Which one of the following is not an essential ingredient of the offence of theft?
[amp_mcq option1=”The property may be moved with or without the consent of the person in possession of the property” option2=”The moving of a property should be in order to take such property” option3=”The property should be moved out of the possession of any person” option4=”The movable property must be moved with dishonest intention” correct=”option1″]
This question was previously asked in
UPSC CISF-AC-EXE – 2017
The correct answer is A) The property may be moved with or without the consent of the person in possession of the property.
The definition of theft under Section 378 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860, explicitly requires that the movable property is taken “out of the possession of any person without that person’s consent”. Therefore, consent of the person in possession negates the element of theft. Option A states that the property *may* be moved *with or without* consent, which directly contradicts the requirement that it must be *without* consent. Thus, moving the property *with* consent is not an essential ingredient of theft.