Mere Failure To Repay Loan Not Cheating Or Criminal Breach Of Trust: Rajasthan High Court Reiterates

The Rajasthan High Court reiterated that failure to repay a loan does not constitute cheating or criminal breach of trust under Sections 405 and 415 of the IPC. The court was hearing a quashing petition filed by an accused charged with these offences after failing to repay a loan. The court emphasized that the dispute was civil in nature and that the FIR was an attempt to harass the petitioner. The court clarified that for criminal breach of trust, there must be an entrustment of property, which is not the case in simple loan transactions. Similarly, for cheating, there must be fraudulent inducement, which was not evident in this case. The court quashed the FIR against the petitioner.