Corpus Delicti: The Body of the Crime
Faculty of law, SRM Institute of Science and Technology, Kattankulathur, India
Volume II – Issue I, 2020
Corpus delicti means the body of the crime. The suspect over any crime is made on two-element actus reus and mens rea. The intention and the commission of crime successfully make the charges and punishment valid. These elements are basic to prove any crime. The guilty mind and act, both are essential components for proving corpus delicti. The principle of corpus delicti applied to prove the occurrence before conviction for commission of crime. For suspect and charges, evidence is must. The charges cannot filed without proper evidence and body. The absence of evidence goes with confession. The confession need fulfillment of components, lack of component, weaken the confession. The relevance and connection of corpus, crime, evidences admissibility of confession, fair trial, component of corpus delicti and related case laws will further discussed under this topic.
Keywords: crime, corpus, evidences, confession, fair trial.