Question:
A lady wanted to get a railway ticket but finding a crowd near the ticket window at the station, asked Raju, who was near the window, to get a ticket for her and handed him money for the same. Raju took the money and instead of getting the ticket, ran away with it. What offence has been committed by Raju?
A lady wanted to get a railway ticket but finding a crowd near the ticket window at the station, asked Raju, who was near the window, to get a ticket for her and handed him money for the same. Raju took the money and instead of getting the ticket, ran away with it. What offence has been committed by Raju?
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Ask how the money reached Raju's hands. She gave it to him herself, with an instruction attached, which rules out any taking without consent.
Updated On: Jul 17, 2026
- No offence
- Criminal breach of trust
- Criminal misappropriation
- Theft
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The Correct Option is B
Solution and Explanation
Step 1: Understanding the Question.
The lady handed her own money to Raju for one specific purpose, buying her a ticket. Raju kept the money and ran. All four options sit close to one another, so the way to separate them is to ask how the property came into Raju's hands, and what he did after that.
Step 2: The definitions being compared.
Theft means dishonestly taking movable property out of another's possession without that person's consent. The key word is taking. The property must be removed against the owner's will.
Criminal misappropriation means dishonestly misappropriating or converting to one's own use property that came into the accused's possession innocently or by chance, such as goods he found lying about. There is no entrustment in it.
Criminal breach of trust means that a person entrusted with property, or with dominion over property, dishonestly misappropriates it or uses it in violation of the direction under which the trust was to be discharged. The special ingredient here is entrustment.
Step 3: Applying the definitions to Raju.
Start with how the money reached Raju. The lady handed it over herself, willingly, with her eyes open. She chose him and gave him the money. So there was no taking without consent, and theft is ruled out at once.
Was it a chance finding? No. Raju did not stumble on the money lying on the platform. It was placed in his hands deliberately, so the situation is not one of innocent or accidental possession.
What the lady did was hand over money with a direction attached, buy a ticket and bring it back. That is entrustment in the plainest sense, property given to another to be dealt with in a particular way. When Raju ran off with the money instead of buying the ticket, he dishonestly used the property in violation of the very direction under which he received it. That completes criminal breach of trust.
Step 4: Why the other options fail.
Option (A) is plainly wrong. Running away with money handed over for a purpose is dishonest and cannot be no offence.
Option (C) fails because misappropriation covers property that reaches the accused innocently or by accident, with no direction attached. Here the money came with a clear instruction, which pushes the case into the entrustment provision.
Option (D) fails because the lady consented to Raju having the money. Theft needs a taking out of possession without consent, and there was no taking at all.
Final Answer:
The money was entrusted to Raju for a stated purpose and he dishonestly kept it, so he committed criminal breach of trust. Option (B) is correct.
The lady handed her own money to Raju for one specific purpose, buying her a ticket. Raju kept the money and ran. All four options sit close to one another, so the way to separate them is to ask how the property came into Raju's hands, and what he did after that.
Step 2: The definitions being compared.
Theft means dishonestly taking movable property out of another's possession without that person's consent. The key word is taking. The property must be removed against the owner's will.
Criminal misappropriation means dishonestly misappropriating or converting to one's own use property that came into the accused's possession innocently or by chance, such as goods he found lying about. There is no entrustment in it.
Criminal breach of trust means that a person entrusted with property, or with dominion over property, dishonestly misappropriates it or uses it in violation of the direction under which the trust was to be discharged. The special ingredient here is entrustment.
Step 3: Applying the definitions to Raju.
Start with how the money reached Raju. The lady handed it over herself, willingly, with her eyes open. She chose him and gave him the money. So there was no taking without consent, and theft is ruled out at once.
Was it a chance finding? No. Raju did not stumble on the money lying on the platform. It was placed in his hands deliberately, so the situation is not one of innocent or accidental possession.
What the lady did was hand over money with a direction attached, buy a ticket and bring it back. That is entrustment in the plainest sense, property given to another to be dealt with in a particular way. When Raju ran off with the money instead of buying the ticket, he dishonestly used the property in violation of the very direction under which he received it. That completes criminal breach of trust.
Step 4: Why the other options fail.
Option (A) is plainly wrong. Running away with money handed over for a purpose is dishonest and cannot be no offence.
Option (C) fails because misappropriation covers property that reaches the accused innocently or by accident, with no direction attached. Here the money came with a clear instruction, which pushes the case into the entrustment provision.
Option (D) fails because the lady consented to Raju having the money. Theft needs a taking out of possession without consent, and there was no taking at all.
Final Answer:
The money was entrusted to Raju for a stated purpose and he dishonestly kept it, so he committed criminal breach of trust. Option (B) is correct.
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