Enumerate in detail various significant stages of crime.

The commission of a crime consists of some significant stages. If a person commits a crime voluntarily, it involves four important stages, viz. 1. Criminal Intention Criminal intention is the first stage in the commission of offence. Intention is the conscious exercise of mental faculties of a person to do an act for the purpose of accomplishing or satisfying a purpose. Law does not as a rule punish individuals for their evil thoughts or criminal intentions. The criminal court does not punish a man for mere guilty intention because it is very difficult for the prosecution to prove the guilty intention of a man. Intention means doing any act with one's will, desire, voluntariness, malafides and for some purpose. In the Indian Penal Code, 1860 (IPC), all these varied expressions find place in the various sections of the Code. Intention can also be imputed under the law. For example, if a man drives in a rash and reckless manner resulting in an accident causing death of a person, the reckless driver cannot plead innocence by stating that he never intended to cause the death of the person. It may be true in the strict sense of term. But a reckless driver should know that reckless driving is likely to result in harm and can even cause death of the persons on the road, So, by virtue of definition of the word 'voluntarily' in the Code, a reckless driver who causes death of a person can be presumed or deemed to have intended to cause the death of the person. 2. Preparation Preparation means to arrange necessary measures for commission of intended criminal act. Preparation itself is not punishable as it is difficult to prove that necessary preparations were made for commission of the offence. But in certain exceptional cases mere preparation is also punishable. Under the IPC, mere preparation to commit few offences is punishable as they are considered to be grave offences. Some of them are as follows: Preparation to wage war against the Government Preparation for counterfeiting of coins or Government Stamps Possessing counterfeit coins, false weights or measurements and forged documents Making preparation to commit dacoity 3. Attempt Attempt, which is the third stage in the commission of a crime, is punishable. Attempt has been called as a preliminary crime. Section 511 of the IPC does not give any definition of 'attempt' but simply provides for punishment for attempting to commit an offence. Attempt means the direct movement towards commission of a crime after necessary preparations have been made. When a person wants to commit a crime, he firstly forms an intention, then makes some preparation and finally does something for achieving the object; if he succeeds in his object he is guilty of completed offence otherwise only for making an attempt. It should be noted that whether an act amounts to an attempt to commit a particular offence is a question of fact depending on the nature of crime and steps necessary to take in order to commit it. The act constituting attempt must be proximate to the intended result. 4. Commission of Crime or Accomplishment The last stage in the commission of crime is its accomplishment. If the accused succeeds in his attempt, the result is the commission of crime and he will be guilty of the offence. If his attempt is unsuccessful, he will be guilty for an attempt only. If the offence is complete, the offender will be tried and punished under the specific provisions of the IPC. Alternate Answer (Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023) The commission of a crime consists of some significant stages. If a person commits a crime voluntarily, it involves four important stages, viz. 1. Criminal Intention Criminal intention is the first stage in the commission of offence. Intention is the conscious exercise of mental faculties of a person to do an act for the purpose of accomplishing or satisfying a purpose. Law does not as a rule punish individuals for their evil thoughts or criminal intentions. The criminal court does not punish a man for mere guilty intention because it is very difficult for the prosecution to prove the guilty intention of a man. Intention means doing any act with one's will, desire, voluntariness, malafides and for some purpose. In the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 (BNS), all these varied expressions find place in the various sections of BNS. Intention can also be imputed under the law. For example, if a man drives in a rash and reckless manner resulting in an accident causing death of a person, the reckless driver cannot plead innocence by stating that he never intended to cause the death of the person. It may be true in the strict sense of the term. But a reckless driver should know that reckless driving is likely to result in harm and can even cause death of the persons on the road, So, by virtue of definition of the word 'voluntarily' in BNS, a reckless driver who causes death of a person can be presumed or deemed to have intended to cause the death of the person. 2. Preparation Preparation means to arrange necessary measures for commission of intended criminal act. Preparation itself is not punishable as it is difficult to prove that necessary preparations were made for commission of the offence. But in certain exceptional cases mere preparation is also punishable. Under the BNS, mere preparation to commit a few offences is punishable as they are considered to be grave offences. Some of them are as follows: Preparation to wage war against the Government Preparation for counterfeiting of coins or Government Stamps Possessing counterfeit coins, false weights or measurements and forged documents Making preparation to commit dacoity 3. Attempt Attempt, which is the third stage in the commission of a crime, is punishable. Attempt has been called as a preliminary crime. Though, section 62 of the BNS does not give any definition of 'attempt' but simply provides for punishment for attempting to commit an offence. Attempt means the direct movement towards commission of a crime after necessary preparations have been made. When a person wants to commit a crime, he firstly forms an intention, then makes some preparation and finally does something for achieving the object; if he succeeds in his object he is guilty of completed offence otherwise only for making an attempt. It should be noted that whether an act amounts to an attempt to commit a particular offence is a question of fact depending on the nature of crime and steps necessary to take in order to commit it. The act constituting the attempt must be proximate to the intended result. 4. Commission of Crime or Accomplishment The last stage in the commission of crime is its accomplishment. If the accused succeeds in his attempt, the result is the commission of crime and he will be guilty of the offence. If his attempt is unsuccessful, he will be guilty for an attempt only. If the offence is complete, the offender will be tried and punished under the specific provisions of the BNS.