What is White Collar Crime

white collar crimes » What is White Collar Crime

White-collar crime is a subjugated term for crimes committed by people belonging to a higher class during the course of their occupation. White-collar crimes are considered to be committed by people who know better and are trying to cover up or water down an irregularity in the field. These types of crimes are common in the fields of education, health, and commerce. Mostly every country, including India, follows the purview of influential criminologist Edwin Harding Sutherland to define white-collar crimes, which goes as “crimes committed by people who enjoy the high social status, great repute, and respectability in their occupation”. As per the corporate definition, white-collar crimes are non-violent crimes, committed by professionals and businessmen who wish to acquire more wealth or status by carrying out unlawful activities or breaking the law.

White-collar crimes are on a rise in India. As per a recent statistic, more than INR 4,000 crores worth of trading was done using fake PAN cards in the last couple of years. Other grave acts such as cybercrime have seen a spike in affluent states of the country, with Maharashtra registering more than 900 cases of online fraud within a year.

Also Read: A Study on Top white-collar crimes in India.

Types of white-collar crime in India

Fraud, bribery, and corruption are some of the most common white-collar crimes in India. As per an investigation by the Business Standard, a total of 6,533 cases of corruption alone were registered by the Central Bureau of Investigation in the last decade.

Here are the basic types of white-collar crimes in India:

Examples of white-collar crime

There are different white-collar crimes for each profession, as they are committed by
professionals entrenched in their fields who are trying to harm someone or escape something
by using their position.

1. Law

● Fabricating documents/forging fake documents
● Threatening the victims or witnesses in an ongoing trial
● Violating the standards of the legal profession and defrauding the rule of law

2. Education

● Collecting money in lieu of donations or courting unfair privileges in exchange for admission
● Replacing merit-based admissions with donations
● Collecting huge amounts of money through government grants and not processing it further

3. Medical

● Falsifying medical certificates
● Enlisting fake treatments to increase hospital bills
● Discriminating on the basis of child gender at the time of birth
● Delaying treatment to pump up the hospital bills
● Selling chemist samples to customers for money

Blue-collar vs White-collar crime

There are some technical and literal differences between white-collar and blue-collar crime. The terminology of a blue-collar crime is attached to those belonging to the underprivileged section of society; whereas a white-collar criminal belongs to a high class and privileged background. Another difference is that a white-collar criminal commits a crime in a rather organized manner, and can put a bail/afford excellent legal representation. As per the corporate law firms of
Chandigarh, more factors play into the division of both of these crimes, such as veiled offenders, and direct access to targets.

The term ‘blue-collar crime’ has been prevalent since the late 1920s when crimes related to Americans performing manual labour and working on an hourly basis were frequently relegated to the colour of their working uniform, which was often blue. The Supreme Court of India laid down the general nature of blue-collar and white-collar crimes in the case of the State of Gujurat v. Mohanlal Jitamalji Porwal and Anr, wherein a murder in cold blood is referred to as a blue-collar crime since it is committed in the heat of the moment. Whereas committing financial fraud or other economic offences requires strategic planning, hence it is considered to be a white-collar crime.

Also Read: Introduction to the Indian Judicial System and Court Hierarchy

Criminal Charges for White-collar Crimes

White-collar criminals use the power of their position resulting in financial fraud, harm, and damage to the community. The impact of a white-collar crime is far more than that of a blue-collar crime. But white-collar criminals are rarely if ever, punished for their deeds. There are many reasons behind this statistic. Firstly, most of the general public does not see white-collar crime as a serious detriment to society. Secondly, for the majority of the public, it is hard to fully absorb the wrongdoing and hence there is lesser public outrage about it. This translates directly to the lack of collective action from the courts regarding the very serious increase in white-collar crimes in the country. Corporate lawyers in Chandigarh have taken up multiple cases on this front.

Wrapping Up

There is no exact definition of a white-collar crime as per Indian laws. Most of the white-collar crimes are socio-economic that impact many people outside the primary circle of the criminal. Crimes like hacking, tax evasion, and money laundering frauds the general public and has thousands of victims. White-collar crimes are committed on a large scale that can have a severe impact on hundreds or thousands of people At Lex Solutions, there is a team of experienced lawyers to competently handle White Collar Crime cases and make the process as easy as possible.

According to estimates, 65% of people living in urban areas around the world are tenants. This is also true in India due to the sky-high prices of real estate in the major cities and the large population of migrant workers who live there. Nevertheless, living as a renter can be a peaceful arrangement, but occasionally there are situations where one can run into rental problems and other connected issues, such as receiving an unauthorized eviction notice or the erratic behaviour of the landlord.

Are you, however, a renter who is experiencing such problems or simply curious about what to do if you ever find yourself in a similar situation? In that case, allow us to help you through this blog, which will briefly discuss about the several protections against landowner harassment.

What does illegal eviction of tenants mean?

An illegal eviction, also known as an unlawful termination of tenancy, typically happens when a landowner forbids a tenant from entering a rental property or removes the tenant’s belongings from the property through the use of force, intimidation, or other methods (such as cutting off utilities or changing the locks). However, if the landowners evict you without taking the proper legal action, they are breaking the law.

How Do You Respond When Your Landlord Forcibly Evicts You?

Almost every state has rental control legislation pertaining to tenant protection, and each state has established specific circumstances for which the landlord may lawfully evict the renter. Additionally, a tenant has a legal right under the law to appear in court and defend himself against unlawful eviction, and some of those accessible remedies for tenants are discussed below:

Grounds for eviction

Non-payment of rent, breach of the lease, property damage, and illegal activity are the most typical grounds for evicting a renter. The tenant must therefore review the provisions of the State Rent Control Act to ascertain the grounds for eviction specified in the Act. In addition, if the tenant is being evicted for any reason other than those specified in the Act—which is considered wrongful eviction—they must seek the help of an eviction lawyer and the enforcement agencies to halt this.

Suit for injunction

A renter might be unable to leave a property when asked to do so for a number of reasons, such as having a medical emergency or having his elderly parents live with him. When this happens, the tenant has the option to file a case in the appropriate court to obtain an injunction that will prevent them from being evicted for any other grounds (other than those listed in the State’s Rent Act). Along with the assistance of housing rental lawyers, the renter should take this action, if they are violently evicted without providing them with adequate notice.

Rent Controller

In the event that the tenant receives a notice of eviction on pretences, they should go see the rent controller of the relevant jurisdiction and explain why they believe the notice of eviction is invalid. Additionally, following the tenant eviction laws, the court will summon the tenant, who will then be forced to submit his or her case and the arguments supporting the necessary evidence.

Notice of rent payment

If the landowner claims that he has not received the required rent and lists this as the reason for serving the notice of eviction, the tenant may legitimately ask him or her to send the information to his bank account so that he can conduct the transaction and deposit the outstanding rent. Moreover, after agreeing to it, the landowner must give the tenant the information within 10 days of the date they received the notice.

Also Read: Lex Solutions – Your One-Stop Destination For All Things Legal

Steps that you must follow to legally evict a tenant in India

Because eviction laws differ from state to state, the following are typical recommendations for evicting a renter. Nevertheless, you can contact the tenants lawyer of Lex Solutions if you need any assistance.

Serve the Tenant With a Termination Notice

The tenancy must be terminated before a landlord can evict a tenant for cause, and the landowner shall provide the tenant with the required notice before taking legal action to do so. Three different kinds of termination notices are generally available:

Pay Rent or Quit: The tenant is required to pay the rent within a predetermined period (often three to five days) or leave the rented property.
Cure or Quit: A breach of the rental agreement or lease must be remedied by the tenant within a set amount of time.
Unconditional Quit: Without a chance to correct the offense or pay the rent, the tenant must leave the property.

But to evict a tenant without good reason, the landlord must give the renter a 30- or 60-day notice to leave the premises.

File an Eviction Lawsuit

If the renter does not correct the issue or quit the property within the allotted time, the landowner must initiate an unlawful detainer case in small claims court. Following this, landlords have the right to evict tenants by serving a legal notice to tenants to vacate their premises.

Wait for the Tenant’s Answer

Within the time frame given on the summons, the tenant may “answer” the complaint. The renter may, however, use the response to refute the charges or present a defence. And, for instance, a tenant might claim that the eviction was carried out in retaliation or that the unpaid rent was used to pay for repairs the landlord refused to undertake.

Receive a Judgment for Possession

A default judgment is granted to the landowner if the tenant ignores the eviction notice India. Moreover, the landowner is entitled to take ownership of the property if the renter replies with an answer but the court rules in his or her favor.

Remove the Tenant

Despite having the right to reclaim the property, the landlord is unable to evict a renter without the help of a law enforcement official. Nevertheless, the tenant will be informed of the legal eviction and the number of days they have to leave once such an official receives the judgment and the cost. Moreover, the law enforcement authority may physically evict the tenant if they don’t leave the property in the allotted period.

Also Read: Introduction To The Indian Judicial System And Court Hierarchy

Summing Up

Now that you are aware of the characteristics of evictions and how to deal with them in a nation like India, you must use them as needed. Additionally, as a landowner, you must evict a problematic renter per the law. And, to ensure that you are acting legally, consult a local landlord-tenant law attorney in your area. For such assistance, a legal firm in Chandigarh, lexsolution can offer you a one-stop solution.

FAQs

Can a tenant seek an injunction against the landlord?

According to the state rental rules present in India, a tenant does not have the right to issue an injunction against the landlord. Moreover, injunction procedures are always discretionary, and a court of law cannot grant a perpetual injunction in favour of the plaintiff against the right owner if the plaintiff is only a trespasser.

Can police evict a tenant in India?

Even if the renters behave disrespectfully, the police cannot assist in reclaiming the property. However, the only court with the authority to order the eviction of a tenant is the court of the rent controller under whose jurisdiction the property is located.

When a tenant can get the benefit of protection against eviction?

If the tenant can show that the landlord gave his written approval to the subtenant, he is entitled to protection from eviction. Additionally, it disallows any other consent, including implied or oral permission.