Defining Attempt As An Offence Under Section 511 Of The Indian Penal Code: A Process In Progress

Ashish B.S, Jindal Global Law School, O.P. Jindal Global University

Introduction: What is an Attempt under Section 511 of the Indian Penal Code?

Attempt has been classified under inchoate offences, or in other words, offences that are incomplete in few aspects, such as inadequate in effecting intended consequence or outcome.1 Section 511 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860 (hereinafter referred to as the ‘IPC’), reads:

Punishment for attempting to commit offences punishable with imprisonment for life or other imprisonment- Whoever attempts to commit an offence punishable by this Code with [imprisonment for life], or imprisonment, or to cause such an offence to be committed, and in such attempts does any act towards the commission of the offence, shall, where no express provision is made by this Code for the punishment for such attempt, be punished with [imprisonment of any description provided for the offence, for a term which may extend to one-half of the imprisonment for life or, as the case may be, one-half of the longest term of imprisonment provided for the offence], or with such fine as provided for the offence, or with both.2