Abetment of crimes

(1) Every person who– (a) directly or indirectly instigates, commands, counsels, procures, solicits or in any manner purposely aids, facilitates, encourages or promotes the commission of any crime, whether by his act, presence or otherwise; or (b) does any act for the purpose of aiding, facilitating, encouraging or promoting the commission of a crime by any other person, whether known or unknown, certain or uncertain, shall be guilty of abetting that crime and of abetting the other person in respect of that crime. (2) Every person who abets a crime shall, if the crime be actually committed in pursuance or during the continuance of the abetment, be deemed guilty of that crime. (3) Every person who abets a crime shall, if the crime be not actually committed, be punishable as follows, that is to say34 (a) if the commission of the crime be prevented by reason only of accident, or of circumstances or events independent of the will of the abettor, the abettor shall, where the crime abetted was murder, be liable to imprisonment for life, or shall where the crime abetted was any crime other than murder, be punishable in the same manner as if the crime had been actually committed in pursuance of the abetment; (b) in any other case the abettor shall, if the crime which he abetted was a felony, be deemed guilty of a felony, or shall, if such a crime was a misdemeanour, be deemed guilty of a misdemeanour. (4) Every person who abets a crime shall be punishable on indictment or summary conviction, according as he would be punishable for committing that crime. (5) An abettor may be tried before, with or after a person abetted, and although the person abetted be dead, or be otherwise not amenable to justice. (6) An abettor may be tried before, with or after any other abettor, whether he and such other abettor abetted each other in respect of the crime or not, and whether they abetted the same or different parts of the crime. (7) An abettor shall have the benefit of any matter of exemption, justification, or extenuation to which he is entitled under this Code, notwithstanding that the person abetted or any other abettor is not entitled to the like benefit. (8) Every person who within the jurisdiction of the court abets the doing beyond the jurisdiction of an act which if done within the jurisdiction would be a crime, shall be punishable as if he had abetted that crime. 35