Under Section 34 of the IPC, which deals with "acts done by several persons in furtherance of common intention," what is the nature of criminal liability attracted?

Section 34 of the IPC enacts the principle of joint liability when a criminal act is done by several persons in furtherance of the common intention of all, each such person is liable for that act in the same manner as if it were done by him alone. Section 34 is not a substantive offence in itself it is a rule of evidence that attributes the act of one to all who share a common intention. The Supreme Court in Mahboob Shah v. Emperor (1945) and several subsequent judgments has held that to attract Section 34, two ingredients are essential: (i) a criminal act done by several persons, and (ii) such act must be done in furtherance of common intention a prior meeting of minds, though not necessarily a pre-planned conspiracy, must be established. Importantly, under Section 34, an overt act by each accused need not be proved, but common intention must be. This distinguishes Section 34 (common intention) from Section 149 (common object), where membership of an unlawful assembly is sufficient.