
any magistrate.
Classification of Offence
Jurisdiction:
As per Section 181 of the Code of Criminal Procedure 1973, the offence of theft
may be enquired into or tried by court within the local limits of whose
jurisdiction such offence was committed or the property stolen was possessed
by the thief or by any person who received or retained the same knowing or
having reason to belief it or to be stolen.

6. Robbery is defined by the Black’s Law Dictionary as the felonious act of taking
the personal property in the possession of another from his person or immediate
presence against his will accomplished using force and fear, with an intention of
permanently depriving the true owner of the thing in question. Robbery in
common language means to deprive a person of his or her property.
Robbery
In all robbery, there is either theft or extortion. The essence of the offence of
robbery is that the offender for committing theft or for carrying away or
attempting to carry away the looted property, voluntarily causes or attempts to
cause death or hurt or wrongful restraint.
Robbery Under IPC :
In all robbery there is either theft or extortion. When theft is robbery.—Theft is
“robbery” if, in order to the committing of the theft, or in committing the theft,
or in carrying away or attempting to carry away property obtained by the theft,
the offender, for that end, voluntarily causes or attempts to cause to any person
death or hurt or wrongful restraint, or fear of instant death or of instant hurt, or
of instant wrongful restraint. When extortion is robbery.—Extortion is
“robbery” if the offender, at the time of committing the extortion, is in the
presence of the person put in fear, and commits the extortion by putting that
person in fear of instant death, of instant hurt, or of instant wrongful restraint to
that person or to some other person, and, by so putting in fear, induces the
person so put in fear then and there to deliver up the thing extorted.
Explanation.—The offender is said to be present if he is sufficiently near to put
the other person in fear of instant death, of instant hurt, or of instant wrongful
restraint.
Section 390 Of IPC
In all robbery, there is either theft or extortion.
The explanation attached to the section says that the offender is said to be
present within the meaning of this section if he is sufficiently near to put the
Explanation:

7. other person in fear of instant death, or of instant hurt, or of instant wrongful
restraint.
Even though a robbery would always be either theft or extortion as shown by
the definition, in practice it may sometimes be quite difficult to identify as to
which part is robbery by theft and which one robbery by extortion. For instance,
A enters into the house of В and pointing a revolver at him asks him to
surrender all the valuables. While В starts surrendering the valuables, A himself
starts picking up some of the other valuables.
The essential ingredients of Robbery are:
Ingredients:
 There must have been commission of theft as defined in Section 378;
 The act of theft must have been committed by the offender causing or
attempting to cause fear of death, hurt or wrongful restraint or fear of
instant death or instant hurt or instant wrongful restraint; and
 There must have been commission of extortion as defined in Section
383 and while doing so the offender must have been in presence of the
person and subsequently has put the person in fear of instant hurt or
instant wrongful restraint or instant death and by causing so has
induces the person to deliver some property in possession of the
person so put in fear.
Theft is robbery when in order to commit theft or while committing theft, or
while carrying away or attempting to carry away property obtained by theft, the
offender voluntarily causes or attempts to cause to any person death, subject
him/her to wrongful restraint or cause hurt or induce fear of instant death,
instant wrongful restraint or causing instant hurt.
When Theft is Robbery
Thus, theft becomes robbery when the following conditions are satisfied;
 When the offender voluntarily causes or attempts to cause:
 Death, wrongful restraint or hurt or

8.  Fear of instant death, instant wrongful restraint or instant
hurt.
 And the above act(s) is done
 While committing the theft
 To commit the theft
 While carrying away the property obtained by theft or
 While attempting to carry away property obtained by theft.
For example: A holds Z down and fraudulently takes Z’s money and jewels
from Z’s clothes without Z’s consent. Here A has committed theft, and by
committing of that theft, has voluntarily caused wrongful restraint to Z. A has
therefore committed robbery.
Extortion becomes robbery when the offender at the time of committing the
offence of extortion is in the presence of the person put in fear and commits
extortion by putting that person in fear of instant death, instant wrongful
restraint or instant hurt to that person or some other person and by doing so
induces the person, so put in fear to then and there deliver the thing that has
been extorted.
When Extortion is Robbery:
Thus, extortion becomes robbery when the following conditions are satisfied;
1. When a person commits extortion by putting another in the fear of instant
death, wrongful restraint or hurt
2. Then the offender induces the person under such fear to deliver the property
at that very instant; then and there.
3. The offender is in the near presence of such a person put in fear at the time of
extortion.
Illustration: A meets Z and Z’s child on the high road. A takes the child and
threatens to fling it down a precipice unless Z delivers his purse. Z, in
consequence, delivers his purse. Here A has extorted the purse from Z, by

9. causing Z to be in fear of instant hurt to the child who is present. A has
therefore robbed Z.
However, if A obtains property from Z by saying, “Your child is in the hands of
my gang, and will be put to death unless you send us ten thousand rupees.” This
is extortion, and punishable as such; but it would not be robbery unless Z is put
in fear of the instant death of his child.
Section 392– Punishment for robbery
The punishment for robbery is given under Section 392 of the Indian Penal
Code, 1860. By this section, any person who commits robbery shall be punished
with rigorous imprisonment which may be extended up to ten years and shall
also be liable to pay a fine.
:
If the robbery is committed on the highway between sunset and sunrise, then the
period of imprisonment may be extended up to 14 years.