Whoever does anything with the intention of causing wrongful gain to one person or wrongful loss to another person is said to do that thing “dishonestly”.
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Ingredients of Dishonesty:
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In order an act to be a dishonest act following ingredients are necessary—
(i) Some act has been done;
(ii) This has been done with intention to cause wrongful gain or wrongful loss.
So far as the Penal Code is concerned, the word “dishonestly” does not carry the popular sense of the term. When a person acts with the intention of causing “wrongful gain”, i.e., gain by unlawful means, of property to which the person gaining is not entitled, or when a person acts with the intention of causing “wrongful loss”, i.e., loss by unlawful means, of property to which the person losing is legally entitled, he acts dishonestly.
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In a case where some Muslims removed idols from a Hindu temple and buried them or dropped them in the river/ the plea of absence of dishonest intention was rejected. In order to ascertain the existence or otherwise of dishonest intention as defined in Section 24 of I.P.C., it is not necessary that there must be wrongful gain to the thief, it is sufficient if the removal of movable property causes wrongful loss to the owner.