Rajeshwari Devi 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  with  the  prayer  to  quash  the  entire  criminal proceeding including the order dated 03.08.2022, passed by the learned  Judicial  Magistrate  -1st Class,  Giridih  in  Complaint  Case No. 431 of 2019 whereby and where under the learned Judicial Magistrate -1st Class, Giridih has found prima facie case for the offence punishable under Section 420 of the Indian Penal Code.

The learned senior counsel for the petitioners submits that charge  has not  yet been  framed and  the  case is  fixed  for  before charge evidence on 31.01.2026.

The  allegation  against  the  petitioners  is  that  the  petitioners  got the complainant registered a property in their favour which property in fact belongs to Ashok Kumar Jain.

The learned senior counsel appearing for the petitioners relying upon the Judgment of the Hon’ble Supreme Court of India in the case  of  Mohammed  Ibrahim  and  Others  Vs.  State  of  Bihar  and Another, reported in (2009) 8 SCC  750, para -20 & 21 of which reads as under:-

When a sale deed is executed conveying a property claiming ownership thereto, it may be possible for  the  purchaser  under  such  sale  deed  to  allege  that  the vendor  has  cheated  him  by  making  a  false  representation of  ownership  and  fraudulently  induced  him  to  part  with the  sale  consideration.  But  in  this  case  the  complaint  is not by the purchaser. On the other hand, the purchaser is made a  co-accused.

It is not the case of the complainant that any of the accused tried to deceive him either by making a  false or misleading representation or by any other action or omission, nor is it his case that they offered him any fraudulent or dishonest inducement to deliver any property or to consent to the retention thereof by any person or to intentionally induce him to do or omit to do anything which he would not do or omit if he were not so deceived. Nor did the complainant allege that the first appellant pretended to be the complainant while executing the  sale  deeds. Therefore, it cannot be said that the first accused by the act of executing sale deeds in favour of the second accused or the second accused by reason of being the purchaser, or the third, fourth and fifth accused, by reason of being the witness, scribe and stamp vendor in regard to the sale deeds, deceived the complainant in any manner. (Emphasis supplied)

Submits  that  therein  it  has  been  held  by  the  Hon’ble  Supreme Court of India that when a sale deed is executed conveying property  claiming ownership thereto, it may  be possible for the purchaser under such sale deed to allege that the vendor has cheated him but here the vendor who admits that the property transferred  by  him  by  way  of  sale  deed  does  not  belong  to  him, cannot say that he has been cheated because admittedlyhe has not parted with any property as no property admittedly ever belonged to him. Hence, it is submitted that even if the entire allegations made against the petitioners are considered to be true in their entirety, still the offence  punishable under Section 420 of the Indian Penal Code is not made out. Therefore, it is submitted that the prayer as prayed for by the petitioners in this criminal miscellaneous petition be allowed.

The learned Addl. P.P. and the learned counsel for the opposite party  no.2  on  the  other  hand  vehemently  opposes  the  prayer  as prayed for by the petitioners in this criminal miscellaneous petition and submits that the material in the record is sufficient to constitute the offence punishable under  Section 420 of the Indian Penal  Code  as  the  petitioners  by  way  of  cheating  have  made  the complainant execute the sale deed. Hence, it is submitted that this criminal miscellaneous petition being without any merit be dismissed.

Having  heard  the  submissions  made  at  the  Bar  and  after  going through the materials available in the record, it is pertinent to mention here the essential ingredients to constitute the offence punishable under Section 420 of the Indian Penal Code are :-

(i) Deceit, that is to say dishonest or fraudulent misrepresentation, and

(ii) Inducing the person deceived to part with any property

as has been reiterated by the Hon’ble Supreme Court of India in the case of Ram Narayan Popli vs. Central Bureau of Investigation reported in (2003) 3 SCC 641.

Now coming to the facts of the case, it is the admitted case of the complainant that he does not have any property. The property transferred by him by way of sale does not belongs to him. So here it  is  an  admitted  case  of  the  complainant  that  he  has  not  parted with any property. At best the purchasers i.e. the petitioners could have filed a  case that they have been cheated by the complainant but  here  the  case  is  other  way  round.  The  complainant  who  has transferred a property by way of a registered sale deed which does not belong to him says that he has been cheated.

Under such circumstances, this Court is  of the considered view that even if the entire allegations made against the petitioners are considered  to  be  true,  still  the  offence  punishable  under  Section 420 of the Indian Penal Code is not made out. Therefore, continuation of this Criminal proceeding will amount to abuse of process  of  law.  Hence,  this  is  a  fit  case  where  the  entire  criminal proceeding including the order dated 03.08.2022, passed by the learned  Judicial  Magistrate  -1st Class,  Giridih  in  Complaint  Case No. 431 of 2019 whereby and where under the learned Judicial Magistrate -1st Class, Giridih has found prima facie case for the offence punishable under Section 420 of the Indian Penal Code, be quashed and set aside qua the petitioners.

Accordingly, the entire criminal proceeding including the order dated 03.08.2022, passed by the learned Judicial Magistrate -1st Class, Giridih in Complaint Case No. 431 of 2019 whereby and where under the learned Judicial Magistrate -1st Class, Giridih has found prima facie case for the offence punishable under Section 420 of the Indian Penal Code, is quashed and set aside qua the petitioners.

In the result, this criminal miscellaneous petition is allowed.