Cheating under Section 318 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita replaced Section 420 IPC on 1 July 2024. The ingredients did not change, and neither did the point on which these cases usually turn. As cheating and fraud lawyer in Gurugram, we build every defence around that point.
The question that decides the case
Was there a dishonest intention when the promise was made? If there was, it is cheating. If the intention was honest and the deal later collapsed — funding fell through, the market moved, a supplier failed — it is a breach of contract, and a criminal court is not the forum. Courts have said this repeatedly, and it is the ground on which we quash most cheating FIRs.
Typical files
- Business and supply disputes filed as cheating to force a settlement
- Property and builder transactions where possession or title went wrong
- Loan and investment matters where returns stopped
- Forgery and false document allegations attached to the same FIR
- Online and app-based cheating — see cyber crime
How we approach these matters
We move for anticipatory bail first if arrest is a live risk; then work through the documents, because these cases live or die on the paper trail; then pursue discharge at the stage of charge, or quashing in the High Court where the FIR discloses no offence at all.
For a free first consultation, call +91 82954 13475 at any hour, or send the details of your matter.