Mere Breach of Contract Does Not Amount to Cheating Unless Fraudulent Intention Existed From the Beginning; Criminal Case Quashed: Supreme Court

In a recent landmark judgment, the Supreme Court has clarified that a simple breach of contractual obligations cannot be prosecuted as the offence of cheating under Section 420 of the Indian Penal Code unless there was a fraudulent or dishonest intention from the very beginning of the transaction. The case involved two landowners accused of cheating a real estate developer in a failed joint development project, which was initially pursued…