This research article analyzes a critical study on white collar crime in India. And to understand the concept of white collar crime in India. White collar crime basically means the crime committed by the educated people belonging to a higher class of society during the course of their occupation. In this paper, the author has discussed about what differentiates white collar crime from the blue or ordinary crimes. It can also be called as the crime of educated and professional elites. In this article the author has further discussed the common types of white collar crimes evolved in India from last few years. And how this has become a socio-economic crime. Besides this there are crimes which are involved in different profession i.e. in medical, education and legal profession. The paper highlights various legislations of Indian laws which talks about the punishment of these type of crimes. The author will finally conclude the article with his own suggestions.

White collar crime is a crime committed by the people who belongs to the higher class of society and are from the reputable group of society. This crime is committed during the course of their occupation. The people who are committing this crime have usually a better understanding of technology, their respective field, disciplines etc. White collar crimes are largely evolved from few years. And they are seen to be committed in large organizations that cover a large number of activities. So we can say that these crimes are common to trade, commerce, education, health etc. As the criminal profile has changed a lot in few years the traditional crimes have partially switched by the white collar crimes in the country. The primary difference between the white and the blue crime is that the ordinary i.e. the criminals of blue crime are people of under-privileged section and upper class is involved in white collar crime and they commit the crime in a very organized manner. They maintain their respect in the society until the crime is discovered.

Historical Background:
# Edwin Sutherland an American sociologist who first defined the white collar crimes in the global. He described this crime to be committed by the person of high social status as compared to those who commit ordinary crimes during the course of his employment.

# In 1934, Again Morris drew attention to the necessity of a change in emphasis regarding crime. He arrested that anti-Social activities of persons of high status committed in course of their profession must be brought with the category of crime and should be made punishable.

# Finally, E.H. Sutherland through his pioneering Work emphasised that these ‘ Upper Worked1 crimes which are committed by the persons of upper Socio-economic groups in course of their occupation - violating the trust , Should be termed as “ White Collar Crime “ So as to be distinguished from traditional crime which he called “ Blue Collar Crime “

# And the concept of White Collar Crimes found its place in criminology for the first time in 1941.[1]

White Collar And Blue Collar Crime: Differentiation

# The criminals of white collar crime are relatively more intelligent, smart and successful men of the higher class than the ordinary criminals.

# These crimes are difficult to detect and not at all personal. And on the other hand, the ordinary crimes are direct and are very personal. They also involve violent methods such as using force to commit crime.

# The ordinary criminals are usually afraid of the law agencies after committing the crime but the white collar criminals are not at all afraid of the law agencies because of the fact that if they got detected they will be fined or transferred or the maximum that they will get a short-term imprisonment.

# Another difference between blue and the white collar crime is that the economic loss of white collar crime is thousands time higher than that of the ordinary crimes. The financial loss which the society has to bear is higher in white collar crimes than the crimes committed by the people of low-social standard.

· White collar crime committed out of greed and it is very well planned and executed on the other hand blue crimes are usually committed out of rage, revenge and other emotions. In white collar crime harm is caused to the casualties or cash but harm is physical in case of blue collar crime.

How White Collar Crimes Affects More Than Just The Criminals:

White collar crime can have a large impact on the society and it does not only affect the criminals. It is also called as a socio-economic crime because it has a direct impact on the society. When a white collar crime is committed huge losses on business occur which have a direct impact on the consumers and the society. There are various numbers of frauds and scams that had been exposed in our country from the past few years like 2g scam, havala scam, banking scam, fodder scam and many more. Due to these frauds and scams the economy of our country has shambled. And then to make up these losses of fraud or any scams, they increase the costs. This means higher prices for the consumers in the way of higher taxes, government revenue, and increased insurance costs. The impact of white collar crime on society is great. There is loss in every field from the costs of commodities to the securities and insurance. One financial fraud can affect the businessmen, the investors and the government. All you need is one bad employee who out of greed of money will commit a financial fraud and will cause harm to the reputation of the company, lack of profits and gain of losses.

Common Types Of White Collar Crime In India:

1) Bank Fraud Fraud is a crime committed with an intention to deceive and gain undue advantage. Bank Fraud is a fraud committed on the banks. It is committed by the fraudulent companies by making fake representations. It is also related to the manipulation of the negotiable instruments like cheque bouncing, securities, bank deposits etc. Bank fraud is concerned to the public at large because there is a relation of trust between the banks and the public. It is the most common type of white collar crime and also a corporate crime. It harms public as well as the government of the country.

2) Bribery: Bribery is also a very common type of white collar crime. By bribery we means giving money or some goods to the person at a high position in return of a favor. In simple words bribery is when one man gives money to the other which is in authority. It is done for the purpose of insisting him to do something or to prevent him from doing something. It is the most common income of most of the public officials of our country.

3) Cybercrime: Cybercrime is the biggest cause leading to these type of crime in India. It is the latest problem prevailing in the cyber world. Cybercrime is the crime which is related to ‘computer networks’. With the rapid increase of advancement of technology there is also a rapid increase in the crime related to the technology. Cybercrime involves the persons who are expert in computer related technology. And it is committed against the victim directly or indirectly to cause a harm to his reputation or to harm in physical or mental way using internet, networks and other technological sources.

Cybercrime threatens the nations as well as the person’s security and financial status. Cybercrime can cause huge financial loss to the country. Not only the financial loss but it can also threaten the privacy of a person. Disclosure of confidential information can create privacy problems. Also cybercrime against women is also rising. By the use of telecommunication networks, mobile phones cyber stalking, sending obscene messages and pictures by criminals to women is also increasing.
# Hacking,
# Child pornography,
# Copyright infringement,
# Cyber terrorism,
# Cyber stalking are some of common examples of cybercrime.

4) Money Laundering: Money laundering is a crime in which the criminals disguise the identity of the money. In this crime, criminals try to hide the original ownership of the money and the place where they obtained that money by illegal means. Laundering is done with the intention of making that money came from legal sources. In simple words money laundering means to show the illegitimate money as legal money. For instance if a person obtain money from black marketing, trafficking of illegal goods the money will be considered ‘dirty’ and he cannot deposit into the banks as it may seem suspicious if he directly deposit money into the financial institutions because he had to create statements and records stating that where the money came from. Money laundering involves three steps:

# Firstly, the owner of the money obtain the money from some illegal means and deposit into the bank by some way.
# Then through multiple transactions the transfer of money is being done.
# Lastly, they return the money into banks to make it legitimate.

5) Tax Evasion: Tax evasion is committed with an intention to conceal one’s actual taxable income and one’s original position to the authorities. This concealment of income is done to reduce the tax liability in the eyes of government. In simple words it means to hide the money obtained from the illegal means in order to reduce one’s liability to pay tax and to show low income to the tax authorities. Tax evasion has a negative impact on the social values as it demoralized honest tax payers and they might also want to do tax evasion also it gives economy power in the hand of few undeserving people.

6) Identity Theft: Identity theft is one of the easiest type of crime these days. Due to advancement of technology it is very easy to access personal information of anyone. Identity theft is the crime in which the criminal access unauthorized information such as name, address, phone number etc. and use this information to gain money. In simple words identity theft is committed by using some other person identity to commit fraud or to gain money by illegal means.

White Collar Crime In Different Professions:

1) In Medical And Health:
# Making of false medical certificates by the doctors.
# Fake and intended prolong the treatment in order to increases the bills.
# Sex discrimination of the child by the doctors on the compulsion of the patient to gain money.
# Delaying of time by doctors to increase the amount of money in the bills.
# Sale of sample medicines which are not allowed to the chemists.

2) In Legal Profession:
# Fabrication of forged documents.
# Threatening the witnesses of the other party.
# Violation of ethical standard of legal profession to gain money.

3) In Education:
# Collecting huge sums of money in the name of donations by students in order to give them admission.
# Merit based admission is replaced by donations.
# Collect huge amount of money in the name of government grants.

Legislations Against The White Collar Crime In India:

Government has made various legislation for identifying white collar crime. These legislation contains punishment regarding these crimes.
# Companies Act, 1960.
# Income Tax Act, 1961.
# Indian Penal Code, 1860.
# Commodities Act, 1955.
# Prevention of corruption Act, 1988.
# Negotiable Instrument Act,
# Prevention of money laundering Act, 2002.
# IT Act, 2005.
# Imports and Exports (Control) Act, 1950.

Conclusions And Suggestions:
White collar crimes are the crimes which cause a harm to the economy of the country as a whole. It threatens the country’s economy by bank frauds, economic thefts, evasion of tax etc. It not only affects the financial status of a country or a person but It has also a negative impact on the society. The various crimes such as bribery, corruption, money laundering has affected society in a negative way.
# There is no proper definition of White collar crime in Indian laws. These socio-economic crimes should not be taken leniently by the government.
# Punishment regarding White collar crime should be stricter as harsh punishment can prevent these crimes to a great extent.
# If the crime is very heinous the punishment might also be extended to life imprisonment.
# People are not aware about most of these crimes so the public awareness through any communication medium is also necessary.
# Government should impose strict regulations regarding economic thefts of the country.

End-Notes
[1] Khan, A. (2013).White Collar Crime-Study of Emerging India.2013.M.D University.