Section 210 IPC: Fraudulently Obtaining Decree for Sum Not Due

Section 210 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860 punished fraudulent misuse of a decree or order by obtaining relief that was not lawfully due, executing a decree or order after satisfaction, or fraudulently allowing such conduct to be done in one's name.

Section 210 IPC - meaning and scope

Essential ingredients of Section 210 IPC

• There must be a decree or order within the scope of the section.
• The accused must act fraudulently.
• The decree or order may be for a sum not due, a sum larger than what is due, or property or an interest to which the person is not entitled.
• Alternatively, a decree or order may be fraudulently executed after it has already been satisfied, or for a matter in respect of which it has been satisfied.
• The section also extends to fraudulently suffering or permitting such an act to be done in the person's name.

Meaning of "fraudulently"

Under Section 25 IPC, a person was said to do a thing "fraudulently" if the person did that thing with intent to defraud, but not otherwise. The fraudulent element is therefore fundamental to Section 210. A decree later found excessive or erroneous would not, merely for that reason, establish all ingredients of this offence.

Decree for a sum not due or a larger sum

The first branch covered a person who fraudulently obtained a decree or order against another for money that was not due. It expressly included obtaining a decree for a larger sum than was actually due. The provision therefore addressed both wholly unjustified and fraudulently inflated monetary decrees or orders.

Property or interest without entitlement

Section 210 was not confined to monetary claims. It also applied to fraudulently obtaining a decree or order for property, or an interest in property, to which the person obtaining the relief was not entitled.

Execution after the decree or order has been satisfied

A decree or order may originally have been valid but later satisfied. Section 210 separately covered fraudulently causing such a decree or order to be executed against another person after satisfaction, or causing execution for anything in respect of which it had already been satisfied.

Permitting an act to be done in one's name

The final branch prevented a person from avoiding the section merely because another person formally carried out the prohibited act. The statutory language extended to a person who fraudulently suffered or permitted any such act to be done in his name.

Punishment under Section 210 IPC

Difference between Sections 208 and 210 IPC

Section 208 IPC addressed the person who fraudulently caused or suffered an improper decree or order to be passed or executed against himself. Section 210 addressed the corresponding conduct of fraudulently obtaining or executing such a decree or order against another person, and also covered permitting such conduct to be done in one's name.

Relationship with Section 209 IPC

Section 209 IPC dealt with knowingly making a false claim in a Court of Justice with the mental element specified there. Section 210 focused specifically on fraudulently obtaining or executing decrees or orders in the circumstances set out in that provision.

Practical summary

Section 210 IPC protected judicial decrees and execution proceedings against deliberate fraudulent misuse. It covered obtaining an unjustified or excessive decree, obtaining property relief without entitlement, executing an already satisfied decree or order, and fraudulently permitting those acts to be carried out in one's name.