Criminal conspricay

CRIMINAL CONSPIRACY
Conspiracy differs from oter offences in this respect that in other offences the intention to do a criminal act is not a crime of itself untill something is done amounting to the doing or attempting to do some act to carry out the intention, conspiracy on the other hand consisit simply in the agreement or confederacy to some act, no matter whether it is done or not.

 When two or more persons agree to do, or cause to be done:

 (i) an illegal act

 (ii) or a legal act by illegal means

such an agreement is designated a criminal conspiracy, provided that no agreement except an agreement to commit shall amount to criminal conspiracy unless some act besides the agreement is done by one or more parties to such agreement in pursuance thereof...... section 120-A PPC.

 PUNISHMENT OR CRIMINAL CONSPIRACY

As regards punishment section 120-B P.P.C provides that one who is a party to a criminal conspiracy to commit an offence punishable with death, imprisonment for life, or rigorous imprisonment for a term of two years or upwards, shal, where there is no provision for the punishment of such a conspiracy, be punished as an abettor of such offence, in other cases he shall be liable to a punishment that may extend to six months , or with fine or with both.

ABETMENT AND CONSPIRACY

As regards the difference between abetment and conspiracy the former is the wider of the two, it is a genus of which the offence of conspiracy is a species. Abetment may be committed in various ways enumerated in section 107 and 108 and conspiracy is one of them. Abetement per se is not a substantive offence, while criminal conspiracy is a substantive offenceby itself and is punishable as such.