Md. Sahnawaj Azad @ Md. Shahnawaz Azad vs State Of Jharkhand

Anil Kumar Choudhary, J

Heard the parties.

This Criminal Miscellaneous Petition has been filed invoking the jurisdiction of this Court under Section 482 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 with the prayer to quash the entire criminal proceedings arising out of Complaint Case No.326 of 2017 including the order dated 15.02.2018 passed in the said case by which the learned Sub-Divisional Judicial Magistrate, Rajmahal has found prima facie case for the offences punishable under Sections 420, 467, 468, 471 and 120B of the Indian Penal Code.

The allegation against the petitioners is that the petitioners, in furtherance of common intention with the co-accused persons, have committed forgery by creating a false document by interpolating the Register-II and illegally deleted the name of the paternal grand-mother of the complainant and inserted the name of the petitioner No.2 in the Register-II and subsequently the petitioner No.2 used the said forged document as genuine and executed a power of attorney in favour of the petitioner No.1 and by virtue of the same, the petitioner No.1 sold the land belonging to the paternal grandmother of the complainant to a third person even though the paternal grandmother of the complainant never sold the land to anyone and she died 50-60 years prior to institution of the complaint case. On the basis of the Protest-cum- Complaint Petition filed by the complainant which was numbered as Complaint Case No.326 of 2017, the statement of the complainant on solemn affirmation and the statement of the inquiry witnesses was recorded and on the basis of the same, the learned Sub-Divisional Judicial Magistrate, Rajmahal has found prima facie case for the offences punishable under Sections 420, 467, 468, 471 and 120B of the Indian Penal Code and passed the summoning order.

Learned counsel for the petitioners submits that the complainant first filed Complaint Case No.961 of 2016 in the court of learned Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate, Rajmahal which upon being referred to police under Section 156 (3) of Cr.P.C., Rajmahal P.S. Case No.182 of 2016 was registered in which after investigation of the case, police did not send up the petitioners for trial and submitted Final Form mentioning therein that the dispute between the parties is a civil dispute. It is next submitted that the allegation against the petitioners is false. It is further submitted that the complainant has no relation with the recorded tenant namely Samidan Bibi. It is also submitted that the petitioner No.2 has purchased the land in question by way of an unregistered sale-deed, hence, the dispute between the parties is a civil dispute.

Learned counsel for the petitioners further submits that in view of the judgment passed by the Hon'ble Supreme Court of India in the case of Md. Ibrahim vs. State of Bihar reported in 2009 (2) Est. Cr.C. (SC)-06, no offence is made out against the petitioners. It is then submitted that the petitioners have filed Original Suit No.34 of 2018 which is pending in the court of learned Civil Judge, Senior Division-I, Rajmahal in which the complainant is a defendant. Hence, it is submitted that this Cr.M.P., being withoutany merit, be dismissed.

Learned Addl. P. P. appearing for the State and the learned counsel for the opposite party No.2 on the other hand vehemently oppose the prayer of the petitioners made in the instant Cr.M.P. and submit that the interpolation of the Register-II kept in the office of the Circle Officer, by no stretch of imagination, can be termed to a civil dispute. It is further submitted that creation of a false document with fraudulent and dishonest intention amounts to forgery. It is also submitted that there is direct and specific allegation against the petitioners of being in criminal conspiracy with each other, have not only created the forged document by interpolation of the Register-II of the Circle Office but used the said forged document as genuine as well and on that basis got the registered sale-deed executed in favour of a third party. Hence, it is submitted that the materials in the record are sufficient to constitute each of the offence in respect of which learned Sub-Divisional Judicial Magistrate, Rajmahal has found prima facie case. It is further submitted that since the charge is yet to be framed, the learned Sub-Divisional Judicial Magistrate, Rajmahal will take appropriate steps to frame appropriate charges but at this stage since the offence of forgery is made out against the petitioners, the entire criminal proceedings ought not be quashed and set aside. It is lastly submitted that this Cr.M.P., being withoutany merit, be dismissed.

Having heard the rival submissions made at the Bar and after carefully going through the materials available in the court, this Court finds that there is direct and specific allegation against the petitioners of creating a false document by interpolating the Register-II kept in the office of the Circle Office by deleting the name of the paternal grandmother of the complainant and by substituting her name with the name of the petitioner No.2; without there being any order passed by any competent officer to do so and further, there is allegation against the petitioners of being in criminal conspiracy with each other, having used the said forged document as entered in the Register-II as genuine and by using the said forged document as genuine, the petitioner No.2 has executed a power of attorney in favour of the petitioner No.1 and the petitioner No.1 has sold the concerned land, in respect of which land, the interpolationwas made; to a thirdparty.

Under such circumstances, this Court is of the considered view that as there is direct and specific allegation against the petitioners of committing forgery, this Court is of the considered view that this is not a fit case where the entire criminal proceedings arising out of Complaint Case No.326 of 2017 including the order dated 15.02.2018 passed by the learned Sub-Divisional Judicial Magistrate, Rajmahal, is to be quashed and set aside in exercise of the power of this Court under Section 482 of the Code of CriminalProcedure, 1973.

Accordingly, this Criminal Miscellaneous Petition, being without any merit, is dismissed.