Attempt

Criminal attempt is the doing of an act, with intent to commit an offence, that falls short of the completed offence but goes beyond mere preparation. Section 62 of the BNS, 2023 (formerly Section 511 IPC) provides a general provision on attempt: whoever attempts to commit an offence punishable under BNS with imprisonment for life or imprisonment, and in such attempt does any act towards the commission of that offence, shall, where no express provision is made by BNS for the punishment of 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 that offence, or with fine, or with both.

The critical distinction: preparation vs attempt. Preparation is the stage before the attempt — acquiring materials, forming a plan. A person cannot ordinarily be convicted for mere preparation. The attempt begins when the accused moves from preparing to performing — taking the first overt step toward the commission of the offence. The test is: (a) did the accused have the intention to commit the offence; and (b) did they do an act that was proximate to the commission of the offence? There is no single bright line — courts use a 'proximity test' or 'direct step' test: has the accused directly moved to put the criminal plan into execution?

Impossible attempt: an attempt to commit an offence that would have been impossible to complete (e.g., attempting to pick an empty pocket, administering a non-fatal dose of a supposed poison that is actually harmless) may still constitute a criminal attempt. Under English law and IPC Section 511 (followed in India), the 'impossibility' of the act does not negate the attempt — the accused's intention and the act toward the offence are sufficient. However, if the act is not one that comes within the definition of the offence even if completed (e.g., shooting at a stuffed bear thinking it is a person — not manslaughter even if 'completed' because no person was at risk), the question of criminal attempt becomes more complex.

For advocates, attempt charges arise in: (1) murder attempt — Section 109 BNS (attempt to commit murder), where the act was done with the intention to murder but death did not result; (2) attempt to cheat — Section 319 BNS, where the deceptive act was done but the delivery was not obtained; (3) preparation vs attempt distinction — often the key battleground; and (4) specific attempt provisions — some BNS sections (robbery, dacoity) include attempt within the same section rather than relying on the general Section 62.