Basis
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Kidnapping
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Abduction
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Provision of law
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Section 359 of PC states the two types of kidnapping. Section 360 defines kidnapping from India, Section 361 defines kidnapping from lawful guardianship.
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The definition of abduction is given in Section 362 of PC.
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Age of the victim
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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.
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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.
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Means
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In kidnapping, the person is taken away or enticed. The means of doing these is irrelevant to constitute the crime.
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In abduction. force, deceit or compulsion is used to take a person from a place.
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Removal from lawful guardianship
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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
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In abduction, there is no concept of taking a person away from his/her lawful guardian.
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Consent of the victim
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Consent of the person kidnapped is immaterial, however, the consent of the guardian can be material.
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In case the person abducted gives his/her consent, it is considered that there is no offence.
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The intention of the accused
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In kidnapping the intention of the person kidnapping the minor or person of unsound mind is immaterial.
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In abduction, intention is essential to determine the guilt of the accused.
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Nature and Punishment
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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.
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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.
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Continuity of the offence
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Kidnapping is not a continuing offence.
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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.
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Completion of the offence
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The offence is completed as soon as a person is taken away from the country or from his/her lawful guardianship.
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It is a continuing offence and involves forcibly or deceitfully taking a person from one place to another
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