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Mischief

Mischief: (Section 425 to 440)

If a person with an intention to cause wrongful loss or damage to the public or to any person, causes the destruction of the property or causes any change or situation as they will destroy or diminish its value or utility, he is guilty of mischief. The punishment is imprisonment for 3 months or fine or both. The mens-rea (bad intention) in mischief is to cause wrongful loss. The act done is the destruction of property. Sec- 426 to 440 provide for punishment for mischief of various descriptions.

Other forms of mischief are:

Maiming or killing of animal (428 & 429), injury to works of irrigation, water course (430), injury to public road, bridge, river or channel (431) Destruction of house (436) vessel etc

Explanation:

1) It is not essential that the offender should intend to cause loss or damage to the owner of the property injured or destroyed. It is sufficient if he intends to cause, or knows that he is likely to cause wrongful, loss or damage to any person by injuring any property whether it belongs to that person or not.

2) Mischief may be committed by an act affecting property belonging to the person who commits the act, or to that person and others jointly.

Eg:

a) A throws a wrist watch of B voluntarily into a river intending to cause wrongful loss. A is guilty of mischief

b) A burns a valuable security (pronote) belonging to B voluntarily with the intention to cause wrongful loss to him. A is guilty of mischief.

c) A and B are joint owners of a horse. A shoots down the horse and kills it, with a view to cause wrongful loss to B. A is guilty.

In Sukha Singh's case : S received a registered parcel. He took the parcel but tore up the acknowledgement form. It was held that, S is guilty of mischief

In Gopi Naik

V

 Somnath

In this case, the accused had cut the water pipe connection of the complainant. The court held that the accused was guilty of the offence of the mischief.

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