Section 24 IPC "dishonestly"

 Define dishonestly.

Write short note on dishonestly

Write short note on dishonestly.

Write short note on wrongful gain.

What ‘wrongful gain’ is as defined under the Indian Penal Code?

Section 24 IPC defines dishonestly as: Whoever does anything with the intention of causing wrongful gain to one person or wrongful loss to another person, is said to do that thing “dishonestly”.

To understand the meaning of dishonestly, it is necessary to see the definitions of wrongful gain and wrongful loss which are defined in section 23 IPC as: “Wrongful gain” is gain by unlawful means of property to which the person gaining is not legally entitled. “Wrongful loss” is the loss by unlawful means of property to which the person losing it is legally entitled.

Patna High Court in Shahi Rai v. State of Bihar, on 16 September, 2013 said that according to definition of wrongful gain, the accumulation retention of the property should be by means of unlawful means of which an accused is not at all legally entitled for.

In Krishan Kumar v. The Union of India, 1960 SCR (1) 452 Supreme Court said that wrongful gain includes wrongful retention and wrongful loss includes being kept out of the property as well as being wrongfully deprived of property. Therefore when a particular thing has gone into the hands of a servant he will be guilty of misappropriating the thing in all circumstances which show a malicious intent to derive the master of it.

Delhi High Court in Anil Sharma v. S.N. Marwaha, 1995 CriLJ 163 said that the word “dishonestly” would be attracted when any person with the intention of causing wrongful gain to himself or wrongful loss to any person is said to do that thing dishonestly.