The Rajasthan High Court has quashed criminal proceedings in a case involving allegations of cheating and criminal breach of trust, reiterating that a mere breach of contractual obligations cannot be given a criminal colour in the absence of fraudulent intent at inception.
In a petition filed under Section 482 CrPC, the Court was dealing with an FIR registered under Sections 420, 406 and 120B IPC. The petitioner argued that the dispute arose out of a commercial arrangement for distributorship and was purely civil in nature. It was further submitted that the parties had already entered into a compromise and the entire disputed amount had been repaid to the complainant.
Accepting these submissions, the Court noted that the material on record did not disclose any dishonest or fraudulent intention at the time of entering into the agreement. It observed that subsequent non-performance of contractual terms, by itself, does not constitute cheating unless it is shown that the accused had a dishonest intention from the very beginning.
The Court also took note of the factual report indicating that the complainant had already received ₹2,96,000/- in 2018, thereby further weakening the criminal allegations. It held that continuation of proceedings in such circumstances would amount to an abuse of the process of law.
The Court extended the benefit of its order to the co-accused as well, even though he had not approached the Court, observing that identical allegations and facts warranted parity in relief.
Accordingly, the Court quashed all criminal proceedings pending before the trial court, emphasising that criminal law cannot be used as a tool for recovery or to settle civil disputes.
Appearances:
For Petitioner(s) : Mr. Shreyash Ramdev, Adv.For Respondent(s) : Mr. Vikram Singh Rajpurohit, PP


