{"id":382617,"date":"2026-04-28T17:00:15","date_gmt":"2026-04-28T11:30:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/?p=382617"},"modified":"2026-04-28T16:42:50","modified_gmt":"2026-04-28T11:12:50","slug":"mere-failure-to-fulfil-contractual-obligation-does-not-attract-criminal-liability-raj-hc","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/post\/2026\/04\/28\/mere-failure-to-fulfil-contractual-obligation-does-not-attract-criminal-liability-raj-hc\/","title":{"rendered":"Can mere non-fulfilment of contractual obligation attract criminal liability? Rajasthan High Court answers"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

Rajasthan High Court:<\/span> While considering a petition filed under Section 482<\/a>, Criminal Procedure Code, 1973<\/a> (CrPC) seeking quashment of entire criminal proceedings in FIR under Sections 420<\/a>, 406<\/a> and 120-B<\/a>, Penal Code, 1860<\/a> (IPC) where the matter involved a contract dispute, a Single Judge Bench of Anil Kumar Upman, J., held that a mere failure to honour a promise or fulfil a contractual obligation, by itself, does not give rise to a presumption of such dishonest intention and in the absence of any material to indicate that the intention to deceive existed at the inception, the dispute remains civil in nature and does not attract criminal liability.<\/p>\n

Accordingly, the Court allowed the said petition.<\/p>\n

Also read: Delhi High Court stays NHAI’s Termination Notice in Delhi-Mumbai Expressway Contract Dispute<\/a><\/p>\n

Background<\/h3>\n

In the present case, a complaint was filed by Respondent 2 under Section 156(3)<\/a> CrPC<\/a> against the petitioner, and the co-accused pursuant to which the said FIR came to be registered. Upon completion of investigation, the police filed a charge-sheet. Since the petitioner did not join the investigation, the charge-sheet for him was filed under Section 299<\/a> CrPC<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The trial court took cognizance and framed charges against the co-accused, however, the proceedings against the petitioner were kept pending as he was declared an absconder.<\/p>\n

The petitioner contended that there was a civil dispute, alleged non-supply of goods, between the parties arising out of monetary transactions which was given a criminal colour. He stated that the dispute arose from an agreement for local distributorship executed between the parties on certain terms and conditions and in 2018, the parties had entered into a compromise, pursuant to which the petitioner as well as the co-accused paid the entire disputed amount to the complainant.<\/p>\n

Analysis<\/h3>\n

The Court stated that it is a settled law that a mere breach of contract, agreement, or promise, by itself, does not give rise to criminal liability under Sections 420<\/a> and 406<\/a> IPC<\/a><\/span> and in order to constitute the offences of cheating or criminal breach of trust, it is imperative to establish the existence of fraudulent or dishonest intention at the very inception of the transaction.<\/p>\n

Further, the Court emphasised another well-settled law that criminal proceedings cannot be resorted to for the purpose of resolving civil disputes or for recovery of money<\/span>. The Court stated that “In the absence of any allegation or material indicating such initial dishonest intention, the continuation of criminal proceedings would amount to an abuse of the process of law.<\/span>”<\/p>\n

The Court stated that the distinguishing factor between the offence of cheating and any other civil dispute lies in the presence or absence of mens rea at the inception of the transaction<\/span>. A mere failure to honour a promise or fulfil a contractual obligation, by itself, does not give rise to a presumption of such dishonest intention and in the absence of any material to indicate that the intention to deceive existed at the inception, the dispute remains civil in nature and does not attract criminal liability.<\/p>\n

Further, the Court stressed that “a breach of contract constitutes an infringement of a private right, which is ordinarily remediable under civil law, such as by instituting proceedings for recovery of money<\/span>. However, for such a dispute to attract criminal liability, there must be evidence indicating that the accused had no intention to fulfil the promise from the very inception of the agreement and, with such dishonest intention, persuaded the other party to believe the promise<\/span>”.<\/p>\n

Thus, where the breach is due to mere non-fulfilment of the contract without any fraud or deceitful intentions during the initial stages of signing the contract, the dispute remains civil in nature and does not warrant initiation of criminal proceedings<\/span>.<\/p>\n

The Court held that a bare perusal of the FIR as well as factual report does not disclose any material to indicate that the accused persons had any intention to deceive the complainant from the time of execution of the agreement for local distributorship that took place between the parties.<\/p>\n

Further, taking into account that the complainant had alleged the accused persons cheating her and dishonestly obtaining Rs 2,96,000 from her, the Court stated that the factual report revealed that on 13 July 2018 her husband executed an affidavit declaring that the disputed amount of Rs 2,96,000 had been received by way of a demand draft. Thus, the material on record does not disclose the existence of any fraudulent or dishonest intention at the inception of the transaction<\/span>.<\/p>\n

The Court held that since the complainant had already received the disputed amount way back in 2018, any grievance that subsisted would be open to the complainant to raise a civil dispute before the competent forum.<\/p>\n

Further, the Court stated that “where the foundational allegations do not disclose a cognizable offence, permitting criminal proceedings to continue would defeat the very purpose of instituting such a case and would result in injustice and harassment to the accused<\/span>”.<\/p>\n

Decision<\/h3>\n

Thus, the Court quashed the criminal proceedings pending before the trial court against the petitioner, as well as the co-accused as continuation of the criminal proceedings would amount to an abuse of the process of law.<\/p>\n

The Court stated that even though the co-accused had not separately approached and sought any relief, it could not overlook that the allegations levelled in the FIR were identical against both the petitioner and the co-accused. Therefore, the Court held that the co-accused was equally entitled to the relief granted to the petitioner.<\/p>\n

Accordingly, the Court allowed the petition at hand.<\/p>\n

[Sanyukt Shekhari<\/span> v. State of Rajasthan<\/span>, 2026 SCC OnLine Raj 2694<\/a>, decided on 7-4-2026<\/span>]<\/p>\n\n

Advocates who appeared in this case:<\/p>\n

For the Petitioner:<\/span> Shreyash Ramdev, Adv.<\/p>\n

For the Respondent:<\/span> Vikram Singh Rajpurohit, PP<\/p>\n

Buy Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973  HERE<\/a><\/h3>\n

\"Code<\/a><\/p>\n

Buy Penal Code, 1860   HERE<\/a><\/h3>\n

\"penal<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

“The distinguishing factor between the offence of cheating and any other civil dispute lies in the presence or absence of mens rea at the inception of the transaction. To constitute the offence of cheating, it must be shown that the accused had a dishonest or fraudulent intention from the very beginning.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":67540,"featured_media":382619,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,10],"tags":[32378,66105,68279,103205,42127,67437,2575],"class_list":["post-382617","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-casebriefs","category-highcourts","tag-cheating","tag-civil-liability","tag-contract-dispute","tag-contractual-obligation","tag-criminal-liability","tag-justice-anil-kumar-upman","tag-Rajasthan_High_Court"],"yoast_head":"\nRaj HC on criminal liability on failure to fulfil contractual obligation | SCC Times<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Rajasthan High Court held that a mere failure to honour a promise or fulfil a contractual obligation, by itself, does not attract criminal liability.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/post\/2026\/04\/28\/mere-failure-to-fulfil-contractual-obligation-does-not-attract-criminal-liability-raj-hc\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Can mere non-fulfilment of contractual obligation attract criminal liability? Rajasthan High Court answers\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Rajasthan High Court held that a mere failure to honour a promise or fulfil a contractual obligation, by itself, does not attract criminal liability.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/post\/2026\/04\/28\/mere-failure-to-fulfil-contractual-obligation-does-not-attract-criminal-liability-raj-hc\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"SCC Times\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/scc.online\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-04-28T11:30:15+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/criminal-liability-contractual-obligation.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"886\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"590\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Shriya Singh\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:title\" content=\"Can mere non-fulfilment of contractual obligation attract criminal liability? Rajasthan High Court answers\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Shriya Singh\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"1 minute\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.scconline.com\\\/blog\\\/post\\\/2026\\\/04\\\/28\\\/mere-failure-to-fulfil-contractual-obligation-does-not-attract-criminal-liability-raj-hc\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.scconline.com\\\/blog\\\/post\\\/2026\\\/04\\\/28\\\/mere-failure-to-fulfil-contractual-obligation-does-not-attract-criminal-liability-raj-hc\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Shriya Singh\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.scconline.com\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/05f52c55c599f9992b3c0535de8a5ed0\"},\"headline\":\"Can mere non-fulfilment of contractual obligation attract criminal liability? Rajasthan High Court answers\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-04-28T11:30:15+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.scconline.com\\\/blog\\\/post\\\/2026\\\/04\\\/28\\\/mere-failure-to-fulfil-contractual-obligation-does-not-attract-criminal-liability-raj-hc\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":961,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.scconline.com\\\/blog\\\/post\\\/2026\\\/04\\\/28\\\/mere-failure-to-fulfil-contractual-obligation-does-not-attract-criminal-liability-raj-hc\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.scconline.com\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/04\\\/criminal-liability-contractual-obligation.webp\",\"keywords\":[\"Cheating\",\"civil liability\",\"Contract Dispute\",\"contractual obligation\",\"Criminal Liability\",\"Justice Anil Kumar Upman\",\"Rajasthan High Court\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Case Briefs\",\"High Courts\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.scconline.com\\\/blog\\\/post\\\/2026\\\/04\\\/28\\\/mere-failure-to-fulfil-contractual-obligation-does-not-attract-criminal-liability-raj-hc\\\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.scconline.com\\\/blog\\\/post\\\/2026\\\/04\\\/28\\\/mere-failure-to-fulfil-contractual-obligation-does-not-attract-criminal-liability-raj-hc\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.scconline.com\\\/blog\\\/post\\\/2026\\\/04\\\/28\\\/mere-failure-to-fulfil-contractual-obligation-does-not-attract-criminal-liability-raj-hc\\\/\",\"name\":\"Raj HC on criminal liability on failure to fulfil contractual obligation | SCC Times\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.scconline.com\\\/blog\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.scconline.com\\\/blog\\\/post\\\/2026\\\/04\\\/28\\\/mere-failure-to-fulfil-contractual-obligation-does-not-attract-criminal-liability-raj-hc\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.scconline.com\\\/blog\\\/post\\\/2026\\\/04\\\/28\\\/mere-failure-to-fulfil-contractual-obligation-does-not-attract-criminal-liability-raj-hc\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.scconline.com\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/04\\\/criminal-liability-contractual-obligation.webp\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-04-28T11:30:15+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.scconline.com\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/05f52c55c599f9992b3c0535de8a5ed0\"},\"description\":\"Rajasthan High Court held that a mere failure to honour a promise or fulfil a contractual obligation, by itself, does not attract criminal liability.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.scconline.com\\\/blog\\\/post\\\/2026\\\/04\\\/28\\\/mere-failure-to-fulfil-contractual-obligation-does-not-attract-criminal-liability-raj-hc\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.scconline.com\\\/blog\\\/post\\\/2026\\\/04\\\/28\\\/mere-failure-to-fulfil-contractual-obligation-does-not-attract-criminal-liability-raj-hc\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.scconline.com\\\/blog\\\/post\\\/2026\\\/04\\\/28\\\/mere-failure-to-fulfil-contractual-obligation-does-not-attract-criminal-liability-raj-hc\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.scconline.com\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/04\\\/criminal-liability-contractual-obligation.webp\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.scconline.com\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/04\\\/criminal-liability-contractual-obligation.webp\",\"width\":886,\"height\":590,\"caption\":\"criminal liability contractual obligation\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.scconline.com\\\/blog\\\/post\\\/2026\\\/04\\\/28\\\/mere-failure-to-fulfil-contractual-obligation-does-not-attract-criminal-liability-raj-hc\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.scconline.com\\\/blog\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Can mere non-fulfilment of contractual obligation attract criminal liability? Rajasthan High Court answers\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.scconline.com\\\/blog\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.scconline.com\\\/blog\\\/\",\"name\":\"SCC Times\",\"description\":\"Bringing you the Best Analytical Legal News\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.scconline.com\\\/blog\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.scconline.com\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/05f52c55c599f9992b3c0535de8a5ed0\",\"name\":\"Shriya Singh\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/856f9d1200cef7ba5579e8b2c5d144170675fbadcc29a89d7f20ca99f3d28c7e?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/856f9d1200cef7ba5579e8b2c5d144170675fbadcc29a89d7f20ca99f3d28c7e?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/856f9d1200cef7ba5579e8b2c5d144170675fbadcc29a89d7f20ca99f3d28c7e?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Shriya Singh\"},\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.scconline.com\\\/blog\\\/post\\\/author\\\/shriyasingh\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Raj HC on criminal liability on failure to fulfil contractual obligation | SCC Times","description":"Rajasthan High Court held that a mere failure to honour a promise or fulfil a contractual obligation, by itself, does not attract criminal liability.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/post\/2026\/04\/28\/mere-failure-to-fulfil-contractual-obligation-does-not-attract-criminal-liability-raj-hc\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Can mere non-fulfilment of contractual obligation attract criminal liability? Rajasthan High Court answers","og_description":"Rajasthan High Court held that a mere failure to honour a promise or fulfil a contractual obligation, by itself, does not attract criminal liability.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/post\/2026\/04\/28\/mere-failure-to-fulfil-contractual-obligation-does-not-attract-criminal-liability-raj-hc\/","og_site_name":"SCC Times","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/scc.online\/","article_published_time":"2026-04-28T11:30:15+00:00","og_image":[{"width":886,"height":590,"url":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/criminal-liability-contractual-obligation.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Shriya Singh","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_title":"Can mere non-fulfilment of contractual obligation attract criminal liability? Rajasthan High Court answers","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Shriya Singh","Est. reading time":"1 minute"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/post\/2026\/04\/28\/mere-failure-to-fulfil-contractual-obligation-does-not-attract-criminal-liability-raj-hc\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/post\/2026\/04\/28\/mere-failure-to-fulfil-contractual-obligation-does-not-attract-criminal-liability-raj-hc\/"},"author":{"name":"Shriya Singh","@id":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/05f52c55c599f9992b3c0535de8a5ed0"},"headline":"Can mere non-fulfilment of contractual obligation attract criminal liability? Rajasthan High Court answers","datePublished":"2026-04-28T11:30:15+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/post\/2026\/04\/28\/mere-failure-to-fulfil-contractual-obligation-does-not-attract-criminal-liability-raj-hc\/"},"wordCount":961,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/post\/2026\/04\/28\/mere-failure-to-fulfil-contractual-obligation-does-not-attract-criminal-liability-raj-hc\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/criminal-liability-contractual-obligation.webp","keywords":["Cheating","civil liability","Contract Dispute","contractual obligation","Criminal Liability","Justice Anil Kumar Upman","Rajasthan High Court"],"articleSection":["Case Briefs","High Courts"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/post\/2026\/04\/28\/mere-failure-to-fulfil-contractual-obligation-does-not-attract-criminal-liability-raj-hc\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/post\/2026\/04\/28\/mere-failure-to-fulfil-contractual-obligation-does-not-attract-criminal-liability-raj-hc\/","url":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/post\/2026\/04\/28\/mere-failure-to-fulfil-contractual-obligation-does-not-attract-criminal-liability-raj-hc\/","name":"Raj HC on criminal liability on failure to fulfil contractual obligation | SCC Times","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/post\/2026\/04\/28\/mere-failure-to-fulfil-contractual-obligation-does-not-attract-criminal-liability-raj-hc\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/post\/2026\/04\/28\/mere-failure-to-fulfil-contractual-obligation-does-not-attract-criminal-liability-raj-hc\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/criminal-liability-contractual-obligation.webp","datePublished":"2026-04-28T11:30:15+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/05f52c55c599f9992b3c0535de8a5ed0"},"description":"Rajasthan High Court held that a mere failure to honour a promise or fulfil a contractual obligation, by itself, does not attract criminal liability.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/post\/2026\/04\/28\/mere-failure-to-fulfil-contractual-obligation-does-not-attract-criminal-liability-raj-hc\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/post\/2026\/04\/28\/mere-failure-to-fulfil-contractual-obligation-does-not-attract-criminal-liability-raj-hc\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/post\/2026\/04\/28\/mere-failure-to-fulfil-contractual-obligation-does-not-attract-criminal-liability-raj-hc\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/criminal-liability-contractual-obligation.webp","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/criminal-liability-contractual-obligation.webp","width":886,"height":590,"caption":"criminal liability contractual obligation"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/post\/2026\/04\/28\/mere-failure-to-fulfil-contractual-obligation-does-not-attract-criminal-liability-raj-hc\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Can mere non-fulfilment of contractual obligation attract criminal liability? Rajasthan High Court answers"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/","name":"SCC Times","description":"Bringing you the Best Analytical Legal News","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/05f52c55c599f9992b3c0535de8a5ed0","name":"Shriya Singh","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/856f9d1200cef7ba5579e8b2c5d144170675fbadcc29a89d7f20ca99f3d28c7e?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/856f9d1200cef7ba5579e8b2c5d144170675fbadcc29a89d7f20ca99f3d28c7e?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/856f9d1200cef7ba5579e8b2c5d144170675fbadcc29a89d7f20ca99f3d28c7e?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Shriya Singh"},"url":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/post\/author\/shriyasingh\/"}]}},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/criminal-liability-contractual-obligation.webp","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":211961,"url":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/post\/2019\/03\/13\/ker-hc-mere-breach-of-trust-or-agreement-will-not-amount-to-a-criminal-offence-under-s-420-ipc\/","url_meta":{"origin":382617,"position":0},"title":"Ker HC | Mere breach of trust or agreement will not amount to a criminal offence under S. 420 IPC","author":"Bhumika Indulia","date":"March 13, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"Kerala High Court: The Bench of T.V. Anil Kumar, J., while pronouncing an order quashed the criminal proceedings stating them to be of a civil dispute. The facts of the case as presented in the present case are that, the prosecution case as against the petitioner is that, he after\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Case Briefs"","block_context":{"text":"Case Briefs","link":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/post\/category\/casebriefs\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":355027,"url":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/post\/2025\/07\/30\/jhar-hc-order-on-requirement-of-deception-in-cheating\/","url_meta":{"origin":382617,"position":1},"title":"“Offence of cheating will not be made out unless deception is played since beginning”: Jharkhand HC quashes criminal proceedings u\/s 406 and 420 IPC","author":"Editor","date":"July 30, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"Even if the entire allegations made against the petitioner are considered to be true in their entirety, the continuation of this criminal proceeding against the petitioner will amount to abuse of process of law.","rel":"","context":"In "Case Briefs"","block_context":{"text":"Case Briefs","link":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/post\/category\/casebriefs\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"deception in cheating","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/deception-in-cheating.webp?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/deception-in-cheating.webp?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/deception-in-cheating.webp?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/deception-in-cheating.webp?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":322367,"url":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/post\/2024\/05\/17\/advocates-not-to-blindly-follow-clients-unethical-illegal-or-contrary-to-principles-of-justice-instructions-rajasthan-high-court-scc-times\/","url_meta":{"origin":382617,"position":2},"title":"Advocates not to blindly follow client\u2019s \u2018unethical, illegal, or contrary to principles of justice\u2019 instructions: Rajasthan High Court","author":"Ritu","date":"May 17, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"\u201cCourts should not hesitate in quashing the criminal proceedings which are essentially arising out of civil or commercial disputes between the two parties.\u201d","rel":"","context":"In "Case Briefs"","block_context":{"text":"Case Briefs","link":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/post\/category\/casebriefs\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Rajasthan High Court","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/Rajasthan-High-Court.webp?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/Rajasthan-High-Court.webp?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/Rajasthan-High-Court.webp?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/Rajasthan-High-Court.webp?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":282818,"url":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/post\/2023\/01\/31\/bombay-high-court-quashes-fir-filed-giving-criminal-nature-to-civil-offence-application-having-technica-fault-as-affidavit-not-in-compliance-of-criminal-manual-legalnews-legalawareness-legalresearch\/","url_meta":{"origin":382617,"position":3},"title":"[S.156(3) CrPC] Bombay High Court| Affidavit not in compliance with Chapter VII of the Criminal Manual is deemed non-compliance with the mandatory requirement of filing an affidavit","author":"Editor","date":"January 31, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"There should be no scope for the declarant to escape on the technical grounds from responsibility attached to the statement made by him in the affidavit. Unless those compliances, referred to in paragraphs 5 and 8 of chapter VII of the Criminal Manual are complied with, it will be difficult\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Case Briefs"","block_context":{"text":"Case Briefs","link":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/post\/category\/casebriefs\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/Bombay-High-Court-1.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":251295,"url":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/post\/2021\/07\/15\/cheating\/","url_meta":{"origin":382617,"position":4},"title":"Bom HC | For the offence of cheating under Penal Code, 1860, is intention of cheating important from inception? Read on","author":"Bhumika Indulia","date":"July 15, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"Bombay High Court: The Division Bench of V.K. Jadhav and Shrikant D. Kulkarni, JJ., observed that, \u201c\u2026in the case of cheating, the intention of cheating right from the inception is important.\u201d Instant matter was directed towards quashing the FIR registered for the offence punishable under Sections 420, 323, 504, 506\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Case Briefs"","block_context":{"text":"Case Briefs","link":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/post\/category\/casebriefs\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/09\/Bombay-HC.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/09\/Bombay-HC.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/09\/Bombay-HC.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/09\/Bombay-HC.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/09\/Bombay-HC.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":282016,"url":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/post\/2023\/01\/20\/rajasthan-high-court-to-get-9-new-judges\/","url_meta":{"origin":382617,"position":5},"title":"Rajasthan High Court to get 9 new Judges","author":"Bhumika Indulia","date":"January 20, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"The President has appointed the following as the Judges of Rajasthan High Court in that order of seniority, with effect from the date they assume charge of their respective offices. Shri Ganesh Ram Meena; Shri Anil Kumar Upman; Dr. Nupur Bhati; Shri Rajendra Prakash Soni; Shri Ashok Kumar Jain; Shri\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Appointments & Transfers"","block_context":{"text":"Appointments & Transfers","link":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/post\/category\/news\/appointments\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Rajasthan High Court","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/MicrosoftTeams-image40.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/382617","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/67540"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=382617"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/382617\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":382622,"href":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/382617\/revisions\/382622"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/382619"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=382617"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=382617"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=382617"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}