Dishonest and temporary “removal” of original documents to take photocopies and to further use information within amounts to theft, the Supreme Court has held. A temporary period of deprivation or dispossession of the property of another causes loss to the other,” the apex court reasoned. The observations are part of a 68-page judgment on the appeal filed by Birla Corporation alleging the theft of 54 documents by Adventz Investments and Holdings. The Calcutta High Court however held that since the originals of documents the first 28 documents were still in Birla’s custody, the taking away of the information contained in these documents and their temporary removal would not qualify as theft, dishonest misappropriation of property or dishonest receiving of the stolen property. It said the temporary removal of the documents with a “dishonest intention” and taking photocopies of their contents would certainly amount to theft.

Source: The Hindu May 15, 2019 11:26 UTC