Punishment for Criminal Breach of Trust - Section 406
Section 406 of the Indian Penal Code provides the punishment for the criminal breach of trust. It states that for the breach the punishment can be for up to 3 years and fine or both. But to understand the punishment of the criminal breach of trust. To ensure that the offense comes under this section the misappropriation of the property shall be done. The property must be entrusted to the person against whom the charges are being applied. The first and the most important thing which we need to understand is, what is the Criminal Breach of trust? Criminal Breach of Trust: Criminal Breach of Trust has been defined under Section 405of the IPC. Criminal breach of trust when a person who has been levied with the responsibility of the property or is given dominion over the property and that person with the motive of dishonesty misappropriates the property to his benefit or converts the property to his own use. Or he discharges the property against the procedure described by the law. Or he the legal contract which can be expressed or implied in nature and made by him willingly to commit the criminal breach of trust. The punishment for this is provided under section 406 of the IPC. The term Dishonestly has been defined under section 24 of the IPC which states that the act was done by a wrongful intention with the intention to cause the wrongful gain or loss can be referred to as the ‘Dishonestly’ The wrongful gain and the wrongful loss have been described under section 23 of the IPC which states that if any gain or loss has been incurred by the unlawful means then the person gaining or losing shall be not entitled to that gain or the loss. As the gain or loss is illegal in nature. Consult the best criminal lawyer Ingredients of Section 406 of the IPC. There must be an entrustment of the property against whom the charges are being applied. Here the property includes both the movable as well as the immovable property. The person must have dishonestly misappropriated the property against the obligations which has been entrusted to that person. The ingredients of section 405 of the IPC must be committed.
Nature of Offence: The section is Non - Bailable in nature. The section is cognizable in nature. This section is triable by the Magistrate of the First Class. It is compoundable by the owner of the property in respect of which breach of trust has been committed.
Landmark Judgements :
Rashmi Kumar vs Mahesh Kumar Bhada - The property entrusted can be the stridhan also, where the wife transfers her property in the name of her inlaws or her husband and the husband or any member of the family dishonestly misappropriates the property then he shall be said to be committed the Criminal Breach of Trust.
As mostly it was confused that the Stridhan cannot be tried under this section as the matter is between families and the property is entrusted to the husband and not to any stranger and therefore it cannot be tried under this section. But in the case, Rashmi Kumar vs Mahesh Kumar Bhada it was stated that the husband or the family members cannot be made the exception as here also the most important ingredient of the section is being fulfilled that is there must is an entrustment of the property to the husband by the wife. And therefore in the cases of misappropriation, the case can be filed against the husband or his family member under this section.
Ramaswamy Nadar v. State of Madras AIR 1958 SC 56 - In this case, the respected apex court held that the main and the most essential element for this offense is that there must be an entrustment of the property against whom the charges are being applied.
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How to file/ defend your case under section 406 of the IPC?
Since the offense is cognizable in nature, therefore, the victim can file the case at the local police station and file the FIR.
The police can arrest without a warrant.
Under this section as the offense is non bailable in nature, therefore, the bail will be grenade at the discretion of the court. Here the bail is not the right of the arrestee.
For attaining the bail an application can be filed before the Hon’ble Court where the arguments about the grounds on which the bail is sought will be asked and after that the on the discretion of the court the bail might be granted for which the accused would have to pay the bail bonds.
Anticipatory bail can be also filed in the case. As in the case of the bailable offense, it is the right of the accused to be granted bail. Anticipatory bail is filed under section 438 of CrPC whereas the bail is filed for the apprehension of the arrest.
After the investigation, the charge sheet has to be filed before the magistrate of the first class.
After this, the trial will take place.
Through Lawtendo you can connect to an appropriate lawyer for filing or defending your case for the offense under Section 406 of IPC. We, at Lawtendo, provide around 15000+ lawyers all over the country on our online platform. Lawtendo strives to facilitate legal services that are consumer-oriented,i.e, cost-effective and quality legal service.
This blog was drafted by Ms. Sonam Narayan, BA LLB, 4th Year Student, University of Petroleum and Energy Studies.
| Offence | Punishment | Cognizance | Bail | Triable By |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Punishment for criminal breach of trust | Imprisonment upto 3 years or fine or both | Cognizable | Non-bailable | Magistrate of the first class |
| Offence | Punishment for criminal breach of trust |
|---|---|
| Punishment | Imprisonment upto 3 years or fine or both |
| Cognizance | Cognizable |
| Bail | Non-bailable |
| Triable By | Magistrate of the first class |
