Basis | Kidnapping | Abduction |
Provision of law | Section 359 of PC states the two types of kidnapping. Section 360 defines kidnapping from India, Section 361 defines kidnapping from lawful guardianship. | The definition of abduction is given in Section 362 of PC. |
Age of the victim | As per section 360 and 361, the female kidnapped should be under 18 years of age and male kidnapped should be under 16 years of age. | There is no provision which puts a bar on the age of the person abducted, since being a minor is not essential to constitute this offence. |
Means | In kidnapping, the person is taken away or enticed. The means of doing these is irrelevant to constitute the crime. | In abduction. force, deceit or compulsion is used to take a person from a place. |
Removal from lawful guardianship | Here lawful guardian refers to a person who is legally authorised to take care of a minor or a person of unsound mind. For kidnapping, it is essential that the victim is taken away from their lawful guardian | In abduction, there is no concept of taking a person away from his/her lawful guardian. |
Consent of the victim | Consent of the person kidnapped is immaterial, however, the consent of the guardian can be material. | In case the person abducted gives his/her consent, it is considered that there is no offence. |
The intention of the accused | In kidnapping the intention of the person kidnapping the minor or person of unsound mind is immaterial. | In abduction, intention is essential to determine the guilt of the accused. |
Nature and Punishment | Since kidnapping is a substantive offence, it’s general punishment is prescribed in section 363 of PC as imprisonment for a term up to seven years and a fine. | Since abduction is an auxiliary offence, it does not have a general punishment prescribed in the PC. Rather, the punishment of specific types of abduction is given in different sections of PC. |
Continuity of the offence | Kidnapping is not a continuing offence. | Abduction is a continuing offence because it does not end when a person is moved from a particular place, rather continues with every movement from one place to the other. |
Completion of the offence | The offence is completed as soon as a person is taken away from the country or from his/her lawful guardianship. | It is a continuing offence and involves forcibly or deceitfully taking a person from one place to another |