Principle: Conspiracy is a combination between two or more persons formed for the purpose of doing either an unlawful act or a lawful act by unlawful means.
Facts: X and Y conspire to poison Z. X in pursuance of the conspiracy procures the poison and delivers it to Y in order that he may administer it to Z. Y in pursuance of the conspiracy administers the poison in the presence of X and thereby causes Z's death.
Suppose X &Y were apprehended by A before administering poison to Z. What is the offense committed by X & Y?
Options
X & Y are not guilty of conspiracy as they did not cause death of Z
Liability of X comes to an end and Y is only liable
As no offense is committed and none of them are responsible
X & Y are to be punished as it is immaterial whether the illegal act is ultimate object of the agreement or merely incidental to that object
Solution
X & Y are to be punished as it is immaterial whether the illegal act is ultimate object of the agreement or merely incidental to that object
Explanation:
Though murder has not taken place, both X and Y did conspire, making both of them liable for criminal conspiracy. As there is no option which covers this directly, "X & Y are to be punished as it is immaterial whether illegal act is ultimate object of the agreement or merely incidental to that object" is the best choice.
