Cheating (Fraud): Section 420 PPC

The section, as retrieved

420. Cheating and dishonestly inducing delivery of property: Whoever cheats and thereby dishonestly induces the person deceived to deliver any property to any person, or to make, alter or destroy the whole or any part of a valuable security, or anything which is signed or sealed, and which is capable of being converted into a valuable security, shall be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to seven years, and shall also be liable to fine. Pakistan Penal Code — Chapter XVII, Section 420. Retrieved from the corpus indexed by FAI Legal Research Assistant.

Retrieved via full-text search of the indexed Pakistan Penal Code. The corpus flags this text as unverified for currency or amendment — see the caution below before relying on it.

What this means

Section 420 — the section Pakistanis colloquially mean when they call someone "a four twenty" — is a specific, aggravated form of cheating. Ordinary cheating is defined and punished under earlier sections of the same Chapter (417 and around it); Section 420 applies where the cheating goes further and dishonestly induces the victim to actually hand over property, or to make, alter, or destroy a valuable security or a document capable of becoming one. That extra element — property or a security actually changing hands or being altered — is what carries the heavier punishment: up to seven years plus a fine, well above the general cheating provision.

What this page does not cover

• The definition of "cheating" itself, which sits in Section 415, and the general punishment for cheating without property delivery, in Section 417.
• Related property offences — see theft (Section 379) and criminal breach of trust (Section 406), which are legally distinct from cheating even though a layperson may describe all three as "fraud."
• Amendments made after this text was indexed.

Frequently asked

Is all cheating punished under Section 420?

No. Plain cheating, without inducing the victim to deliver property or alter a security, is punished under Section 417 with a lighter sentence. Section 420 applies specifically where that additional element — property or a security changing hands or being altered — is present.

Is fraud the same offence as theft or criminal breach of trust?

No. Cheating, theft, and criminal breach of trust are three legally distinct offences with different elements, even though all three are colloquially called "fraud." Which one applies turns on how the property was obtained or misused.