Kidnapping 
Kidnapping means taking away a person against his/her will by force, threat, or deceit. Usually, the purpose of kidnapping is to get a ransom, or for some political or other purposes etc. Kidnapping is classified into two categories in Section 359 of the Penal Code and defined in Section 360 and 361 of the Penal Code. Let’s understand these sections better. As per  Section 359 of the Penal Code, Kidnapping is of two types:

1. Kidnapping from Bangladesh,

1. Kidnapping from lawful guardianship.

These two types are explained in Section 360 and 361. Let’s look into them in detail. Kidnapping is of two kinds: namely Kidnapping from Bangladesh and Kidnapping from lawful guardianship.
Kidnapping from Bangladesh
Section 360 explains kidnapping from India. According to section 360, if any person takes a person beyond the limits of BD against the consent of that person or against the consent of someone who is legally entitled to give consent on that person’s behalf, then the offense of kidnapping from BD is committed. Illustration: ‘A’ is a woman living in New Delhi. ‘B takes ‘A’ to Bangladesh without her consent. ‘B’ committed the offense of kidnapping ‘A’ from BD.
Keeping of Lawful Guardian
Section 361 explains kidnapping from lawful guardianship. According to this section, if a person takes away or entices a minor (i.e, a boy under the age of 16 years and a girl under the age of 18 years) or a person of unsound mind, away from his/her lawful guardian without the guardian’s consent, then that person commits the offense of kidnapping from lawful guardianship.
Thus, the essentials of kidnapping from lawful guardianship are:

Illustration: ‘A’ is a boy of 13 years of age, living under the lawful guardianship of his mother, ‘Z’. ‘B’ ‘convinces him to accompany him to his house against the consent of his mother. According to Section 361, ‘B’ has committed the offense of Kidnapping from lawful guardianship. Here, the minor is ‘A’; the lawful guardian is his mother, ‘Z’ and the person who is committing the offense is ‘B’ as he is taking A away from ‘Z’ against Z’s consent.
This section also mentions an exception. It says that it does not result in the crime of kidnapping from lawful guardianship, if the person in good faith, i.e, honestly with reason, believes that:

1. He is entitled to the lawful custody of the child; or

1. He is the father of an illegitimate child.

Hence, If in the above illustration, ‘B’ believes that ‘A’ is his illegitimate son, then his act of convincing him to come to his house without his mother’s consent would not result in kidnapping from lawful guardianship.The trial court held him guilty, but the High court acquitted him. On appeal to the Supreme court, it was held that:

• Section 361 is to protect minor children from being seduced for improper purposes and to protect the rights and privileges of guardians having their custody.

• The consent of a child is completely immaterial and only the guardian’s consent is relevant to decide whether the offence was committed or not.

• ‘Taking’ as mentioned in the Section is not only through fraud or force but also through persuasion by the accused which creates willingness on the part of minor to be taken away from his/her lawful guardian.

• In this case, the respondent was held guilty under section 361 as it was the respondent’s action which persuaded the prosecutrix from going out of her father’s keeping, against her father’s wishes.

Age of the Minor: Section 361 of the Penal Code clearly states that minor is:

• A male under the age of 16 years,

• A female under the age of 18 years.

Punishment for Kidnapping
Section 363 of the Indian Penal Code lays down the punishment for both kinds of kidnapping(Kidnapping from India and Kidnapping from lawful guardianship).The punishment prescribed in this section is :

• Imprisonment of either description which can extend up to seven years, and  Fine.

Imprisonment of either term means either of the two imprisonments prescribed in the Indian Penal Code:

• Simple Imprisonment: This means that during the imprisonment, the prisoner is idle and is not required to do any hard labor.  Rigorous Imprisonment: This means that during the imprisonment, the prisoner must engage in hard labour.

Section 362 of the Indian Penal Code defines abduction. It says that if a person compels another person to go from one place, or induces some person to go from one place, then the offence of abduction is committed.
Thus, Abduction is an offence in which a person is moved from one place, against his/her will by forceful compulsion or by use of deceitful means. Clearly, the essentials of abduction are:

Section 362 says that abduction can happen in two ways. One of these is force. In abduction, a person is forced to go from one place to another, against his/her will. The use of force, as mentioned in this section, must be actual, and not just a threat of force to constitute abduction.

Difference between Kidnapping and Abduction

Now that we have understood what kidnapping and abduction are let’s understand the difference between them.

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