Section 384 of the Indian Penal Code : Extortion

Section 384 IPC defines the punishment for extortion as

Whoever commits extortion shall be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to three years, or with fine, or with both.

In other words, if someone is found guilty of extortion, he might get imprisoned for a term extending up to 3 years, or might have to pay a fine, or both. For a better understanding of Section 384, we first need to understand what extortion exactly is.

Section 383 of the IPC defines Extortion as-

Whoever intentionally puts any person in fear of any injury to that person, or to any other, and thereby dishon­estly induces the person so put in fear to deliver to any person any property or valuable security, or anything signed or sealed which may be converted into a valuable security, commits “extor­tion”.

For an action to be considered as extortion, the following conditions should be satisfied-

1. Intentionally putting the person in fear of any injury
2. for the purpose of dishonestly inducing the person
3. to deliver to any other person any valuable security.

The fear of injury does not necessarily have to be of bodily harm, it could be fear of injury to a person’s reputation or property, it could be fear of injury to his loved ones. This fear is inflicted to the extent that the person agrees to deliver valuable security. The element of free and voluntary action (which constitutes consent) is absent.  Section 44 of the IPC defines Injury as, any harm whatever ille­gally caused to any person, in body, mind, reputation or proper­ty. Extortion is considered a serious or criminal offense.

For instance, A threatens to kill the son of B, if he fails to provide him with a blank signed stamp paper. A has induced B to give him the blank signed stamp paper. A has committed extortion. A could be punished with imprisonment for a term up to three years, or with fine, or with both. Another example could be, A threatens to fire B from his job if he doesn’t cast his vote for the CEO position to A. A has committed extortion.

The offense under section 384 of the IPC is a cognizable offense, which means that the police has the authority to arrest the person without a warrant. It is also a non-bailable offense i.e bail is a matter of discretion of the court. The offense of extortion is also non-compoundable. Compounding is a process where the victim and the accused agree to some compromise in order to avoid trial. There are some offenses which are so grave and serious in nature that they can not be compounded, except in certain situations where the case can be quashed by the supreme court or any high court. Since these cases are filed by the state i.e. police, the question of entering into a compromise doesn’t even arise. A full trial is conducted in the respective court and judgment is provided at the end of the trial.

Case laws-

In the case of Chander Kala v. Ram Kishan [AIR 1985 SCC 1268], the complainant (Smt. Chander Kala) was working as a teacher in a Govt. Middle School and the respondent (Ram Kishan) was the headmaster of the same school. The accused, after a series of events, called the complainant to his house and threatened to attack her modesty if she refused to sign three blank papers. And when she did, he threatened that he will use those signed papers to blackmail her by recording any statement on the papers, if she refused to act according to his wishes. The Supreme Court held that the accused had committed an offense under Section 384.

In the case of State Of Karnataka vs Basavegowda Alias Chandra [1997 CriLJ 4386], the accused husband took her wife (the complainant) to the forest under the pretext of going for the wedding of a friend. He then threatened to kill her if she didn’t hand all of her ornaments to him. After she handed him all her ornaments, he assaulted her with a big stone and his fists and ran away when saw two men coming. Though he wasn’t held guilty for robbery, he was punished for the offense of extortion under section 384.

References-

1. Indian Penal Code
2. Code of Criminal Procedure
3. AIR 1985 SCC 1268
4. 1997 CriLJ 4386

Understand Legal Requirements Before Starting An Online Business

Online business a big part of our business market. The popularity of the online business is increasing day by day. Nowadays million people are involved with online business and more people are joining. Today’s technology-based world has a great chance to develop its business market through online business. Any kind of businesses have some requirements. For this reason, to start an online business someone should maintain several legal requirements. Without these legal requirements or laws, you can not start your online business or ensure your security in your business.

1.Company or LLP

First of all, having a private company or LLP is good for your online business. A company or LLP help you to deal with the VAT or tax-related elements. On the other hand, there is no limited liability protection in litigation. In this case, it is best to sell a company or LLP. A company or LLP is your identity in the marketplace. Moreover, without reputation or good performance, you can not get any business from online. If you have a company it is easy for you to get the businesses. To start a company, there are several things you must maintain. The company must have an appropriate name, registered office address, directors in every department, a minimum number of capitals, etc. When all the requirements are fully filled, the company functions as a registered company. The marketplaces like to deal with the companies. So it is the most valued legal requirement to start a company in order to start an online business.

2. Taxes

Another legal requirement an online businessman should keep in mind is the taxes. You have to bear in mind that every country or every state has different rules of taxes. It is generally suggested to have a text professional to research market for understanding the target market. You have to display information as local market accustomed of. For instance, in Australia, people generally accustomed to seeing all-inclusive prices in price tags.

Read Also: What Private Limited Company need to know about Companies Act 2013

3. Vat Registration and bank account

Vat registration is another important thing to start an online business. In the case of selling goods, you have to maintain the rules of the state’s sale and tax department. One of the most important legal requirements is a bank account. When a private company or LLP is formed, it is easy to open a bank account using the name of the company. A bank account is needed in the e-commerce marketplace for payment gateway and many other things.  

4. Documentation

Another legal requirement is the legal documentation and contacts of your business. It will help you to protect the business and also the promotions of your business. The documentation part may have the terms and condition, privacy policy, etc. It will also ensure your safety in the big marketplace. When a business sells in the marketplace the legal documents or seller’s agreements are provided. It is very important to read the agreement properly before signing the agreement. Without knowing the agreement properly many problems can be created.  For this reason, dealing through proper documents is essential for online business.

5. Business insurance

You will require business insurance to protect your business. Several options are a general liability, professional liability, product liability, commercial liability, and home-based insurance. Study those and find the best that suits you the best.

6. Payment gateway

Another legal requirement is a payment gateway. It is important for the customer’s payment. The payment gateway offers to have a credit card, debit card, net banking, internet banking payments from multiple banks. However, one payment gateway is enough for one company to clear payment issues because one payment gateway accepts many forms of online payment. When one payment is received by the customer it is added to his/her bank account in one or two business days through the online payment gateway. If you want to sell any business, the marketplace would accept the payments through the payment gateway.

7. Maintain several laws

One the important legal requirement is maintained several laws like contract laws, e-commerce laws, etc. All online businessman and entrepreneurs must follow the proper techno laws before opening websites. To avoid the cyber-crimes the owners have to maintain the laws. You would not face any kind of technology violent problem if you maintain this legal requirement.

8. Copyright, trademark, and patents

It is very important to avoid the copyrights, trademarks or patents. Copyright protects the works of any author or owner. So it is must be avoided. Trademarks also must avoid because it contains a word or symbol of a company which is its identity. Several companies should have their own trademarks and copyright issues. So it is also a legal requirement.

9. Age restrictions

It requires you to follow the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) on your site. The COPPA has few rules, among them, the most important is not to collect information from a person aged under 13. Also, maintain age restriction policy to some restricted products.

10. Shipping Restrictions

All shipping companies maintain some shipping restrictions. Typically restricted products are the same in most companies. Just have a look at the trade commission’s guide before shipping internationally. The common internationally restricted products are:

• Aerosols
• Air Bags
• Alcoholic Beverages
• Ammunition
• Cigarettes
• Dry Ice
• Explosives
• Fresh Fruits and Vegetables
• Gasoline
• Nail Polish
• Perfumes (containing alcohol)
• Poison.

Some products that are restricted internationally can be shipped domestically.

11. Inventory

Remind yourself to check your lease, deed or zoning codes if you are holding a substantial inventory. Sometimes there are some restrictions or prohibitions on running a business. So, zoning laws matter.

These kinds of legal requirements are essential for you to start an online business. Prepare for all these kinds of stuff to make your first step in online business.