Criminal Breach of Trust and Cheating Cannot Co-Exist Under BNS: Orissa High Court
The Orissa High Court has reiterated that offences of Criminal Breach of Trust and Cheating under Sections 316(5) and 318(4) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023, cannot co-exist. The Court observed that both offences have distinct legal ingredients and cannot be applied simultaneously to the same set of allegations.
Justice R.K. Pattanaik explained that cheating requires the presence of criminal intent at the very inception, specifically at the time of making a false or misleading representation. In contrast, criminal breach of trust does not necessarily require such intention at the initial stage and may arise subsequently.
The Court was examining a petition challenging an order taking cognizance for both offences. It noted that the trial court had passed a brief and non-reasoned order without adequately examining the materials on record or determining which specific offence was made out. The High Court held that there was a lack of proper judicial application of mind.
Relying on Supreme Court decisions in Delhi Race Club (1940) Ltd. v. State of Uttar Pradesh and Arshad Neyaz Khan v. State of Jharkhand, the Court reaffirmed that allegations of cheating and criminal breach of trust cannot stand together when based on the same facts.
Accordingly, the impugned order was set aside and the matter was remitted to the trial court for fresh consideration with a reasoned order in accordance with settled legal principles.