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IN THE HIGH COURT OF BOMBAY AT GOA
ALOK ARADHE, CJ., M.S. SONAK
Shaukat Mohammad Rahman, son of late Aziaur Mohammad Rahman – Appellant
Versus
State of Goa, Through Police Inspector & Police Station Incharge, Porvorim Police Station – Respondent
JUDGMENT :
M.S. SONAK, J.
1. Heard learned Counsel for the parties.
2. Rule. The rule is made returnable immediately at the request of and with the consent of the learned Counsel for the parties.
3. The Petitioners, by instituting this petition under Article 226 of the Constitution of India r/w Section 482 of Cr.P.C., seek quashing of the order dated 24.03.2023 made by the J.M.F.C. Mapusa and the impugned FIR registered by the Porvorim Police Station under such order.
4. The Petitioners are senior citizens [over 70 years of age]residing in Dibrugarh, Assam. In the first paragraph of this petition, they have pleaded about the multiple health issues that afflict them.
5. The Petitioners have pleaded that the second Petitioner and her sister Maria Viegas are the co-owners of an ancestral property measuring 2850 sq. mts surveyed under No. 429/10 in the Village of Anjuna, North Goa, hereinafter referred to as the “said property.”
6. The Petitioners have pleaded that the 3rd Respondent [Complainant] is a property broker and real estate developer who offered to purchase the said property on an “as is where is basis”.
7. Apart from several phone calls and discussions, the 3rd Respondent (Complaina
A mere breach of contract does not constitute cheating unless fraudulent intent is established at the inception of the transaction, emphasizing the distinction between civil disputes and criminal all....
A mere breach of contract does not constitute cheating under IPC unless fraudulent intent is established from the outset; civil disputes should not be converted into criminal cases.
Criminal proceedings cannot proceed where allegations only constitute a civil dispute without intent to cheat.
The court established that criminal proceedings cannot be used to settle civil disputes, emphasizing that the FIR lacked allegations constituting a criminal offence and should be quashed.
The central legal point established in the judgment is that for an act to constitute an offence under Section 420 of the Penal Code, there must be fraudulent or dishonest inducement, and the absence ....
The absence of fraudulent intention at the inception of a transaction negates the offence of cheating, and civil disputes should not be converted into criminal prosecutions.
Criminal liability for cheating requires proof of dishonest intent from inception, distinguishing breach of contract from criminal offence.
The court ruled that criminal proceedings based on civil disputes without clear fraudulent intent are an abuse of process, necessitating dismissal of such charges.
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