Dishonest Inducement Is Essential To Prove Cheating, SC Holds
The Supreme Court of India recently held that to prove the offence of cheating, it must be proven that the person who committed the act was induced in a dishonest manner to transfer property to another person, with the accused having a dishonest intention.
The court, consisting of Justices B.R Gavai, Rajesh Bindal, and Sandeep Mehta, clarified that to invoke Section 420 of the IPC, three elements must be evident in the FIR or complaint: deception of a person, fraudulent or dishonest inducement to deliver property, and the accused's dishonest intention during the inducement.
In the case at hand, the complainant transferred money to the appellant upon the insistence of another accused, who was a college friend of the complainant. The accused persons were accused of duping the complainant, and the appellant was also implicated in the cheating offense. Despite the appellant's attempt to quash the FIR being rejected by the High Court, the appeal was filed.
Highlighting the necessity of dishonest inducement for cheating, the Court found this element lacking in the case. Therefore, even if the FIR's contents were accepted at face value, they did not meet the criteria for charging the appellant with cheating under Section 420 of the IPC.
The Court emphasised that the power to intervene exists to prevent abuse of the legal process, whether at the FIR stage or after the chargesheet, and concluded that continuing criminal proceedings against the appellant would constitute an abuse of the legal process. As a result, the Court allowed the appeal and quashed the FIR specifically concerning the present appellant.
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