The Kerala High Court on Monday suggested enactment of a law like the one in the UK to punish those who indulge in mass cheating and fraud in the State.

Justice S.S. Satheesachandran observed that it was high time the government viewed seriously the need for enacting a special legislation to deal with the offence of  cheating and fraud.

The court made the observations while dismissing a bail petition filed by Shalu Menon, one of the accused in the case relating to cheating a person from Thiruvanathapuram promising to provide solar panels.

The court said the case sadly reflected the ineffectiveness of the penal provisions under the Indian Penal Code to curb the menace of mass cheating and frauds which had become a recurring feature in the State in the last few years.

Ineffective law

The court pointed out that absence of a law such as Fraud Act 2006, which fixed the criminal liability for fraud  and obtaining services dishonestly to deal with the cases such as mass cheating, might be the reason why such frauds and cheating cases were taking place on a large scale in the State.

The judge observed that many of the provisions of the penal code relating to deception based offence was “too specific, overlapping and perhaps even outdated.”

Therefore, a flexible law with clear, effective and stringent penal provisions capable of combating fraud with sophistication should be brought into force without any delay.

The court noted that the effective implementation of the Moneylenders Act had curbed the activities of the moneylenders who used to collect blank cheques from debtors.

gopakumar.kc@thehindu.co.in

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