ISSUE:
Whether a threat of filing criminal charges lead to coercion under Section 15 of the Indian Contract Act.
RULE:
To threaten a criminal prosecution is not per se an act forbidden by the Indian Penal Code. It could only be forbidden if it amounted to a threat to file a false charge. Thus, the plaintiff who sets a plea of coercion based on a threat of this nature has to establish 3 things:
1. The threat was uttered.
2. That it was a threat to commit an act forbidden by the IPC.
3. The threat was uttered with the intention of causing the plaintiff to enter into the agreement complained of.