'A' finds a watch on the floor of a State Transport bus while he was leaving it as the last passenger. He picked it up and put it in his pocket instead of returning it to the State Transport authorities. Next day he sold it. 'A' is liable for :

Haryana Judicial Service (Civil Judge) Prelims 2010 Previous Year Question Papers with MCQ Answers

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49.

'A' finds a watch on the floor of a State Transport bus while he was leaving it as the last passenger. He picked it up and put it in his pocket instead of returning it to the State Transport authorities. Next day he sold it. 'A' is liable for :

A: theft

B: extortion

C: criminal misappropriation

D: criminal breach of trust.

The answer is: C

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Explanation

The correct option is C: criminal misappropriation. Here is the explanation:

According to Section 403 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860, criminal misappropriation is an act of dishonestly converting or misappropriating any movable property with dishonest intention for one's own use. The essential ingredients of this offence are:

- The property must be movable and belong to another person.

- The offender must be in possession of the property lawfully or by chance.

- The offender must dishonestly misappropriate or convert the property for his own use or for a third person.

In the given scenario, A finds a watch on the floor of a bus, which is a movable property belonging to another person. He picks it up and puts it in his pocket, which means he is in possession of the property lawfully or by chance. He does not return it to the State Transport authorities, but sells it the next day, which means he dishonestly misappropriates or converts the property for his own use or for a third person. Therefore, A is liable for criminal misappropriation under Section 403 of the IPC.

Theft, extortion, and criminal breach of trust are different offences from criminal misappropriation. Theft involves taking away any movable property out of the possession of any person without that person's consent. Extortion involves intentionally putting any person in fear of injury and thereby dishonestly inducing that person to deliver any property or valuable security. Criminal breach of trust involves entrusting any person with property or dominion over property and that person dishonestly misusing or disposing of that property in violation of any direction of law or contract. None of these offences apply to the case of A, who did not take away the watch without consent, did not put anyone in fear of injury, and was not entrusted with the watch by anyone.