Legal Provisions of Section 414 of Indian Penal Code, 1860.
Assisting in concealment of stolen property:
Voluntarily assisting in concealing, disposing of or making away with stolen property has been made punishable under this section. The section states that whoever voluntarily assists either in concealing or disposing of or making away with property which he either knows to be stolen property or which he has reason to believe to be stolen property, shall be punished with simple or rigorous imprisonment for a term extending up to three years, or with fine, or with both.
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ADVERTISEMENTS:
The assistance on the part of the accused must be voluntary and it must be in concealing or in disposing of or in making away with property. He must also know or must have reason to believe that the property is stolen property.
The Supreme Court has held that it is not necessary that an accused could be convicted under this section only when another person is traced out and convicted of committing theft. The only thing that is needed to be proved is that the property recovered was a stolen property and the accused voluntarily assisted in concealing or disposing of or making away with it knowing or having reason to believe that it was a stolen property.
Where property belonging to the deceased was recovered from the possession of the accused and the accused could not be convicted of murder of the deceased and of committing theft of his property because of lack of proof, he could be held guilty under this section. The accused driver of a taxi was carrying several passengers in his taxi when it stopped at a place for unknown reasons and two of its passengers got down from it and suddenly attacked a person and relieved him of fifty rupees after which they again boarded the taxi and the driver sped away even when the victim continued to cry. It was held that the accused driver was guilty under section 414.
ADVERTISEMENTS:
The offence under this section is cognizable, non-bailable and compoundable, and is triable by any magistrate.
Of Cheating
This part of the chapter on offences against property deals with cheating. It is spread over sections 415 to 420, both inclusive.