STATE OF KERALA Vs. AYYAPPAN GOPALAN

JUDGEMENT

(1.) CRIMINAL Appeal 269 of 1964 is filed by the State against the judgment of the Additional Sessions Judge of Mavelikara in Sessions case 9 of 1963 acquitting the respondents (accused ). The charge against the first accused was for committing forgery on page 19 in Book No. 1, volume 174, where a sale deed Ext. P1 had been copied and the second accused is charged for abetment of the above-said forgery. Pw. 1 has filed the revision petition for the same relief.

(2.) THE second accused is a licensed document writer of the Vennikulam Sub Registrar's office, Pws. 1 and 2, husband and wife with others had sold three items of properties to the second accused under a registered assignment deed Ext. P-1, item 1, having an extent; of 111/3 cents and item 2 being 12 cents in extent. In between these two items there was another property belonging to Pw. 2 having an extent of 19 1/3 cents which was not the subject matter of the sale deed, Ext. P-1 and it remained in the possession of Pws. 1 and 2. On 24-11-61 Pws. 1 and 2 entered into an agreement to sell this item to Pw. 31 THE second accused probably wanted it for himself and did not like an item: of property in-between his properties to go to another. So on the foot of an alleged agreement of sale of this property to him he filed a civil suit O. S. 407/61 before the Munsiff's Court, Thiruvalla for declaration of his rights in the property and for an injunction restraining Pw. 2 and the other defendants from selling it to Pw. 3. Ext. P-30 is the plaint in the suit. To support his case the second accused wanted some documentary evidence. Pw. 4 is an assistant working under the second accused and he was the scribe of Ext. P-1, sale deed. THE second accused, therefore, persuaded Pw. 4 to add one sentence in the original sale deed to the effect that there was a prior agreement to sell this item of property to him and that an advance amount of rs. 350 had been received by Pw. 2. Pw. 4 was not amenable to this. He pointed out that the document having been copied in book No. 1 without a corresponding entry in that book no correction or interpolations could be made in Ext. P-1. THE second accused said that there was no difficulty, that his friend the first accused who is a clerk in the Sub Registrar's office could be got to make the necessary interpolations in volume 174 of book 1. So on a day between 24-11-61 and 30-11-61 the second accused and Pw. 4 went to the Sub Registrar's Office and gave the first accused a chit showing the alteration to be made and the first accused made the necessary interpolations in the volume. A petition Ext. P-2 for effecting mutation proceedings had also been prepared and presented to the Sub Registrar at the time of the registration of the document. It is only on the first sheet that the parties had signed and on the back of that sheet the Sub Registrar had made necessary endorsements. THE second accused said that he would get the document from the Village Office and make the necessary alterations in that petition and it was done. Pw. 4 agreed to interpolate the required entry in the sale deed Ext. P-1 and did it. After thus making alterations in these documents on 18-12-1961 the second accused filed another civil Suit O. S. 438/61 against Pws. 2, 3 and others for specific performance. Ext. P-31 is the copy of the plaint. On receipt of the summons Pw. 3 applied for a registration copy of the sale deed, Ext. P-8 is the copy supplied from the Sub Registrar's office. On seeing this Pw. 1 assured Pw. 3 that there was, in fact, no such agreement and the whole thing was a fraud played upon them On 29-12-1961 Pw. 3 filed a petition Ext. P-9 to the I. G. of Registration. Pw. 1 also filed a petition before the District Registrar, Quilon and also before the i. G. THEy were enquired into by the District Registrar who reported that accused 1 and 2 were responsible for the forgery. Under the orders of the I. G. a complaint was filed before the Superintendent of Police, Quilon. THE complaint was transferred to the Alleppey District. As the case was non-cognizable sanction to investigate the case was obtained and the Circle inspector of Police, Chengannur laid the charge sheet against the accused, after completing the investigation.

(3.) LEARNED counsel for the second accused referred me to the evidence of Pw. 14 the village officer that the petition for transfer of patta would be sent by the Sub Registrar to the taluk office from where it would be received in his office and that while it was with him nothing could have been done from his office. It was, therefore, argued that Ext. P-2 could not have been later altered. But Pw. 14 has admitted that such papers are not kept locked up and are kept outside on his office table. It cannot, therefore, be said that it would not have been possible for the second accused to have completely changed one sheet adding this sentence. So the mere fact that no interpolation is now noticed in Ext. P-2 is no reason by itself to hold that the interpolated portion would have been there prior to its being presented for registration and it must have been so written in the sale deed also.