Criminal Misappropriation, Breach of Trust & Cheating PDF

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Criminal Misappropriation, Breach of Trust & Cheating...

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Criminal Misappropriation, Breach of Trust & Cheating The Indian Penal Code, 1860, addresses the Offences relating to Criminal Misappropriation, Criminal Breach of Trust & Cheating in Chapter XVII, i.e., Of Offences Against Property. RELEVANT SECTIONS: 1. Section 403: Dishonest Misappropriation of Property 2. Section 404: Dishonest Misappropriation of Property possessed by a deceased person at the time of his death. 3. Section 405: Criminal breach of trust. 4. Section 406: Punishment for criminal breach of trust. 5. Section 407: Criminal breach of trust by carrier, etc. 6. Section 408: Criminal breach of trust by clerk or servant. 7. Section 409: Criminal breach of trust by public servant or by banker, merchant or agent. 8. Section 415: Cheating. 9. Section 416: Cheating by personation. 10. Section 417: Punishment for cheating. 11. Section 418: Cheating with knowledge that wrongful loss may ensue to a person whose interest offender is bound to protect. 12. Section 419: Punishment for cheating by personation. 13. Section 420: Cheating and dishonestly inducing delivery of property

0. CRIMINAL MISAPPROPRIATION Black’s Law Dictionary defines Criminal Misappropriation as “The unauthorized, improper, or unlawful use of funds or other property for purposes other than that for which intended.” Further, Section 403 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860, defines misappropriation as: “Whoever dishonestly misappropriates or converts to his own use any movable property, shall be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to two years, or with fine, or with both.” Thus, Criminal Misappropriation is the act by which an individual dishonestly uses the property of another without the latter’s knowledge or consent. The essentials to be fulfilled under this Section are:  The Property must belong to someone other than the accused;  It must have been found by the accused and dishonestly retained by him. Retention for a limited period of time still constitutes an offence under this Section, as per Explanation 1.  The Property must have been converted to the accused’s own use. Finding the property of another with the intention of protecting, restoring etc. to the owner does not constitute misappropriation. However, if said property is converted to his

own use, despite knowing or having the means of discovering it’s true owner, and without using reasonable means to locate him after keeping it for a reasonable period of time to allow the owner to claim it, the person may be considered guilty of Misappropriation. CASE LAW: Jaikrishnadas Manohardas Desai v. State of Bombay AIR 1960 SC 889 Tried in the Supreme Court of India. Matter involving the scope of Criminal Misappropriation among other things. Facts of the Case: The two appellants were the Managing Director and Director of a Cloth Dyeing Company “Parikh Dyeing and Printing Mills Ltd.” They contracted with the local Textile Commissioner to dye a large quantity of cloth supplied to them. Subsequently, they dyed and delivered only a certain quantity of the given cloth, whilst failing to deliver the rest of it, in spite of repeated demands. Following this, the company sued for Breach of Trust under S. 409 r/w S. 34 and the appellants were convicted for the same. They then appealed to the High Court who upheld the decision and held them liable to return the cloth. They then approached the Supreme Court by way of a Special Leave Petition. Judgement: It was held by the Apex Court that matters of Misappropriation were not ordinarily matters of direct proof, but it has been established that when property is entrusted to a person, or has been given to him to hold dominion over, and has been withheld without rendering of true explanation for his failure to account for it, said person may be held guilty of criminal misappropriation. Further, as per Section 381, if a servant or a clerk misappropriates the property of his master, the Punishment under Section 403 is severe, and can extend to 7 years with fine. Finally, as per Section 404, if a person dishonestly misappropriates property belonging to a deceased person, which has not been transferred to the legal heir, he shall be punished with imprisonment upto three years with fine....