GENERAL OFFENCES 

Robbery 

The cases of robbery also rise exponentially during the time of Festivals. The target of the criminals is the victims who are either intoxicated or are in crowded places where the victim can easily rob them without their knowledge. In common parlance, robbery refers to the forced deprivation of a person’s personal property. The presence of impending fear of violence is the most differentiating feature among robbery, theft, and extortion. Robbery is defined in Section 390 of the Indian Penal Code as the following: The act of putting the victim in fear of death, grievous hurt or wrongful restraint while the commission of theft While committing extortion, the offender puts a person in fear of death, wrongful restraint or grievous hurt which causes them to deliver the possession of the thing extorted. Robbery is punishable under Section 392 of the Indian Penal Code of 1860 with rigorous imprisonment, which may be prolonged up to 10 years, as well as a fine.

• The act of putting the victim in fear of death, grievous hurt or wrongful restraint while the commission of theft  
• While committing extortion, the offender puts a person in fear of death, wrongful restraint or grievous hurt which causes them to deliver the possession of the thing extorted.

Robbery is punishable under Section 392 of the Indian Penal Code of 1860 with rigorous imprisonment, which may be prolonged up to 10 years, as well as a fine.

Hurt & Grievous Hurt 

.When any person inflicts bodily pain, disorder or disease which is harmful to any man or woman, they are said to have caused hurt. Under Section 319 of the IPC following are the essentials of hurt are: 

• Bodily Pain – According to Section 319 of the Indian Penal Code, anyone who causes bodily pain, disorder, or disease to someone is considered to be hurting them. There should be physical pain only as mental pain does not constitute hurt. As a result, injuring someone mentally or emotionally will no longer be considered “harm” under Section 319. However, it is not always necessary for any visible injury to occur at the suffering to be protected under this rule. The section only considers the infliction of bodily pain. The degree or severity of the aching or pain is not a factor for the determination of the constitution of the offence. The length of the soreness or agony is irrelevant. Pulling a girl’s hair also amounts to simple hurt.  
• Infirmity to another – A state of transitory intellectual impairment, hysteria, or dread would be considered sickness under the meaning of this phrase in the said section. It happens when an organ is unable to perform its routine functions. It can be provided through the ingestion of a harmful or dangerous chemical or the ingestion of alcohol administered by someone else.  
• Disease – When the illness or disease is transmitted from one person to another by touch, the offence of hurt is said to be committed. This concept, however, becomes unclear when a sexual disease is transmitted from one person to another.  
• Intention or Knowledge – When it comes to inflicting harm on another person, the mens rea of the accused is pivotal. Any bodily soreness caused can be covered by the ‘damage’ clause. When the death of the victim occurs, the accused may be held guilty of inflicting the most effective injury, even if the harm is not always severe and there is no intent to cause death or grave pain.

There are special types of Hurt which are categorized as Grievous Hurt. Under Section 320 of the IPC, the following fall under the ambit of grievous hurt:

1. Emasculation,
   1. Permanent injury to eyesight or either of the eye,
   1. Permanent deafness or injury to either of the eye, 
   1. Privation of any member or joint (loss of limb), 
   1. Impairing of Limb, 
   1. Permanent disfiguration of the head or face, 
   1. Fracture or dislocation of a bone or tooth, 
   1. Any injury that puts the victim’s life in jeopardy or renders him unable to carry on his normal activities for twenty days.

Murder 

Murder is an act that is carried out with the goal of causing death and is defined under Section 300 of the IPC. The conduct is carried out with the goal of causing bodily injury which the criminal is aware will result in death. It is punishable under Section 302 of the IPC with the imposition of capital punishment, life imprisonment or fine. 

In the case of 5, Whether It Is To Be Circulated To … vs State Of … on 7 April 2014, (R/CR.A/333/2009, CAV), a man had killed his wife with an axe as he believed her to be cheating on him. He had taken her to an isolated location on the pretext of shopping for Diwali and killed her. He was convicted for the offence of murder and punished accordingly. 

In Arjun V. The State (Govt. of NCT of Delhi), 2015, on the day of Holi, the deceased and the accused had a disagreement, and later that day, the accused had stabbed and killed the deceased with the help of another accused. The trial court charged them with the offence of murder under Section 304 read with section 34 of the Indian Penal Code. 

Noise Pollution 

During the celebration of festivals, at parties, loud music is played which causes noise pollution. 

Noise pollution comes under public nuisance under Section 268 of the IPC. A person is guilty of a public nuisance who does an act or is guilty of an illegal omission which causes any common injury, danger or annoyance to the public or to the people in general who dwell or occupy property in the vicinity, or which must necessarily cause injury, obstruction, danger or annoyance to persons who may have occasion to use any public right. A common nuisance cannot be excused on the ground that it causes some convenience or advantage.

CRIMES RELATED TO SUBSTANCE ABUSE 

Gambling leading to Hurt, Grievous Hurt, Assault 

Gambling is the act of putting something of worth on an uncertain outcome in the hopes of winning something else of value. The Public Gambling Act of 1867 is a federal statute that forbids the operation or management of a public gambling establishment and bans gambling. A fine of Rs.200 or up to three months in prison is the penalty for breaching this law. 

During Festivals especially during Holi and Diwali, gambling is done in private parties accompanied by alcohol drugs consumption and sale. These parties have been a hotspot for many cases waiting for hard drugs and extensive consumption of alcohol. These can lead to situations where people can get into possible fights which lead to assault.

Drugs& Alcohol Consumption 

The consumption of drugs and liquor is done majorly during the festival season and despite the government banning the legal sale of intoxicants, people purchase alcohol and drugs during festive season legally. With these, bhang is also consumed as a part of a festivity. Bhang is illegal yet it is sold in various shops in the name of the festival. Other than cases of consumption of intoxicants, there are cases in which females are unknowingly drugged by spiking their drinks.

This makes them vulnerable as they are intoxicated by the drugs.

The Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act (NDPS) was passed in India’s Parliament, and it prohibits anyone from producing, manufacturing, cultivating, possessing, selling, purchasing, transporting, storing, or consuming any narcotic drug or psychotropic substance. It also aims to ensure the quality of drugs manufactured, mandate the display of drug ingredients, and prevent drug abuse in society. Until 1985, cannabis and its derivatives (marijuana, hashish/charas, and bhang) were allowed to buy and use recreationally. Cannabis use was not recognised as a socially aberrant activity and was compared to alcohol use.

Drinking and Driving 

As we know alcohol consumption leads to many drunk driving cases which are punishable by the law and are witnessed during Holi, Diwali, New Year’s, etc. Accidents during these times are usually caused due to drinking and driving. 

Drinking and driving is an offence under section 185 of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988 where it is provided that driving while inebriated or under the influence of narcotics is punishable with imprisonment for up to six months and/or a fine that extends up to two thousand rupees for the first offence.

OFFENCES AGAINST WOMEN

Eve-teasing Eve-teasing in common parlance can be understood as sexual harassment of women and girls in public places. When a man subjects a woman to obscene body language or shouts negative and sexual comments which are directed towards her or show her any obscene object or any picture, he is said to be eve-teasing the woman. The following acts mentioned in the Indian Penal Code fall within the ambit of Eve- teasing: 

• Singing, reciting, uttering an obscene song, ballad, words which annoy of others (Section 294)  
• Intruding upon the privacy of a woman through obscene gestures, indecent body language, and unpleasant words which were made with the intention of being heard by the woman towards whom theacts are directed (Section 509).

Outraging the modesty of a women 

‘Modesty’ refers to the dignity of a woman which is acquired by her since her birth. The

Supreme court has referred to the modesty of a woman as her sex. The term ‘outraging’ means any harmful physical act against a woman. A person using assault or unlawful force against a woman with the intent to outrage her modesty or with the knowledge that he is likely to outrage her modesty is said to be committing an offence under Section 354 of the IPC. The two primary components for the constitution of the offence of outraging the modesty of the woman are:

i.     Assault on a woman or the use of illegal force against her.  ii.         The intent or awareness of the actor that he was committing the said offence.

In State of Punjab v Major Singh, AIR 1967 SC 63, the accused had abused the epithelial duct of a seven-and-a-half-year-old child. While the High Court of Patna and Haryana held that the child’s modesty could not be outraged, the Supreme Court had overruled the verdict. It was held that a girl child acquires her modesty from birth itself and the accused was held to be guilty. There are several provisos under section 354 of the IPC, which further specify and cover all aspects of the offence of outraging the modesty of a woman. 

1. Section 354A: Sexual harassment is described as a man engaging in any of the following acts: 
   1. uninvited and explicit sexual overtures; 
   1. a demand or request for sexual favours; 
   1. showing pornography against the will of the woman; iv. making sexually coloured remarks. 
2. Section 354B: Assault is the use of illegal force against a woman with the goal of disrobing her, i.e., removing her clothing or forcing her to be naked. The intention of the male to outrage the modesty of the woman is the sine qua non for the constitution of the offence. The mala fide of the offender plays a pivotal role in convicting him.
3. Section 354C: Voyeurism is defined as a man seeing or photographing a woman engaged in a private act or in circumstances where she would not normally expect to be viewed by the perpetrator or by anyone else acting. Further, the distribution of any image obtained by the perpetrator in the course of the offence also constitutes the offence of Voyeurism. 

Rape 

Section 375 of the Indian Penal Code defines rape as the offence where a man has sexual intercourse with a woman without her consent. Man is said to have committed rape against a woman when: 

i.     He forcibly gains her consent by threatening her,  ii. He gains her consent on the pretext of deception, 

iii.       He has intercourse with a girl who is under 16 years of age.

In the case of Lalasa Devi, Lalasa Devi was raped when she was out in the field relieving herself, by an upper-caste man during the festival of Holi. 

In the case of 5 Whether It Is To Be Circulated To … vs State Of … on 20 June 2014

(R/CR.A/928/2009,0) a man had raped a nine-year-old child and inflicted injuries in her private parts on the day of Dussehra when she had gone out to play. He had also threatened to kill her if she told anyone about the incident.

Domestic Violence 

A total of 102 cases of domestic violence were reported over distress calls to Lucknow Police during Holi. Domestic violence is the cruel and inhumane treatment meted to a woman by her husband or relative of her husband.Section 498A of the Indian Penal Code provides that the offence of domestic violence would be penalized with imprisonment for a period of up to three years, along with a fine.