Cheating requires dishonest intent at inducement; unsupported criminal allegations arising from a civil dispute were quashed.

A criminal complaint alleging cheating failed because it did not plead dishonest or fraudulent intention at the time of inducement, which is essential for Section 420 IPC. Mere non-disclosure of a pending partition suit, without facts showing an intentional deception to make the complainant part with property, was insufficient. The complaint also lacked the factual basis needed for the allied charges under Sections 418, 423, 469, 504 and 120B IPC. As the allegations, even if accepted, disclosed at most a civil dispute arising from a transaction and not criminal mens rea at inception, the complaint and proceedings were liable to be quashed as an abuse of process.

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Issues: Whether the criminal complaint disclosed the essential ingredients of cheating and the allied offences alleged against the accused, and whether continuation of the criminal proceedings amounted to an abuse of process warranting quashing in exercise of inherent powers.

Analysis: For an of cheating, the decisive element is dishonest or fraudulent intention at the time of inducement. Mere non-disclosure of a pending partition suit, without an express or implied allegation that such concealment was made intentionally to deceive the complainant into parting with property, does not satisfy the ingredients of Section 420 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860. The complaint also lacked basic factual foundation for the allied allegations under Sections 418, 423, 469, 504 and 120B of the Indian Penal Code, 1860. On the face of the complaint, the dispute disclosed at most a civil controversy or breach arising out of a transaction, not the requisite criminal mens rea at inception. The case therefore fell within the category recognised for quashing where the allegations, even if accepted in full, do not constitute an offence.

Conclusion: The complaint and the criminal proceeding were liable to be quashed, as the essential ingredients of the alleged offences were not made out and continuation of the prosecution would be an abuse of process.

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