Research Area:
Management
KeyWord:
Person, Crime, Punishment, Company
Abstract:
Initially it was argued that corporation being legal person cannot form the mens rea, unlike natural person and cannot be held responsible for criminal offences. Moreover, company does not have body or soul. Hence it cannot be punished like natural persons. Therefore the company ought to be kept outside the jurisdiction of the criminal jurisprudence. However, the doctrine of identification theory was adopted in broader sense. Further, the Courts in India started to attribute company for criminal acts of its directors, or agents or servants, whether they involve mens rea or not, provided they have acted or have purported to act under authority of the company or in pursuance of the aims or objects of the company. However jurisprudence of juristic personality suggests that corporate personality cannot be equated with personality of natural person in respect of all offences mentioned in the law of crimes, which could be committed only by natural persons, e.g. murder, treason, bigamy, rape, perjury etc.