Very sad that courts, police still haven't understood distinction between criminal breach of trust & cheating: Supreme Court

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Friday said it is indeed very sad to note that even after so many years of Indian Penal Code, replaced now with the Bhartiya Nyaya Samhita, the courts and police have not been able to understand the fine distinction between criminal breach of trust and cheating.

A bench of Justices J B Pardiwala and Manoj Misra said unfortunately, it has become a common practice for the police officers to routinely and mechanically proceed to register an FIR for both the offences i.e. criminal breach of trust and cheating on a mere allegation of some dishonesty or fraud, without any proper application of mind.

"It is high time that the police officers across the country are imparted proper training in law so as to understand the fine distinction between the offence of cheating viz-a-viz criminal breach of trust," the bench said.

In fact, the court pointed out both the offences are independent and distinct.

"The two offences cannot coexist simultaneously in the same set of facts. They are antithetical to each other. The two provisions of the IPC (now BNS, 2023) are not twins that they cannot survive without each other," the court said.

The bench allowed a plea by Delhi Race Club (1949) Ltd and others against summons issued by Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate, Khurja, Bulandshahar against them for the offences of criminal breach of trust, cheating and criminal conspiracy.

The court set aside the Allahabad High Court's order which declined to quash the summons issued on a complaint by Vipin Kumar Agarwal, the owner of a firm over non payment of Rs 9,11,434 for the sale of horse grains and oats over a period of time.

The court opined the continuation of the criminal proceeding would be nothing but abuse of the process of law.

It said the complainant should have filed a civil suit for recovery of the amount against the appellants herein, instead of having gone to the court of Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate by filing a complaint of cheating and criminal breach of trust.

The bench emphasised, "There is a distinction between criminal breach of trust and cheating. For cheating, criminal intention is necessary at the time of making a 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 misappropriated the same."