NAME: JOY SARKER

ROLL NO: 17, LLM 3RD TRIMESTER

DISSERTATION TOPIC: WHITE COLLAR CRIMES IN INDIAN PERSPECTIVE.

INTRODUCTION
The concept of society came up with the advancement of human civilization, and a society
means a group of people living together on same geographical territory in a more or less
ordered community. There are two pillars of society one is the persons who are taking the
responsibility to run the society by properly drafting and enforcing the laws, rules and
regulations such that there is a communal harmony and prosperity, on the other hand there are
certain persons who goes beyond these mutually agreed boundaries (i.e. laws and regulations)
for their vested interest and commit an ultra vires act and hence such ultra vires act can be
termed as crimes against the society. Now crimes can be of many types which depend on
many circumstances and in turn committed by people belonging to various strata of the
society. There are two kinds of crimes prevalent more in the society one is the blue collar
crime another is white collar crime. Blue collar crimes are the ones dealing with crimes in
relation to injury towards body and property, e.g. murder, culpable homicide, extortion. On
the other white collar crimes is an entirely different genre and which revolves around
corporate crimes, financial frauds etc.
With the advent of the 21st century the term white collar crime has came up to our notice
due to number of scams happening in the society. Before going into the details of the concept
of white collar crime which is going to be the main protagonist of the research; let us know
first what is white collar crime?
In the year 1941, Prof. Edwin H. Sutherland introduced the concept of white collar crimes in
the field of criminology, according to him, white collar crimes are the crimes which are
committed by the persons of respectability and high social status in course of their
occupation. It is often said that crimes and illiteracy and unemployment are directly
proportional to each other but here in this case, white collar crimes are crimes which are
committed by well-educated and influential people. Hence it is proved that crimes are
committed by people of lower to upper strata of the society. White collar crime does have an
effect upon the sociological system as all crimes are committed ipso facto against the society
only. It inflicts billions of dollars and rupees in economic damage and it also extracts a major
psychological and social toil.
There are many theories associated with white collar crimes which justifies and explains what
are the crimes to be classified under this terminology and what not which has been
propounded by in likes of Edwin Sutherland, Edward Gross, Travis Hirschi etc.

The research paper apart from theories also throws light upon the various kinds of white
collar crimes in international perspective, and stressing more on its occurrences in various
forms in India. Anti-trust violations, Frauds, computer and internet fraud, bankruptcy fraud,
insurance and healthcare frauds, tax evasion, bribery, embezzlement etc are the crimes under
this genre happening both in national and international perspective. Although the main focus
of the research paper will be on corporate crimes and financial frauds in India in likes of
scams revolving around in the capital market, banking industry etc.
Now as we are aware what white collar crimes are and few of its kinds and who commits it,
the question which pops up in our mind what are legal regime or framework present to
prevent or protect such crimes prevailing in the society. As such there is no separate legal
framework present to curb the white collar crimes in India. But it is true at the same time
steps are being taken by the govt. to keep a check and control over such crimes in likes of
certain amendments made in Company Law, Securities Law, Banking Laws, Lokpall Bill etc.
As the research paper concentrates on White Collar Crimes in Indian perspective hence
various scams and frauds in likes of Sahara case, Sharda Case, IPL Case etc. will be dealt in
details and various loopholes in the existing system to be identified and mention
recommendations or suggestion to such problem.
The concept of white collar crime is not a new concept which suddenly popped up but it
started back in the year 1941, and in India since 1980s it is being prevalent. In the year
1983, Justice P.N. Bhagwati remarked White collar crime should be curbed which was the
headlines of Times of India. These crimes are happening more in number in recent times due
to various factors in likes of technological advancement and apart from these many other
factors are involved in. Thereby the paper also contains the various implications of such
crime in society and what are the factors involved in such crimes has also been discussed
herein.
Although white collar crime has not been defined with clarity anywhere as a result of which
white collar crimes cannot be detected properly and being reported still the researcher herein
tries to highlight white collar crimes in details with special reference to India and also focuses
on the existing legal regime for that and specifies certain suggestions to mend the loopholes
present and such that society remains protected from the clutches of white collar criminals
and grow in harmony and prosperity.

Scope of the research:

The research work conducted by the researcher mainly focuses on the definition and theories
related to white collar crimes, causes of committing such crimes, impact over the society.
Apart from that the research also extends to various facets of white collar crimes in
international as well as national scenario and the legal regime associated with it.
Objectives:
1. To know the history behind the coining of the term white collar crime.
2. To have a clear concept of the theories on basis of which crimes are classified as
white collar crimes.
3. To analyse various facets of white collar crimes and the existing legal regime
associated with it.
4. To analyse the various cases and scams associated with such crimes and identify the
loopholes in legal framework.
5. To identify possible solutions to such loopholes of the existing legal regime in order
to ensure proper detection of white collar crimes and enforcement of laws thereof.
Research problem:
White collar crimes being a major social problem, millions of money of the common
people is lost in these kinds of crimes committed by high profile business class people.
And such crimes are having an international scope because of the growth of multinational
enterprises, computer technology, and also the ease with which people can travel from
one part of the world to another. Such crimes are complex than usual street crimes like
extortion, theft, dacoity etc. and each of such crime has different motives and preferences.
Hence it is a proven fact the nature of white collar crimes has made it harder for the
governments to identify, capture and punish the white collar criminals.
Having said that, while coming to the main problem of the research, it is also same i.e.
there is no separate standard legal framework which will specifically deal with white
collar crimes and its punishment. As far as the existing legal regime is concerned wherein
white collar crimes being committed in different sectors has different laws to tackle them
with; still either most of the laws are implied or only present in the hard copies no proper
enforcement of such laws has been ensured.
Hence, the researcher herein opines the principal problem of the research work is that
there is no unified law under which every kind of white collar crime can be dealt with.

Thereby, there is an urgent requirement of such legal regime or update our existing legal
framework and make it effective so that in respect of such kind of crimes justice can
prevail.
Research Questions:
The researcher poses the following questions in relation to the dissertation topic in hand and
also intends to find possible solutions for the same.
1. What is the meaning of white collar crime?
2. What are the underlying theories behind such crimes as propounded by various
jurists?
3. What are the different kinds of white collar crimes and legal framework combating
prevention of such kind of crime?
4. What are the possible solutions towards loopholes present in the existing legal regime
and suggestions for combating research problem in hand?
Research Methodology:
The research methodology adopted by the researcher is a doctrinal research. However the
researcher with a view to compliment and substantiate his research paper corroborated his
study with other forms of legal research such as case studies. The researcher went to the
HNLU library as well as National Library at Kolkata, and gone through various texts and
commentaries written by eminent jurists and authors. The work also throws light on the list of
study materials and data and their sources, procured by the researcher as the instrument to
conduct the research.
Research Design:
The research study was in relation to the white collar crimes in Indian perspective. The
researcher has relied on both primary and secondary sources of data. The research is being
conducted mainly to find out the meaning and different facets of white collar crimes and
critically analyse the existing legal framework related to such crimes and find out possible
solutions for the same. The researcher has conducted a doctrinal research on the topic as
stated above and the researcher went to the HNLU, Raipur library as well as National
Library, Kolkata to collect the relevant materials and also visited few websites to find out the
current scenario related to the problem. The researcher suggests that there should be a

standard codified law for all kinds of white collar crimes wherein the procedure to be
followed and punishment to be given has been mentioned justifiably. It is also suggested that
the parliament or the Government needs to look into these kind of crimes in depth and take it
seriously and bring effective laws as soon as possible such that the criminals can be traced
upon, cases can be reported and justice can prevail and society gets protection from another
emerging crime of the era.
Review of Literature:
The literature reviewed by the researcher for the project are as follows :1. Edwin H. Sutherland, White Collar Crimes The Uncut Version, Published by Yale
University Press, New haven and London, 1983.
2. K.Naga Srivalli (ed.), White Collar Crimes- A Debate, Published by ICFAI University
Press, Edition 1st, 2007.
3. Girish Mehra & Braj Kumar Pandey, White Collar Crimes, Published by Gyan
Publishing House, New Delhi, Edition 1st , 1998.
4. Gilbert Gies & Robert F. Meier, White Collar Crime: Offences in Business politics,
and the professions, Published by Free Press, New York, 1997.
5. Kathleen F. Brickey, Corporate and White Collar Crime-Cases and Materials,
Published by Aspen Publishers, Edition 4th
6. Dr. Vijay Kumar Singh, Corporate Power to Corporate Crimes: Understanding
Corporate Criminal Liability in India, Published by Satyam Law International,
Edition 1st, 2013.
7. Amanda Pinto QC & Martin Evans, Corporate Criminal Liability, Published by Sweet
and Maxwell, Edition 3rd, 2013.
8. Sumit Sharma, Corporate Crime and Financial Frauds: With Biggest Financial
Frauds in the History of India, Published by Author press, Edition 1st, 2013.
9. John Minkes & Leonard Minkes (ed.), Corporate and White collar crime, Published
by Sage Publications, 2008.
10. Terry L. Leap, Dishonest Dollars- The Dynamics of White Collar Crime, Published
by, ILR Press, Ithaca and London, Edition 1st, 2007.
11. Michael Levi, Regulating Fraud: White Collar Crime and Criminal Process,
Published by Tavistock Publications, London and New York, 1987.
12. Lawerence M. Salinger (ed.) Encyclopaedia of White Collar and Corporate Crime
Vol-I, Published by Sage Publications, 2005.
Chapterisation:
Chapter- I: White Collar Crime: An Introduction.

Definition of white collar crime

Origin and its scope.
Theories related to white collar crimes
Sociological impact of such crimes.

Chapter- II: White Collar Crime: Various Facets and its Essence.

Kinds of white collar crimes in international scenario and its legal regime.
Kinds of white collar crimes in Indian perspective and its legal regime
Causes of white collar crimes
A critical analysis of various kinds

Chapter-III: Corporate Crime and Financial Frauds in India

Meaning and definition of corporate crime and financial frauds

Incidents occurred in India
Analysis of the cases and scams that took place
Impact of such frauds and crimes
Defining the liability of such crimes

Chapter-IV: White Collar Crime: Legal Framework and its Lacunas.

Existing legal framework: company law, law reports, law commissions, banking law,

insurance laws etc.

Its functioning
Loopholes present and possible solutions to mend them.

Conclusion
Suggestion