Arshad Neyaz Khan v. State of Jharkhand 2025 INSC 1151 - IPC - Cheating - Criminal Breach Of Trust

Indian Penal Code 1860 - Section 420 - For establishing the offence of cheating, the complainant is required to show that the accused had a fraudulent or dishonest intention at the time of making a promise or representation of not fulfilling the agreement for sale of the said property. Such a culpable intention right at the beginning when the promise was made cannot be presumed but has to be made out with cogent facts. (Para 19)

Indian Penal Code 1860 - Section 406 -Every act of breach of trust may not result in a penal offence unless there is evidence of a manipulating act of fraudulent misappropriation of property entrusted to him. In the case of criminal breach of trust, if a person comes into possession of the property and receives it legally, but illegally retains it or converts it to its own use against the terms of contract, then the question whether such retention is with dishonest intention or not and whether such retention involves criminal breach of trust or only a civil liability would depend upon the facts and circumstances of the case. (Para 20)

Indian Penal Code 1860 - Section 406 and 420 - Distinction between criminal breach of trust and cheating- For cheating, criminal intention is necessary at the time of making false or misleading representation i.e. since inception. In criminal breach of trust, mere proof of entrustment is sufficient. Thus, in case of criminal breach of trust, the offender is lawfully entrusted with the property, and he dishonestly misappropriates the same. Whereas, in case of cheating, the offender fraudulently or dishonestly induces a person by deceiving him to deliver a property. In such a situation, both offences cannot co-exist simultaneously. Consequently, the complaint cannot contain both the offences that are independent and distinct. The said offences cannot co-exist simultaneously in the same set of facts as they are antithetical to each other. (Para 21)

Code of Criminal Procedure 1973 - Section 482- Machinery of criminal justice is being misused by certain persons for their vested interests and for achieving their oblique motives and agenda. Courts have therefore to be vigilant against such tendencies and ensure that acts of omission and commission having an adverse impact on the fabric of our society must be nipped in the bud. (Para 26)

Offences Of ‘Cheating’ & ‘Criminal Breach Of Trust’ Cannot Co-Exist On Same Allegations : Supreme Court

The Supreme Court observed that the offence of criminal breach of trust and cheating cannot co-exist on the basis of same allegations. The Court said that the offence of cheating (S.420 IPC/S.318…

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