According to Section 415:– Whoever, by deceiving any person, fraudulently or dishonestly induces the person so deceived to deliver any property to any person, or to consent that any person shall retain any property, or intentionally induces the person so deceived to do or omit to do anything which he would not do or omit if he were not so deceived, and which act or omission causes or is likely to cause damage or harm to that person in body, mind, reputation or property, is said to “cheat”. Explanation.—A dishonest concealment of facts is a deception within the meaning of this section.
Illustrations
(a) A, by falsely pretending to be in the Civil Service, intentionally deceives Z, and thus dishonestly induces Z to let him have on credit goods for which he does not mean to pay. A cheats.
(b) A, by putting a counterfeit mark on an article, intentionally deceives Z into a belief that this article was made by a certain celebrated manufacturer, and thus dishonestly induces Z to buy and pay for the article. A cheats.
(c) A, by exhibiting to Z a false sample of an article, intentionally deceives Z into believing that the article corresponds with the sample, and thereby, dishonestly induces Z to buy and pay for the article. A cheats.
(d) A, by tendering in payment for an article a bill on a house with which A keeps no money, and by which A expects that the bill will be dishonored, intentionally deceives Z, and thereby dishonestly induces Z to deliver the article, intending not to pay for it. A cheats.
(e) A, by pledging as diamonds article which he knows are not diamonds, intentionally deceives Z, and thereby dishonestly induces Z to lend money. A cheats.
(f) A intentionally deceives Z into a belief that A means to repay any money that Z may lend to him and thereby dishonestly induces Z to lend him money. A not intending to repay it. A cheats.
(g) A intentionally deceives Z into a belief that A means to deliver to Z a certain quantity of indigo plant which he does not intend to deliver, and thereby dishonestly induces Z to advance money upon the faith of such delivery. A cheats; but if A, at the time of obtaining the money, intends to deliver the indigo plant, and afterwards breaks his contract and does not deliver it, he does not cheat, but is liable only to a civil action for breach of contract.
(h) A intentionally deceives Z into a belief that A has performed A’s part of a contract made with Z, which he has not performed, and thereby dishonestly induces Z to pay money. A cheats.
(i) A sells and conveys an estate to B. A, knowing that in consequence of such sale he has no right to the property, sells or mortgages the same to Z, without disclosing the fact of the previous sale and conveyance to B, and receives the purchase or mortgage money from Z. A cheats.
Ingredients
Section 415 of IPC has two alternate parts, while in the first part the person must ‘dishonestly’ or ‘fraudulently’ induce the complainant to deliver any property and in the second part, the person should intentionally include the complainant (the person so deceived) in the direction of do or omit to do a thing, in other words, we can say in the primary branch, inducement must be dishonest. In the next branch, inducement should be on purpose. In the direction of comprise the offence of cheating dishonesty is a regular element in both the branch.
In the case of Ramnarayan Popali vs. C.B.I, held that it is not necessary that deception should be by express words but it may be by conduct or implied in the nature of transaction itself.
The word fraudulently does not cover the whole of the definition of cheating, but only the first part. The person deceived must have acted underneath the power of dishonesty along with the damage must not be moreover inaccessible.
- There should be a deception of any individual.
In the case of Ramdas vs. state of U.P, the court held that Deception means causing to believe what is false or misleading as a matter of fact or leading into an error.
415 IPC Case Laws (Supreme Court and HC)
| Hari Sao v. State of Bihar AIR 1970 SC 843 |
| Ram Das v. State of UP 1971 2 SCJ 264 |
| Fazlur Rahman v. Surinder Kumar 1977 Cr. L.J. (NOC) 15 (HP) |
| Ratan Lal Sharma v. Mangeram Ghanshyamdas 1977 Cr. LJ (NOC) 19 (Mad.) |
| N. M. Chakraborty v. State 1977 Cr. L.J. 961 (SC) |
| Kanumukkia Krishnamurthy v. State of Madras AIR 1965 SC 333 |
| Abhayanand Misra v. State of Bihar AIR 1961 SC 1698 |
| Kalee Modock (1872( 18 WR (Cr.) 61 |
| Uma Dutta v. Mahadevan 1993 Cri. LJ 3231 (Orissa) |
| R.K. Dalmia v. Delhi Administration aIR 1962 SC 1821 |
| Meherbanji Bejanji (1969) 6 BHC (Cr. C) 6 |
| Dayabhai Parjam (1864) 1 BHC 140 |
| Paras Ram (1903) PR No. 25 of 1903 |
| Ram Jas, AIR 1974 SC 1811 and 1970 SCC 740 |
| Sheo Prasad AIR 1926 Pat. 267 |
| Jibrial Diwan v. State of Maharashtra 1997 Cri. L.J. 4070 (SC) |
FAQs on Section 415 of the IPC
Section 415 of the IPC defines the offense of “cheating.” It states that whoever, by deceiving any person, fraudulently or dishonestly induces the person so deceived to deliver any property, or to consent to retain any property, or intentionally induces the person so deceived to do or omit to do something that causes or is likely to cause damage or harm to that person in body, mind, reputation, or property, is said to have committed “cheating.”
The essential elements of the offense of cheating are: a. Deception of any person by the accused. b. Fraudulently or dishonestly inducing the deceived person to deliver property or consent to retain property. c. Intentionally inducing the deceived person to do or omit to do something that causes or is likely to cause harm.
The term “fraudulently” implies that the inducement was done with an intent to deceive and mislead the person, whereas “dishonestly” means lacking integrity and acting in a deceitful manner. Both terms relate to the element of deception involved in the offense.
Read also:- IPC Section 414: Assisting in concealment of Stolen Property
