Section 420 in the

Indian Penal Code The Indian Penal Code (IPC) is the official criminal code of India. It is a comprehensive code intended to cover all substantive aspects of criminal law. The code was drafted on the recommendations of first law commission of India established in ...

deals with ''Cheating'' and ''dishonestly inducing delivery of property''. The maximum punishment which can be awarded under this section is imprisonment for a term of 7 year and fine.

Definitions

:* Cheating and dishonestly inducing delivery of property.: Whoever cheats and thereby dishonestly induces the person deceived 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 signed or sealed, and which is capable of being converted into a valuable security, shall be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to seven years, and shall also be liable fine.

Distinction Between 'Cheating' and 'Breach of Contract'

Distinction between mere 'breach of contract' and the 'offense of cheating' is a fine one. It depends upon the intention of the accused at the time of inducement which may be judged by his subsequent conduct but for this subsequent conduct is not the sole test. Mere breach of contract cannot give rise to criminal prosecution for cheating unless fraudulent or dishonest intention is shown right at the beginning of the transaction, that is the time when the offence is said to have been committed. Therefore, it is the intention of cheating which is the gist of the offence. To hold a person guilty of cheating, it is necessary to show that he had fraudulent or dishonest intention at the time of committing the act.

Distinction Between 'Cheating' and 'Misrepresentation'

A mere representation, which is neither claimed or alleged to be dishonest or fraudulent would not attract the charge of cheating only because the complainant parts with his money on the basis thereof.

Punishment of an offence under Section 420

The maximum punishment for an offence under section 420 of IPC is imprisonment for a term which may extend to seven years, with or without monetary fine.

In popular culture

The term "420"(read as ''Char Sau Bees'' in Hindi) is used in

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

to refer to a

confidence trickster A confidence trick is an attempt to defraud a person or group after first gaining their trust. Confidence tricks exploit victims using their credulity, naïveté, compassion, vanity, confidence, irresponsibility, and greed. Researchers have def ...

. This section was also in use in other neighboring countries such as

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...

Myanmar Myanmar, ; UK pronunciations: US pronunciations incl. . Note: Wikipedia's IPA conventions require indicating /r/ even in British English although only some British English speakers pronounce r at the end of syllables. As John C. Wells, Joh ...

, where the term ''420'' persists in popular culture to this date. In the

Nigerian Criminal Code The Nigerian Criminal Code is the apex codified law in Nigeria for criminal investigation, trial and punishment of criminals. It is derived from the Nigeria Criminal Code Act 1916, Nigeria Penal Code Act 1960 and other criminal laws enacted by Niger ...

, the same offence is covered by article 419, which has now lent its name to the

advance fee fraud An advance-fee scam is a form of fraud and is one of the most common types of confidence tricks. The scam typically involves promising the victim a significant share of a large sum of money, in return for a small up-front payment, which the fraud ...

.Cheating and Forgery in Pakistan Penal Code on lawsofpakistan.com website
Retrieved 16 May 2017 The title of two popular

Hindi film Hindi cinema, popularly known as Bollywood and formerly as Bombay cinema, refers to the film industry based in Mumbai, engaged in production of motion pictures in Hindi language. The popular term Bollywood, is a portmanteau of "Bombay" (fo ...

s -

Chachi 420 ''Chachi 420'' () is a 1997 Indian Hindi-language comedy film, co-written, produced and directed by Kamal Haasan. The film is a remake of the 1996 Tamil movie '' Avvai Shanmughi''. The film stars Haasan and Nassar (reprising their roles from the ...

(in English: Trickster Aunt, a 1997 remake of

Mrs. Doubtfire ''Mrs. Doubtfire'' is a 1993 American comedy-drama film directed by Chris Columbus. It was written for the screen by Randi Mayem Singer and Leslie Dixon, based on the 1987 novel ''Alias Madame Doubtfire'' by Anne Fine. Robin Williams, who also s ...

) and

Shri 420 ''Shree 420'' (also spelled as ''Shri 420''; ) is a 1955 Indian Hindi comedy-drama film directed and produced by Raj Kapoor from a story written by Khwaja Ahmad Abbas whose use of Shree with the negative connotations of 420 caused controversy. ...

(in English: ''Mr. 420'', a 1955 film), are direct references to Section 420 of the IPC.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Penal Code Sections of the Indian Penal Code