Criminal Dishonest Misappropriation | A, a Govt. officer earned a lot of money by taking bribes. From certain sources, he came to know that C.B.I. is likely to raid his house. Has B committed the offence of `criminal (dishonest) misappropriation’ under Section 403, I.P.C.?

Criminal Dishonest Misappropriation | Question: A, a Govt. officer earned a lot of money by taking bribes. From certain sources, he came to know that C.B.I. is likely to raid his house. As a result of the apprehension of recovery of the bribe money, he manages to keep some amount with his relatives. In hurry, he could not manage to conceal the entire amount so, in haste, he threw away (abandoned) the rest on the public road. B picks up the abandoned amount and immediately spent some of the picked-up money for his own use. Has B committed the offence of 'criminal (dishonest) misappropriation’ under Section 403, I.P.C.? Give reasons and also refer to case law, if any, on the point.

Find the answer to the mains question only on Legal Bites. Criminal Dishonest Misappropriation | [A, a Govt. officer earned a lot of money by taking bribes. From certain sources, he came to know that C.B.I. is likely to raid his house. Has B committed the offence of 'criminal (dishonest) misappropriation’ under Section 403, I.P.C.?]

Answer

Yes, B shall be liable to be held guilty under section 403, IPC for criminal misappropriation of property.

Section 403 defines Dishonest misappropriation of property and states its punishment thereof as: Whoever dishonestly misappropriates or converts to his own use any moveable property, shall be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to two years, or with fine, or with both.

Explanation 2.—A person who finds a property, not in the possession of any other person, and takes such property for the purpose of protecting it for, or of restoring it to, the owner, does not take or misappropriate it dishonestly, and is not guilty of an offence; but he is guilty of the offence above defined, if he appropriates it to his own use, when he knows or has the means of discovering the owner, or before he has used reasonable means to discover and give notice to the owner and has kept the property for a reasonable time to enable the owner to claim it.

Illustration (f) to Explanation 2: A finds a valuable ring, not knowing to whom it belongs. A sells it immediately without attempting to discover the owner. A is guilty of an offence under this section.

Therefore, applying the above provision and illustration of the case to the present set of facts at hand, the act of B who immediately spent some of the picked-up money for his own use, without making any reasonable attempt to find the true owner of the abandoned money, shows his dishonest intention. Hence, B shall be held guilty under section 403, IPC.

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