The central legal point established in the judgment is that criminal impersonation alone is not sufficient to constitute an offense under Section 419 IPC. The act of cheating, deception, and dishonest inducement are essential elements required to establish the offense.

P.G. Agarwal, J.

1. Heard Mr. J.M. Choudhury, learned senior counsel for the petitioner and Mr. D. Das, learned Public Prosecutor.

2. This revision is directed against the order dated 31.3.2005 passed by the Sessions Judge, Kamrup, Guwahati in Sessions case No. 132(K)/2004 whereby charge under Section 419 IPC has been framed against the petitioner Aparajita Nath.

3. The prosecution allegation, in brief, is that on 11.1.99 the petitioner along with one Sidhartha Rai went to Sacred Home Nursing Home for the purpose of abortion and at that time she identified herself as Anita Rai although she knew that she is not Anita Rai but she is Aparajita Nath.

4. At this stage, Mr. Choudhury in his usual fairness has not challenged the materials on record in that respect. But it is submitted that even if the above fact is taken as true it does not construe an offence of cheating as defined under Section 416 IPC. Section 416 IPC reads as follows:

416. Cheating by personation. - A person is said to "cheat by personation" if he cheats by pretending to be some other person, or by knowingly substituting one person for another, or representing that he or any other person is a person other than he or such other person really is.

5. In this case, we find that the name Anita Rai taken by the accused was an imaginary name and in view of the explanation given above, we find prima facie materials to hold that the accused had pretended to be some other person. The question that needs to be determined is whether mere pretension to be some other person is in itself sufficient to constitute an offence of cheating. From the provisions of Section 416 IPC as quoted above, we find that pretending to be some other person is one part of the offence but the other part is that one must cheat somebody by pretending to be some other person. Cheating has been defined under Section 415 IPC which reads as follows:

415. Cheating. - 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".

6. In the case of Devendra v. Bal Krishna Singh 2004 CriLJ 1774 the Apex Court while defining cheating under Section 415 IPC had this to say:

7. In order to appreciate the rival submissions, it would be necessary to consider on the background of the factual position as to whether offence punishable under Section 420 IPC is made out. Section 420 deals with certain specified classes of cheating. It deals with the cases whereby the deceived person is dishonestly induced to deliver any property to any person or to make, alter or destroy the whole or any part of a valuable security or anything which is singed or sealed and which is capable of being converted into a valuable security. Section 415 defines "cheating". The said provision requires : (i) deception of any person, (ii) whereby fraudulently or dishonestly inducing that person to deliver any property to any person or to consent that any person shall retain any property, or (iii) intentionally inducing that person 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. Deception of any person is common to the second and third requirements of the provision. The said requirements are alternative to each other and this is made significantly, clear by use of disjunctive conjunction "or". The definition of the offence of cheating embraces some cases in which no transfer of property is occasioned by the deception and some in which such a transfer occurs. Deception is the quintessence of