SC says no life imprisonment for kidnapper if hostage is looked after well

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court has said that if a a person kidnaps a child but takes care of the hostage well without posing any threat to life, then the the kidnapper cannot be sentenced to life imprisonment under Section 364A of the Indian Penal Code.

The court said that prosecution has to prove certain essential 'ingredients' to convict an accused under IPC Section 364A.

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A bench of Justices Ashok Bhushan and R Subhash Reddy stated the 'essential ingredients that needs to proven by the prosecution are as follows:

(i) Kidnapping or abduction of any person or keeping a person in detention after such kidnapping or abduction;

(ii) threatening to cause death or hurt to such person, or by his conduct gives rise to a reasonable apprehension that such person may be put to death or hurt or;

(iii) causes hurt or death to such person in order to compel the Government or any foreign State or any Governmental organization or any other person to do or abstain from doing any act or to pay a ransom.

The parliament inserted the Section 364A into the Indian Penal Code in 1993.

A three judge bench supported the same in August 2015.

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