Judgment : The petitioner is the accused in C.C.No. 267 of 1989 on the file of Judicial Magistrate, No. 2, Thiruthani. As per the allegations in the complaint, the petitioner approached complainant Manakchand Jain during 1987-88 and requested him to subscribe a chit run by him. Believing his words, the complainant joined the chit of Rs. 40,000 group. He was regularly paying the subscriptions. He was a successful bidder in the auction held six months prior to the complaint; However, the petitioner did not pay the chit amount inspite of repeated requests. Though he promised to hand over the money within two or three days, he did not keep up the promise. Besides, when the complainant warned the petitioner that he would take action against him, the latter gave out a promise that he would secure employment to his unemployed son. The complainant issued a lawyer’s notice on 30.5.1988 demanding the money. Though the petitioner received the notice, he sent neither any reply nor repaid the money. On the basis of this complaint a charge sheet under Sec.420, I.P.C. was filed by the Sub-Inspector of Police, Thiruthani against the petitioner on 25. 1989. 2. The petitioner seeks to quash the proceedings against him for the reason that Manakchand Jain preferred a private complaint against him before J.F.C.M., Thiruthani for an offence punishable under Sec. 420, I.P.C. Learned Magistrate forwarded the complaint to the Sub-Inspector of Police (Crime), Thiruthani for investigation and report under Sec.166(3), Crl.P.C. The Sub-Inspector received the complaint and registered it as Crime No. 1276 of 1988 of his station under Sec. 420, I.P.C. A perusal of the charge sheet filed against him as well as the records under Sec. 161, Crl.P.C. would disclose that even if they are taken on their face value, no offence is made out against him. 3. Thiru P.M. Sundaram, learned counsel for the petitioner submits that the dispute is primarily of civil nature which has been made a subject of criminal proceedings. Even assuming without admitting that the petitioner is liable to pay the money, the ingredients to constitute an offence under Sec. 420, I.P.C. are absent in the complaint. Sec. 420, I.P.C. deals with the punishment for cheating. Even assuming without admitting that the petitioner is liable to pay the money, the ingredients to constitute an offence under Sec. 420, I.P.C. are absent in the complaint. Sec. 420, I.P.C. deals with the punishment for cheating. And as per Sec. 415, I.P.C., whoever, by deceiving any person, fraudulently or dishonestly induces the person so deceived to deliver any property to any person, which he would not do if he were not so deceived is said to ‘cheat’. It is evident from the perusal of the complaint herein that the necessary fraudulent or dishonest inducement is conspicuously absent. What has happened in this case is only a breach of promise on the part of the petitioner. 4. In Elumalai v. State, 1989 L.W. (Crl.) 235, relied on by the petitioner’s counsel, as per the averments in the complaint, the petitioners borrowed moneys from the complainant and failed to repay. Thereupon, a complaint was filed against them under Sec. 420, I.P.C. After completing the formalities of the investigation, a report under Sec. 173, Crl.P.C. was laid before the Second Metropolitan Magistrate Court, Egmore, Madras, for an offence under Sec. 420, I.P.C. The court below took the case on file and framed a charge. When the proceedings were sought to be quashed before this court under Sec. 482, Crl.P.C., this Court held that it was a case purely of a civil nature and no offence under Sec. 420, I.P.C. can be said to have been made out against the petitioners. And accordingly, the proceedings were quashed. 5. In Ramesh Kumar v. Raghuban Mani, 1977 Crl. L.W. 463, the next decision cited by him, it has been laid down by Patna High Court that in the case of breach of contract to hold a person guilty of the offence of cheating, it must be shown that his intention was dishonest at the time of making the promise. In Fazlur Rahman v. Surinder Kumar, 1977 Crl.L.J. (Notes) 15, where the regular transaction of sale was entered in to with a free volition of the complainant and the accused and later on the representation made by the accused that he would send the price of the goods in some future date turned out to be untrue, held: The case would not fall within the ambit of Sec. 420, I.P.C. 6. In the present action also the failure on the part of the petitioner herein to pay the bid amount is merely a breach of contract for which the complainant has a civil remedy by way of a civil suit. It is not open to him to take the course of criminal proceedings which would be an abuse of process of court. There is no allegation that even when the complainant joined the chit, the petitioner had no intention of repaying the money. There is also nothing to indicate that the petitioner induced the complainant to subscribe to the chit. It is not at all stated in the complaint that the complainant parted with his money on the basis of representation made by the petitioner and at the time of the said representation the petitioner knew that the same to be false. The fact that the petitioner did not keep up his promise of paying the bid amount by itself is not sufficient to fasten the criminal liability on the petitioner for an offence of cheating under Sec.420, I.P.C. The petition, therefore, deserves to be allowed. 7. Learned Additional Public Prosecutor contended that Illustration (f) to Sec. 415, I.P.C. covers the case on hand. As per this illustration, if A, intentionally deceives Z into a belief that a means to repay any money that Z may lend to him and thereby dishonestly induces Z to lend him money, A not intending to repay it -A cheats. Evidently this cannot help the prosecution since as I have already pointed out, there is no dishonest inducement in the action of the petitioner requesting the complainant to subscribe to the chit. 8. In the result, the petition is allowed and the proceedings in C.C.No. 267 of 1989 on the file of Judicial Magistrate-II, Thiruthani, are quashed.