Recently in a strange but widely publicized Allahabad High Court case the cheating case filed by the complainant revolved around a very unorthodox complaint. The case stemmed from accusations that the complainant was defrauded by a man who presented himself as one who can pay dearly with the dead and arrange for the complainant’s father to do so. This is the case that was filed under Section 420 of the IPC, which focuses on cheating and dishonestly inducing delivery of property was dismissed without merits due to the absence of any tangible evidence for criminal intention or wrongful enrichment. The historical background of the case traces its roots back to a scenario that is considered to be tragic, and the fact that the alleged perpetrator approached the complainant just moments after the later had lost his father. In this regard, the accused supposedly promised the complainant that he was able to communicate with the spirit world with a particular focus on the complainant’s deceased father. Based on the testimony of the accused as well as the record, the complainant allegedly believed the testimonies that the accused made, where he reportedly paid a huge amount of money to avail of the services under dispute. But when there was perceived lack of contact with the deceased father, the complainant felt that he was cheated and later reported the man for cheating. Allahabad High Court while hearing the facts of the case looked into the allegations closely and the facts given. The court observed that the ingredients needed to frame a charge of cheating under section 420 IPC are deception and dishonest intention and thereby obtaining anything of value. Furthermore, the accused’s goal must be a purposeful aim to swindle the victim from the very beginning. However, in this particular case, the complainant was awarded the case because his belief in the accused’s powers was supernatural not founded on any factual or legally admissible standard. The defendant, therefore, used the accused’s purported ability to communicate with the dead to forge documents even though it was not an offense as defined in the IPC, it could not be proven or disproved in the court. It also noted that as far as force was concerned, force that drove the complainant to part with money was the personal belief he had. Since the provincial authorities and the Allahabad High Court found no proof of the accused’s criminal intention to cheat or of having dishonestly led the complainant, the case had to be dismissed. The court’s decision to dismiss the case also supports the necessity of comprehensive gathering substantive and credible evidence in criminal cases, especially in cases where there is no evidence as personal testimony that can be considered as evidence in a court of law, especially in cases that deal with claims that are considered paranormal.