Where it is doubtful what offence has been committed
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Summary
When one act can legally amount to different offences, the accused can be charged with all of them or with any one of them alternatively, and several such charges can be tried together. If the accused is charged with one offence but evidence shows he committed a different offence among those alternatives, he may be convicted of the offence actually proved even if it was not specifically charged.
Example
Aditya takes money from the shop where he works; the act could be theft, criminal breach of trust or cheating. Police charge him only with theft. At trial it appears he was entrusted with the money and misappropriated it; he may be convicted of criminal breach of trust even though he was not charged with it.
Bare Act
Enacted text(1) If a single act or series of acts is of such a nature that it is doubtful which of several offences the facts which can be proved will constitute, the accused may be charged with having committed all or any of such offences, and any number of such charges may be tried at once; or he may be charged in the alternative with having committed some one of the said offences.
(2) If in such a case the accused is charged with one offence, and it appears in evidence that he committed a different offence for which he might have been charged under the provisions of Sub-Section (1), he may be convicted of the offence which he is shown to have committed, although he was not charged with it.
Illustrations
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(a) A is accused of an act which may amount to theft, or receiving stolen property, or criminal breach of trust or cheating. He may be charged with theft, receiving stolen property, criminal breach of trust and cheating, or he may be charged with having committed theft, or receiving stolen property or criminal breach of trust or cheating.
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(b) In the case mentioned, A is only charged with theft. It appears that he committed the offence of criminal breach of trust, or that of receiving stolen goods. He may be convicted of criminal breach of trust or of receiving stolen goods (as the case may be) though he was not charged with such offence.
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(c) A states on oath before the Magistrate that he saw B hit C with a club. Before the Sessions Court A states on oath that B never hit C. A may be charged in the alternative and convicted of intentionally giving false evidence, although it cannot to be proved which of these contradictory statements was false.
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