Kindly explain what is the meaning of the word express provision in the given section of IPC.
Sec 120 B IPC:
Whoever is a party to a criminal conspiracy to commit an offence punishable with death, imprisonment for life or rigorous imprisonment for a term of two years or upwards, shall, where no 'express provision' is made in this Code for the punishment of such a conspiracy, be punished in the same manner as if he had abetted such offence.
Greetings of the Day,
Regarding your question on the meaning of "express provision" under section 120B of IPC-
Section 120B of the Code prescribes punishment for criminal conspiracy cases. The section has two parts, one, conspiracy to commit offences of serious nature [120B(1)], and second, conspiracy to commit offences other than those covered under the first part [120B(2)].
In the first category, the section, however, does not give any specified punishment.
The term "no express provision" means "where no provision is provided in the Code about the punishment for committing conspiracies of offences covered in the first part".
Hence, in such cases, the accused shall be liable to be punished in the same manner as if he had abetted the offence.
For Instance, if there is a conspiracy to commit a murder, and if there is no explicit punishment provided in the Code for such conspiracy, then the accused would be punished in accordance with Section 109 of the Code ​​​​​​, as if he had abetted the crime.
Hope this helps!
Regards,
Umamageswari Maruthappan
Law Student
