Question:medium

Assertion (A): X and Y independently entertained the idea to kill Z. Accordingly, each of them separately inflicted wounds on Z who died as a consequence. X and Y are liable for murder under 341 IPC.
Reason (R): When a criminal act is done by several persons in furtherance of common intention of all, each of such persons is liable as if the whole act was done by him alone.

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Look at the section number first, then at the word "independently". Section 341 punishes wrongful restraint, and common intention under Section 34 needs a shared plan, not two separate decisions.
Updated On: Jul 17, 2026
  • Both A and R are individually true and R is the correct explanation of A
  • Both A and R are individually true but R is not the correct explanation of A
  • A is true but R is false
  • A is false but R is true
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The Correct Option is D

Solution and Explanation

Two separate defects sit inside the assertion, and either one of them is enough to sink it. The reason, on the other hand, is a clean restatement of Section 34 of the Penal Code. Work through them in that order.

  1. Both A and R are individually true and R is the correct explanation of A: Wrong, because the assertion is not true at all.
  2. Both A and R are individually true but R is not the correct explanation of A: Wrong for the same reason.
  3. A is true but R is false: Wrong. This gets both halves backwards. The reason is a faithful copy of the statutory text.
  4. A is false but R is true: Correct.

Defect one is the section number. Section 341 punishes wrongful restraint, an offence of stopping a person from going where he has a right to go. Nobody is convicted of murder under it. The punishment there runs to one month of simple imprisonment or a fine of five hundred rupees. Murder attracts Section 302, and the definition sits in Section 300.

Defect two is the reasoning about joint liability. The facts say X and Y entertained the idea independently. Common intention under Section 34 is not two people happening to want the same thing. It requires a pre-arranged plan and a shared mind before the criminal act. Where the plan is missing, each man stands or falls on his own act alone. If X's wound killed Z, X faces murder; if it did not, his liability is only for what his own blow amounted to. Y is judged the same way, and neither carries the other's act.

The reason itself is unimpeachable. Section 34 reads that when a criminal act is done by several persons in furtherance of the common intention of all, each of them is liable for that act in the same manner as if it were done by him alone.

Let's summarize:

  • Section 341 is wrongful restraint, not murder, so the assertion misstates the law.
  • Independent decisions are not a common intention, so Section 34 cannot be pressed into service.
  • The reason correctly reproduces Section 34.

So the assertion is false, the reason is true, and option (D) is the answer.

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