# Failure to pay balance sale consideration is not cheating: Patna HC 2026-08-14T18:23:58+00:00 | Governance | Indian Opinion Desk Corroboration: 1 independent outlet The Patna High Court has ruled that failing to pay the balance sale consideration under an agreement does not by itself amount to cheating unless dishonest or fraudulent intention existed when the promise was made. Justice Alok Kumar Pandey observed that such intention cannot be presumed merely because a party later failed to keep its promise. The case involved a land transaction where Rs 1.80 crore was paid but Rs 90.20 lakh remained unpaid. A criminal complaint alleging cheating was dismissed by the magistrate and upheld by the revisional court. The High Court declined to interfere, saying the ingredients of cheating were absent. ## Coverage - livelaw.in Tags: Alok Kumar Pandey, cheating, Indian Penal Code, land dispute, Patna High Court Canonical: https://indianopinion.org/failure-to-pay-balance-sale-consideration-is-not-cheating-patna-hc/ License: Summary and commentary (c) Indian Opinion, reusable with attribution. Facts belong to the linked sources. Cite: https://indianopinion.org/failure-to-pay-balance-sale-consideration-is-not-cheating-patna-hc/#story-in-brief Review state: restored archive article, accurate at time of publication, not offered to search indexes.