An abettor can only be punished if the person who actually committed the act is also found guilty.

Courts have clarified that an abettor's liability depends on the abettor's own intention or knowledge, not on whether the actual doer (who might be a child or mentally unsound person) is convicted.

Abetment only means directly forcing someone to commit a crime.

Abetment under the IPC scheme (Sections 107-108) covers instigation, conspiracy, or intentional aid — not just direct force — and Section 108 specifically extends this to acts done through people who can't be legally blamed.

Indian Penal Code, 1860

Section 108

repealed

Abettor

A person abets an offence, who abets either the commission of an offence, or the commission of an act which would be an offence, if committed by a person capable by law of committing an offence with the same intention or knowledge as that of the abettor.§

Why this exists

The Indian Penal Code, drafted in 1860 under British colonial rule, borrowed from English common-law ideas about accessories to crime. Lawmakers realised that clever wrongdoers sometimes get others — like children or mentally unsound people — to physically carry out a crime, hoping to escape punishment because the 'instrument' they used can't be convicted. Section 108 closes this gap by making the abettor's own guilty mind (not the actual doer's capacity) the basis for punishing the abettor.

How courts read it

Courts have generally read this section to mean that the abettor's guilt does not depend on the principal offender actually being convicted. If someone instigates or helps a person who cannot be held criminally liable (such as a minor or someone insane) to do an act that would otherwise be an offence, the abettor is still punished as if the act were a full offence, judged by the abettor's own intention or knowledge at the time.

Common misconceptions

Myth: An abettor can only be punished if the person who actually committed the act is also found guilty.
Fact: Courts have clarified that an abettor's liability depends on the abettor's own intention or knowledge, not on whether the actual doer (who might be a child or mentally unsound person) is convicted.
Myth: Abetment only means directly forcing someone to commit a crime.
Fact: Abetment under the IPC scheme (Sections 107-108) covers instigation, conspiracy, or intentional aid — not just direct force — and Section 108 specifically extends this to acts done through people who can't be legally blamed.