DEVASYA K.T Vs. STATE OF KERALA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The petitioner is the first accused in Crime No. 109 of 2018 of Kainady Police Station for offences punishable under Sections 468, 471, 420 and 34 of IPC.

(2.) The case of the prosecution is that the petitioner as the President and the second accused as the Secretary of the Self Help Joint Liability Group by name 'Karshaka Mithra' opened an account with Alappuzha Boat Jetty Branch of the Canara Bank in the name of the said group, forged the signatures of the de facto complainant and presented the same before the said Bank and availed a loan of Rs.5,00,000/- and the same was not repaid and thereby, they have committed the aforesaid offences.

(3.) The learned counsel for the petitioner submits that the petitioner is innocent of the allegations levelled against him and he is falsely implicated in the case. The dispute cropped up when the group account became irregular and coercive steps were being initiated by the Bank against the petitioner and all the other members of the society in whose name the loan was taken. It is also submitted that in order to wriggle out of the liability that each member of the group had towards the Bank, the de facto complainant alleged that the petitioner, in the capacity of being the President of the 'Group' and the second accused, its Secretary, forged signatures of the de facto complainant to avail the loan. It is further submitted that the amount due to the bank has been repaid by the Group. Nobody has sustained any loss or none have made any wrongful gain or unlawful enrichment or even attempted to forge the documents to avail loan. The signature of the de facto complainant or any other person cannot be forged for the reason that each of the members of group has to personally sign the documents in the Bank in the presence of the Bank officials to avail the loan.