White Collor crime: Brief analytical study.

      White collor crime is a curse to the society which should be checked regularly. It is a serious non-violence crime. White collor offender or financial offender means a person who commits or abets the commission of offence punishable under Sections 406 to 409 or 417 to 420 or under Chapter XVIII of the Indian Penal Code, 1860. White collor offender is generally of high socio-economic status and respectability in the course of his occupation or profession. White collor crime is found in every industry and profession such as medical profession, education, engineering, business and even within society. It is an offence that involves financial fraud, money laundering, embezzling, tax evading, bribing, insider trading, identity theft, forging, counterfeiting, extorting, cyber crime, racketeering, corporate crime, making adulterated food, ponzi schemes. 

   Unfortunately, in the last few years, the country has been seeing an alarming rise in white-collar crimes, which has affected the fiber of the country’s economic structure. Incontrovertibly, economic offences have serious repercussions on the development of the country as a whole.These white collor crimes are that which hamper  socio-economic development. These crimes should not be taken leniently by the government and the punishment should be strict and harsh as this can prevent the commission of the crime. These offenders are smart, educated and powerful people who commit the offence in connivance   with politician. So the government and  should handle the case smartly and diligently, if found guilty, should be punished harshly under the relevant provisions of Indian Penal Code, 1860 because the offenders mostly commit the offence under pre-planned manner, compared to other types of offence example blue collor crime.

      After the Indian independence, in the 1950s, major white collor crime was Mundhra scam or LICS scam. It was infamous financial fraud committed by Haridas Mundhra, a Calcutta based stock speculator. He was punished with 22 years imprisonment. Thereafter, every type of fraud was committed continuously in every decade such as  Harshad Mehta scam, Ketan Parekh, Sahara and Satyam scam.

     To check the socio-economic crimes , Government has enacted various legislations which contains punishment. These legislations are:-

1.  Indian Penal Code, 1860

2.  Companies Act, 1960 and amended Act, 2013

3.   Income Tax Act, 1961

4.   Commodities Act, 1955

5.   Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988

6.   Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881

7.   Income Tax Act, 2005

8.   Imports and Export (Control) Act, 1950.

      The Hon'ble Supreme Court in the case  of Narinderjit Singh  Sahni and And vs Union of India and Ors (2001) has held white collar crime is an "economic murder" and  thus has to necessarily be dealt with utmost severity. The Court has said that in an application for anticipatory bail the gravity of the offences involved ought to be the prime consideration since thousands of investors lose their lives' savings, after being duped by the financial fraudsters. 

CONCLUSION

Today's world is world of technology, the ever developing and dynamic mode of managing the businesses online. So there is tendency to rise white collor crime. The duty of Government through Law Enforcement Agency is to check the businesses periodically so that the common people do not have to suffer financially.