On 1st March 2021, the Supreme Court of India in the case of Archana Rana v. State of Uttar Pradesh & Anr. comprising of Justice Dr. Dhananjaya Y. Chandrachud and Justice M.R. Shah reiterates that Cheating an essential ingredient for an act to constitute an offence under Section 420 IPC.
Factual Background of the Case
That respondent no.2 – complainant lodged an FIR against the appellant and her husband for the offences under Sections 419, 420, 323, 504 and 506 IPC alleging, inter alia, that the appellant’s husband had taken a sum of Rs.5,00,000/- from him for getting his son employed. However, his son did not get any employment and subsequently when they went to the house of the appellant to ask for the return of the money, the appellant assaulted the complainant and threatened to get them falsely implicated in criminal cases and the appellant pushed/thrown him and his son from her house.
The same was registered as Case Crime No. 153/2016 with P.S. Kotwali, District Azamgarh. Thereafter, the investigating officer filed the chargesheet against the appellant herein and one another for the offences under Sections 419, 420, 323, 504 and 506 IPC.
High Court of Judicature of Allahabad
The appellant herein approached the High Court by way of criminal miscellaneous application No. 5213 of 2018 under Section 482 Cr.P.C. to quash chargesheet as well as the entire criminal proceedings.
The High Court dismissed the said application and has refused to quash the criminal proceedings/chargesheet.
SUPREME COURT
Appellant Submissions
The Appellant in its submissions vehemently submits before the Court that,
- on a bare reading of the FIR and even the chargesheet and the allegations taken on their face, no case is made out against the appellant herein.
- no case is made out against the appellant for the offences under Sections 419 & 420 IPC.
- It is submitted that even if the averments in the complaint taken on their face do not constitute the ingredients necessary for the offence or do not disclose the commission of an offence under IPC.
- It is submitted that therefore the High Court ought to have quashed the criminal proceedings against the appellant herein for the offences under Sections 419, 420, 323, 504 and 506 IPC.
State Submissions
The respondent-State is not in a position to satisfy the Court how a case is made out against the appellant herein for the offences under Sections 419 & 420 IPC.
However, it is submitted that at least a case is made out against the appellant herein for the other offences, i.e., for the offences under Sections 323, 504 & 506 IPC.
Court Observations & Analysis
The Court in its observations stated that the,
“even if the averments made in the complaint are taken on their face, they do not constitute the ingredients necessary for the offence under Sections 419 & 420 IPC.”
The ingredients to constitute an offence under Section 420 are as follows:
- a person must commit the offence of cheating under Section 415; and
- the person cheated must be dishonestly induced to
- deliver property to any person; or
- make, alter or destroy valuable security or anything signed or sealed and capable of being converted into valuable security.
Thus, cheating is an essential ingredient for an act to constitute an offence under Section 420 IPC. Cheating is defined under Section 415 of the IPC.
The ingredients to constitute an offence of cheating are as follows:
- There should be fraudulent or dishonest inducement of a person by deceiving him:
- The person who was induced should be intentionally induced to deliver any property to any person or to consent that any person shall retain any property,
- or the person who was induced should be intentionally induced to do or to omit to do anything which he would not do or omit if he were not so deceived.
Thus, a fraudulent or dishonest inducement is an essential ingredient of the offence under Section 415 IPC. A person who dishonestly induced any person to deliver any property is liable for the offence of cheating.
The Court further stated that,
“Having gone through the complaint/FIR and even the chargesheet, it cannot be said that the averments in the FIR and the allegations in the complaint against the appellant constitute an offence under Section 419 & 420 IPC.”
High Court Jurisdiction u/s 482 Cr.P.C
The Supreme Court while deciding a matter, state that,
“Therefore, this was a fit case for the High Court to exercise the jurisdiction under Section 482 Cr.P.C. and to quash the criminal proceedings against the appellant herein for the offences under Section 419 & 420 IPC. The High Court has failed to exercise the jurisdiction vested in it by not quashing the criminal proceedings against the appellant herein for the offences under Sections 419 & 420 IPC.”
“Now so far as the FIR/chargesheet/criminal proceedings against the appellant herein for the other offences, namely, under Sections 323, 504 & 506 IPC are concerned, the High Court has rightly not quashed the criminal proceedings qua the said offences.”
Judgment
The Supreme Court allowed an appeal and quashed and set aside the Criminal Proceedings for the offence u/s 419&420 IPC pending before CJM, Azamgarh and the criminal proceedings against the appellant herein for the offences under Sections 323, 504 & 506 IPC, pending in the Court of learned Chief Judicial Magistrate, Azamgarh, shall be continued as per the chargesheet and shall be disposed of in accordance with law, on their own merits.
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