UNIVERSITY INSTITUTE OF LEGAL

STUDIES
DEPARTMENT OF LAW
Subject Name and Code: INDIAN PENAL CODE-II
(LLT-260)
DEVINDER SINGH, ASST. PROF.

CHEATING DISCOVER . LEARN . EMPOWER

 • Space for visual (size 24)

INDIAN PENAL
CODE-II
Course Outcome
CO Title Level
Number
CO1 To enable the students to understand the various kinds of Remember
offences affecting property, person, women documents
etc
CO2 To enable the students to understand the various kinds of Understand
punishment relating to these crimes

Will be covered in this

lecture

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CHEATING (Sec 415-
420)

Cheating is considered as a
criminal offence under the
Indian Penal Code. It is done
in order to gain profit or
advantage from another
person by using some
deceitful means.

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 CHEATING

Cheating is defined under Section 415 of the Indian Penal Code as

whoever fraudulently or dishonestly deceives a person in order to
induce that person to deliver a property to any person or to consent to
retain any property. If a person intentionally induces a person to do or
omit to do any act which he would not have done if he was not
deceived to do so and the act has caused harm to that person in body,
mind, reputation or property, then the person who fraudulently,
dishonestly or intentionally induced the other person is said to cheat.
Any dishonest concealment of facts which can deceive a person to do
an act which he would not have done otherwise is also cheating within
the meaning of this section.
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 Ingredients of Cheating

The Section requires:

• deception of any person.
• fraudulently or dishonestly inducing that person to deliver any
property to any person or to consent that any person shall retain
any property; or
• intentionally inducing a person to do or omit to do anything which
he would not do or omit if he were not so deceived, and the act or
omission causes or is likely to cause damage or harm to that
person in body, mind, reputation or property.
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 Deception
• One of the important ingredients which constitute the
offence of cheating is deception. Deception can be
done to induce the other person to either deliver or
retain the property or to commit an act or omission.
• Refer to the case law K R Kumaran vs State of Kerala

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 Willful Representation and Cheating
• In deception, a fraudulent representation or willful misrepresentation
of a fact is made directly or indirectly with the intent to commit the
offence of cheating. In order to prove the offence, it is not only
important to prove that a false representation was made by the accused
but also that the accused had the knowledge that the representation
was false and willfully made it in order to deceive the prosecutor. If
the accused knowingly makes a representation which is false then the
accused can be held liable for the offence of cheating under IPC.

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 Cheating and Misappropriation
• Cheating and misappropriation are closely related. In cheating, the act of
misrepresentation starts from the beginning of the act, whereas, in case of
misappropriation it is not important that the offence of cheating will start from the
beginning. The accused may obtain a property in good faith and then further
misappropriate it in order to sell it for an advantage. It may be done against the
will or without the consent of the owner.
• It is seen that misappropriation is generally done by a person who is a relative,
friend or a known person. The offence of misappropriation is defined under
Section 403 of the IPC. It deals only with immovable properties and not with
body, mind, reputation, or immovable property.

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Deception and Cheating in Connection with
False Promise of Marriage
In the case of Deception and cheating with a false promise of marriage, there can be no action for a breach of a promise under

IPC unless there is a contract made by parties to marry each other. There are no specific requirements regarding the formation

of the contract. It need not necessarily be in writing and there isn’t a particular set of words which needs to be used for the

contract of marriage. A promise by one person to marry another will not be a binding promise unless and until that other

person also reciprocates and promises to marry the first person. Mutual promises to marry between two parties may be implied

from the conduct of the parties. A declaration of intention to marry another person made to a third person will not constitute a

proper promise and an offer to marry unless his proposal is communicated to that person whom he intends to marry. It is not

necessary that the mutual promises between the parties to be concurrent, it should be made within a reasonable time after the

offer is made by a party to another. An action for breach of promise to marry may be taken under deception and cheating.

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 Inducement

When one person uses deceitful practices to convince the other

person to agree on anything which is harmful to that person, it

is known as Inducement. It generally occurs when two parties

enter into a contract and a party uses fraudulent inducement to

gain advantage on the other party.

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 Critical Aspects Relating to the Offence of
Cheating
Dishonest Intention Should be Present at the Time of Making the Promise

Absence of Intention to Honour the Promise at the Time of False Representation

Dishonesty is Causing Either Wrongful Gain or Wrongful Loss

False Pretence to be Inferred From Circumstances

Mens Rea as Essential Ingredients of the Offence of Cheating

Damage to Body, Mind, Reputation or Property Caused or Likely to be Caused

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 Illustrations of Cheating
1. A intentionally deceives Z by falsely claiming to be in the civil service and dishonestly encourages
Z to give certain items on credit for which he never intended to pay. A commits the offence of
cheating.
2. By placing a counterfeit mark on an item, A deceives Z into believing that the item was created by
a well-known manufacturer and thereby defrauds Z into purchasing and paying for the item. A
commits the offence of cheating.
3. X purposefully deceives Y by pledging certain items with him and telling him that the items are
diamonds. But he knows these are not diamonds. Therefore, he dishonestly encourages Z to lend
money. A commits the offence of cheating.
4. P deceives X by taking a loan and making him believe that he will repay the loan that P never
intended to repay and therefore deceives X into lending him money. A is a cheater.
5. A deceives Z into believing that A has fulfilled his portion of a deal with Z, which he has not, and
thereby defrauds Z into paying money. A is a cheater.

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 Cheating by Personation
• A person is said to “cheat by personation” if he cheats by
claiming to be someone else, or by knowingly replacing one
person for another, or by falsely representing him to be some
other person.
• Note: The offence will be committed whether the person
personated is a real or imaginary person.

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 Illustration of Cheating by Personation

1. A deceives by pretending to be a wealthy banker by

the same name. This is how A cheats by personation.
2. A deceives by pretending to be a person B who has
already died. Here, A cheats by personation.

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 Punishment for Cheating
Punishment for cheating is defined under sections 417 to 420 of IPC, depending upon the case. Let’s study each section one by one:
Section 417 IPC – Punishment for Cheating
• As per section 417 of the Indian Penal Code, whoever commits an offence of cheating is liable for imprisonment of either description, which
may extend to one year, or fine, or both.
Section 418 IPC – Cheating With the Knowledge That the Person Whose Interest Has to Be Protected Incurs Losses
• Suppose a person cheats another even after knowing that his act will cause wrongful loss to the person whose interest was supposed to be
protected either by law or legal contract. Such a person shall be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term up to three years,
or with fine, or both.
Section 419 IPC – Punishment for Cheating by Personation
• As per section 419 of the Indian Penal Code, if a person cheats another by personation, the person committing the offence shall be punished
with imprisonment of either description of up to three years or a fine, or both.
Section 420 IPC – Cheating and Dishonestly Inducing Delivery of Property
• If any person cheats and thus dishonestly encourages the deceived person to deliver any property to any person, or
• To make, alter, or destroy the whole or any part of valuable security, or anything that is signed or sealed and is capable of being converted into
valuable security;
• Such a person shall be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term that may extend to seven years and a fine.

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 Case Laws Related to Cheating

Ishwarlal Girdharilal vs the State of Maharashtra (1969)

Sushil Kumar Datta vs State (1985)

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 REFERENCES

• Indian Penal Code by Prof. S.N. Misra

• Criminal Law by PSA Pillai
• Indian Penal Code, BARE ACT
• Indian Penal Code, by Ratanlal & Dheerajlal

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THANK YOU