KSLU Solved Question Papers
White Collar Crimes
Previous Year Question Paper with Solution
B.A. LL.B. (Five Years) · Sem 10
2021 Mar Examination
munotes.in
Mumbai
B.A. LL.B. (Five Years) Sem 10 White Collar Crimes 2021 Mar Question Paper with Solutions
First published on munotes.in on 21 October 2026.
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Contents
The questions below are the paper as Karnataka State Law University set it at the 2021 Mar examination, in the order it was set.
MarksPage
MarksPage
The Paper as Set
The questions in this volume are the questions asked at the 2021 Mar examination, reproduced as Karnataka State Law University set them, in the order it set them. Long reading passages are shortened to their first and last lines and our summary; the original paper prints them in full. Only the answers are ours. See the original question paper.
Duration 3 hours · Total marks 100 · 13 questions answered
How to use this volume
Solve the paper first, under exam conditions and against the clock. Then read the answers here and mark your own. Reading a solution before attempting the question feels productive and teaches very little, because recognising an answer is not the same as being able to write one.
Q1Define White Collar Crimes with its kinds and characteristics.[16]
Answer
For full marks, cover: the definition (Sutherland's address of 1939 and book of 1949; the elements; the objection of Paul Tappan; the Indian formulations: the Law Commission's 29th Report and privileged class deviance); the characteristics, each explained with an example (respectable offender, occupational setting, breach of trust, deception not force, planning and organisation, diffuse and unaware victims, enormous but hidden harm, technical and documentary evidence, low stigma, differential treatment by the law, political protection); the kinds, classified three ways: by who benefits (occupational and corporate), by who commits it (business, professional, official and political), and by field (a table with the Indian law for each); Standard Chartered Bank, Shambhu Ram Yadav, K. Veeraswami, Swami Achyutanand Tirth and Vijay Madanlal Choudhary; why the definition and classification matter.
Definition
The American criminologist Edwin H. Sutherland first used the term in his presidential address to the American Sociological Society in 1939. He developed it in White Collar Crime (1949). His definition is:
"a crime committed by a person of respectability and high social status in the course of his occupation".
Its elements are four.
- Crime: conduct punishable by law, even if usually handled by a regulator rather than a criminal court.
- Respectability: the offender is trusted by society.
- High social status: his position gives him power and protects him from suspicion.
- Occupation: the offence is committed through his work.
The objection. Paul Tappan argued that conduct never tried in a criminal court should not be called crime. Sutherland's answer was that the conduct is punishable, and that the soft handling of such offenders is itself what needs explaining.
Indian formulations. The Law Commission's 29th Report (1966) described socio-economic offences by four features. They are greed as the motive, harm to the community, commission in a lawful occupation, and difficulty of detection. Indian writing associated with Upendra Baxi uses the wider term privileged class deviance, deviance by those with economic, official, political or professional power.
Characteristics
1. A respectable offender. He is a businessman, banker, doctor, lawyer, official or politician. His reputation shields him from suspicion and helps his defence.
2. An occupational setting. The crime is committed through the work itself: a loan sanctioned, a certificate signed, a licence granted.
3. Breach of trust. The offender betrays the trust placed in him by his employer, clients, patients or the public.
4. Deception, not force. He uses false accounts, misrepresentation and concealment, not violence.
5. Planning and organisation. It is committed deliberately, often by several persons working together across institutions.
6. Diffuse and unaware victims. The victims are the public, the revenue, consumers, depositors and investors. Many never learn they were cheated, and few complain.
7. Enormous but hidden harm. The loss from a single bank or market fraud can exceed the loss from all the thefts in a city, yet it attracts less attention.
8. Technical and documentary evidence. Proof lies in accounts, emails and records, which need experts to read and which the offender controls.
9. Low stigma. Society often sees the offender as a clever businessman, not a criminal.
10. Differential treatment. Regulators settle, prosecutors are slow, courts acquit for want of proof, and sentences are light.
11. Political protection. Money and influence buy delay, transfers of investigators and favourable decisions.
Compared with traditional crime
| Point | Traditional crime | White collar crime |
|---|---|---|
| Offender | Often poor | Respectable and powerful |
| Method | Force or stealth | Deception and abuse of position |
| Victim | One known person | Many unaware persons |
| Proof | Witnesses and objects | Documents and experts |
| Public view | Strong condemnation | Mild disapproval |
These contrasts are why the characteristics above make white collar crime so hard to control.
Kinds
Classification 1: by who benefits.
- Occupational crime, committed by an individual for himself, often against his employer or clients, such as embezzlement or secret commissions.
- Corporate crime, committed by officers for the company's benefit, such as price fixing, false advertising or bribing for contracts.
Corporate crime in court. In Standard Chartered Bank v. Directorate of Enforcement, (2005) 4 SCC 530, the bank argued that a company cannot be prosecuted for an offence carrying compulsory imprisonment. A Constitution Bench held that it can be, and the court imposes the fine. Corporate crime is therefore not beyond the criminal law.
Classification 2: by who commits it.
- Business crime, by traders, manufacturers and companies.
- Professional crime, by doctors, lawyers, engineers, auditors and teachers.
- Official crime, by public servants and judges.
- Political crime, by Ministers, legislators and party leaders.
Professional crime in court. In Shambhu Ram Yadav v. Hanuman Das Khatry, (2001) 6 SCC 1, an advocate wrote to his client asking for Rs 10,000 to get a suit decided through the judge. The Supreme Court restored the order striking his name off the roll, saying the legal profession "is not a trade or business".
Official crime in court. In K. Veeraswami v. Union of India, (1991) 3 SCR 189, a former Chief Justice of the Madras High Court was prosecuted for disproportionate assets. The Court held that superior court judges are public servants who can be prosecuted, subject to prior consultation with the Chief Justice of India.
Political crime in court. In Sita Soren v. Union of India, 2024 INSC 161, a legislator was charged with taking a bribe to vote in a Rajya Sabha election. A seven-judge Bench held that Articles 105 and 194 give no immunity from prosecution for bribery. Political crime is thus within the ordinary criminal law.
Classification 3: by field.
| Field | Examples | Main law |
|---|---|---|
| Trade | Adulteration, hoarding, black marketing | Food Safety and Standards Act 2006; Essential Commodities Act 1955; BNS ss.274 to 276 |
| Banking and finance | Loan fraud, cheating depositors | BNS ss.316, 318; Prevention of Corruption Act |
| Securities | Insider trading, market manipulation | SEBI Act 1992 |
| Tax | Evasion, false returns, black money | Income-tax Act 2025; Black Money Act 2015 |
| Money laundering | Hawala, shell companies, benami assets | PMLA 2002; Benami Transactions Act 1988 |
| Public office | Bribery, misappropriation | Prevention of Corruption Act 1988 |
| Professions | Fee-splitting, false certificates, misusing client money | NMC Act 2019; Advocates Act 1961 |
| Cyber | Online fraud, identity theft | Information Technology Act 2000 |
Trade crime in court. In Swami Achyutanand Tirth v. Union of India, (2016) 9 SCC 699, milk in several States was adulterated with urea, detergent and caustic soda. A national survey had found 68.4 per cent of samples non-conforming. The Court directed laboratories, sampling drives and State committees.
Financial crime in court. In Vijay Madanlal Choudhary v. Union of India, (2023) 12 SCC 1, the PMLA's powers of attachment, arrest and strict bail were challenged. The Court substantially upheld them, so the proceeds of financial crime can be pursued.
The kinds overlap
The kinds are not watertight. A single scheme often combines several of them. A company may bribe an official for a licence, hire an auditor to hide the payment, and fund a politician who protects them both. That one scheme is corporate, official, professional and political crime at once. The Lentin Commission's inquiry into the J.J. Hospital deaths of 1986 found exactly such a chain, from drug firms to the regulator to the hospital. Classification is therefore a tool for analysis, not a set of separate boxes.
Why definition and classification matter
The definition reminds us that crime is not only a product of poverty, and that the respectable also offend. The characteristics explain why such crime is hard to detect and prove. The kinds tell us which law and which agency must act. SEBI handles securities and the Enforcement Directorate money laundering. The Bar Councils and Medical Councils handle professions, and the anti-corruption bodies handle officials.
Conclusion. White collar crime, in Sutherland's words, is crime by a person of respectability and high social status in the course of his occupation. In India it is seen more widely as privileged class deviance and socio-economic offence. Its characteristics are respectability, occupational setting, breach of trust, deception, organisation, diffuse victims, hidden harm, technical proof, low stigma and gentle treatment. Its kinds can be classed by beneficiary, by offender and by field. Standard Chartered Bank, Shambhu Ram Yadav, Veeraswami, Swami Achyutanand Tirth and Vijay Madanlal Choudhary show the law reaching each kind.
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