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Gurugram Police Book Tenants for Criminal Breach of Trust After Furnished Flat Vacated with Fixtures and Ten Months of Unpaid Rent

By The Legal Alpha Web Desk · 21 October 2026 · 4 min read
Gurugram Police Book Tenants for Criminal Breach of Trust After Furnished Flat Vacated with Fixtures and Ten Months of Unpaid Rent

The Gurugram Police have registered a criminal case against a family of tenants accused of decamping with household appliances and furnishings from a rented flat in Sector 81, Gurugram.

According to the complaint filed by the property owner, Kamana Yadav, the apartment had been leased on a fully furnished basis with an accompanying notarised inventory schedule. The complainant alleged that the primary tenant, identified as Sakshi, contacted her to coordinate the handover of the premises and settle ten months of outstanding rent arrears. However, when the landlord arrived at the scheduled time, the occupants had already vacated the apartment, left the keys with building security, and removed several movable assets—including electrical appliances, fixtures, and bedding. Following an inquiry by the Kherki Daula Police Station where the tenants failed to appear despite notices, the police registered a formal case.

Legal Topic

Area of Law: Criminal Law / Tenancy & Property Law

Sub-topic: Criminal Breach of Trust & Rental Bailment

Core Legal Issue

The matter centers on distinguishing between a civil rent default and the criminal offence of criminal breach of trust within a tenancy relationship.

The threshold question is whether tenants who hold rightful possession of furnished household items under a lease agreement commit a cognizable offence when they dishonestly misappropriate or dispose of those chattels upon vacating, rather than merely breaching the terms of a civil contract.

What Did the Court / Authority Decide?

No judicial pronouncement has been made as the matter remains in the preliminary investigative phase:

  • Registration of Case: The Kherki Daula Police Station registered an FIR on October 19 following a preliminary inquiry initiated on an October 1 complaint.

  • Failure to Join Inquiry: Police authorities issued multiple notices summoning the accused tenants to join the probe; their failure to appear led to the formal docketing of the offence.

  • Next Steps: Assistant Sub-Inspector Dinesh Kumar has been deputed to lead the investigation into the alleged misappropriation and locate the suspects.

Key Legal Points

  • Dominion and Entrustment: Under a furnished tenancy, chattels and white goods are entrusted to the occupant. If the occupant dishonestly converts those goods to personal use or removes them from the premises, the conduct crosses from civil breach into criminal misappropriation.

  • Separation of Civil and Criminal Remedies: Unpaid rent constitutes a purely civil debt actionable before rent tribunals or civil courts; however, the unauthorized removal of inventoried property provides grounds for criminal prosecution.

  • Evidentiary Value of Notarised Inventories: The presence of a signed, notarised fixture-and-fittings inventory schedule provides the essential factual basis required by police authorities to establish prima facie entrustment of specific movable property.

Relevant Law

  • Section 316 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 (BNS): Criminal Breach of Trust (corresponding to Section 405/406 of the Indian Penal Code).

  • Section 173 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 (BNSS): Information in cognizable cases governing the registration of First Information Reports.

  • Indian Contract Act, 1872 (Principles of Bailment): Governs the duty of a bailee to return goods delivered under a contract once the purpose is accomplished.

Arguments of the Parties

Complainant / Landlord

The landlord asserted that:

  • The residential apartment was rented fully furnished alongside an explicit, notarised inventory list detailing all appliances and fixtures.

  • The occupants owed ten months of accumulated rent arrears and scheduled an in-person meeting under the pretext of clearing dues and conducting a physical handover.

  • The occupants dishonestly departed early, left the entrance keys with gate staff, and illicitly carted away entrusted appliances and furnishings, refusing to return the items upon subsequent contact.

Accused Tenants

The accused parties have not yet formally filed a defence or made statements before a court. However, according to investigative authorities, they failed to answer administrative notices requiring them to join the initial police inquiry.

Why Does It Matter?

This development highlights the practical boundary between civil tenancy disputes and criminal liability in urban rental markets. Landlords facing absconding tenants often face hurdles when seeking police intervention, as law enforcement typically treats landlord-tenant disputes as purely civil matters requiring rent tribunal adjudication.

By registering an FIR for criminal breach of trust rather than directing the owner solely to civil court, the case reinforces that tenants do not enjoy immunity from criminal prosecution when entrusted movable property is removed. It also underscores the practical necessity of drafting exhaustive, notarised move-in inventory annexures to satisfy the evidentiary burden of entrustment required under modern criminal procedure.

Legal Takeaway

A lease agreement does not grant an occupant proprietary rights over inventoried fixtures. When a tenant absconds with household chattels placed in their custody, the conduct amounts to criminal breach of trust under criminal law, providing landlords with recourse to criminal proceedings alongside civil recovery suits.

Sources

  • Primary Source: First Information Report registered at Kherki Daula Police Station, Gurugram (Investigating Officer: ASI Dinesh Kumar).

  • Additional Sources: Official statements by Gurugram Police; Reporting records from The Times of India (Gurugram Edition).

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