The offence of Theft comes under the purview of offences against property which extends from section 378 to section 462. Theft has been dealt with under sections 378 to 382. Theft is an offence in which movable property of a person is taken away and it is taken away without his consent.  Theft has been defined under Section 378 of IPC. Simultaneously the punishment for the commitment of act of theft has also been defined under Section 379 of IPC.

It can be concluded that the commission of both theft and extortion is an offence punishable under the Indian penal code. There is a line difference between both of them.  Theft is an offence in which movable property of a person is taken away and it is taken away without his consent. Section 383 of the Indian penal code states that if a person intentionally puts another person in a position of fear or of threat to cause him injury, or deceitfully persuade him so that he may deliver the property or any other valuable goods to another person or any document which has been signed and can be turned in a valuable security.

Dishonest Intention is also called as malafide intention which can be represented in the form of mens rea. This is the core element of the theft. The petitioner has to prove that something was taken away by someone with a dishonest intention.

However, intention acts as a mental element in this case which is difficult to prove but evidence according to the circumstances of the case is considered for this purpose.  The main measurement of dishonest intention is to make a wrongful loss to another person then such an act is considered to be done with dishonest intention.

Dishonesty under Section 24 of IPC says, whoever does anything with the intention of causing wrongful gain to one person or wrongful loss to another person is said to do that thing “dishonestly”.

In order an act to be a dishonest act following ingredients are necessary—

(i) Some act has been done;

(ii) This has been done with intention to cause wrongful gain or wrongful loss.

So far as the Penal Code is concerned, the word “dishonestly” does not carry the popular sense of the term. When a person acts with the intention of causing “wrongful gain”, i.e., gain by unlawful means, of property to which the person gaining is not entitled, or when a person acts with the intention of causing “wrongful loss”, i.e., loss by unlawful means, of property to which the person losing is legally entitled, he acts dishonestly.