This article has been written by Ms. Akanksha Choudhary, a 3^rd year BA.LLB (Hons.) Student from CMR University, School of Legal Studies, Bengaluru.

INTRODUCTION

Sections 378 to Section 462 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860 (Chapter 17) address crimes against property. One of these property violations is the criminal misuse of property. Misappropriate refers to the unjust taking of another person’s property for one’s own use, whereas unlawful refers to something improper, criminal, or illegal. Thus, the deception of changing property for one’s personal use constitutes illegal misappropriation. Criminal misuse of property is another name for dishonest misappropriation of property. The Indian Penal Code, 1860, contains laws relating to criminal misappropriation of property in Sections 403 and 404. Criminal misappropriation of a deceased person’s property is covered in Section 404 of the Indian Penal Code, whereas dishonest misappropriation and the punishment for it are covered in Section 403 of the Indian Penal Code. Malicious refers to having an evil intent or wanting to do damage. Dishonesty is defined as “doing something with the intent to produce unjust gain to one person and wrongful loss to another” in section 24 of the IPC. Fraudulent misappropriation of property might be either temporary or permanent.

Explanation 1- Since Section 403 of the Indian Criminal Code defines dishonest misappropriation of property as a single offense, even a single instance of it qualifies as a crime.

Explanation 2- It outlines the conditions under which a person who finds something conducts dishonest misappropriation of property.

Illustrations:

• In good faith, A removes goods from B’s custody, thinking that he has ownership of the item at the moment of removal. A is innocent of theft. But, A is in breach of this provision if, after realizing his mistake, he dishonestly appropriates the property for his own use.
• A, B’s friend visits B’s library when B isn’t there and takes a book without B’s consent. A did not conduct larceny in this instance if he believed he had B’s tacit consent to acquire ownership of the book so he could study it. But, if A then sells the book for a profit, he has violated this provision.

In cases of dishonest property misappropriation by the finder of things: If the finder of the items takes it for his own use without first attempting to track down the rightful owner despite knowing who the owner is or having the resources to do so, that person has committed dishonest misappropriation of property.

When the person who finds the things is not guilty of stealing something illegally: If the owner abandoned the property or the finder made all reasonable attempts to contact the rightful owner but was unsuccessful. In this instance, dishonest misuse of property is not the responsibility of the finder of items.

Ramaswami Nadar vs. State of Madras (1957) states that the phrase “converts to his own use” refers to using or interacting with property against the owner’s wishes. In U. Dhar vs. The State of Jharkhand (2003), the Supreme Court of India declared that any dispute concerning the recovery of money is always of a civil nature and therefore a criminal complaint in this regard is ineffective. In State of Madhya Pradesh v. Pramod Mategaonkar (1965), the court determined that misappropriation may be either temporary or permanent and that no endorsement was necessary to perpetrate this offense. The Supreme Court ruled in Velji Raghavji Patel v. State of Maharashtra that a court does not have the authority to dictate how a person should spend their own money. Also, in a partnership, if one partner uses the resources of the company, he is responsible to the other partners and must pay the price. The accused, however, cannot be found guilty in accordance with Section 403 of the Indian Penal Code.

Essentials of Criminal Misappropriation of Property

The fundamentals of dishonest property misappropriation are as follows:

• It is necessary to have moveable property.
• There should be a malicious intention present.
• The deceased individual must have been in possession of such property at the time of their death.
• The property must be taken unlawfully or converted for the person’s own purpose.

Punishment of Criminal Misappropriation of Property

Section 403 of the Indian Penal Code further specifies the penalty for dishonest misappropriation of property. Hence, anyone commits the crime of dishonest misappropriation of property will be subject to either a fine or both a fine and either type of imprisonment for a period that may extend to two years.

Alleviated form of Criminal Misappropriation of  Property

Dishonest theft of property that belonged to a deceased person at the time of his death is prohibited by section 404 of the Indian Penal Code. Dishonest misappropriation of property belonging to a deceased person (the person who is dead) at the time of death is punishable by imprisonment of any description for a term that may exceed to three years as well as by fine, according to Section 404 of the Indian Penal Code.

Difference between Theft and Criminal Misappropriation 

CONCLUSION

Criminal misappropriation is when someone uses another person’s property dishonestly for their own benefit or to monetize it for their own use. Theft and illegal misappropriation differ significantly from one another. Section 378 of the Indian Criminal Code deals with the Stealing clause. In stealing, the criminal is unaware of the real owner of the property’s consent, while in criminal misappropriation, the real owner of the property initially gives their consent to the offender. Another distinction between theft and criminal misappropriation is that in theft, the offender performs an act of theft once in possession of the goods, whereas in criminal misappropriation, the offender merely refuses to return the object to its lawful owner.

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