SEKENDER SHEIKH Vs. STATE

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This is a reference under Section 307 of the Criminal Procedure Code made by Sri P. Basu, Additional Sessions Judge, Mursbidabad, disagreeing with the majority verdict of guilty returned against the two accused Sekender S. K. who was charged under Section 467 I. P. C. and Hasibuddin Sk. who was charged under Section 467/109 of the Indian Penal Code.

(2.) The prosecution case was briefly as follows: One Kaimuddin Sk. who deposed in the case as P. W. 2 and is an old man of 90 or 100, has some landed property at Debkunda P.S. Beldanga. Out of his landed property, he transferred certain property by a registered deed of gift dated 5th November, 1956, to one Katama Bibi, a daughter of his pre-deceased daughter, the land concerned, being case plots Nos. 942, 946 and 947 of Mouza Debkundu. Abdul Hye husband of Katama Bibi, cultivated the plots on behalf of his wife after the execution, of the deed of gift. In 1958 however, Ali Hossain Sk. a son of Kaimuddin Sk. dispossessed Abdul Hye from the plots of land, claiming that his father Kaimuddin Sk. had given the plots to him along with other lands by executing a heba-bil-waz, Abdul Hye reported to his grand-father-in-law i.e. Kaimuddin Sk. who by the deed of gift had given the three plots to his grand daughter Katama Bibi. Under the direction of Kaimuddin Sk., a copy of the registered heba-bil-waz purporting to have been executed and registered on 15th January, 1958, was obtained from the Berhampur Sub-Registry office, and then a petition of complaint was filed in Court on 16th June, 1958, by Kaimuddin Sk. against Ali Hossain. Sekender Sk. and Hasibuddin Sk., with the case that no such heba-bil-waz bad been executed by Kaimuddin Sk. and that a forged document had been brought into being by Ali Hossain in collusion with Sekender Sk. and Hasibuddin Sk. It may be mentioned that Sekender Sk. is also an old man of 75 or 80, while Hasibuddin Sk. is a son of Ali Hossain and grand son of Kaimuddin Sk. and ho is aged about 19 or 20. The Sub-Divisional Magistrate referred the petition of complaint to the officer-in-charge Berhampur P. S. for taking cognizance and for investigation. The police officer after investigation submitted charge-sheet against Sekender Sk. and Hasibuddin Sk. as it appeared in the course of the investigation that the disputed document had been executed by Sekender Sk. by putting his thumb impressions by pretending to be Kaimuddin Sk. and that Hasibuddin Sk. had identified him before the Sub-Registrar of Berhampur where the document bad been executed. A charge-sheet was submitted under Section 467 of the Indian Penal Code against Sekender Sk. and 467/109 of the Indian Penal Code against Hasibuddin Sk. and also under Sections 82c and 82d of the Indian Registration Act against them for impersonating somebody else and falsely identifying a person before the Sub-Registrar.

(3.) The case was tried by the Additional Sessions Judge with a jury so far as the charges under Sections 467 and 467/109 of the Indian Penal Code were concerned, and by himself so far as charges under Sections 82c and 82d of Indian Registration Act were concerned. The accused both pleaded not guilty, and the defence was that Kaimuddin Sk. had himself executed the heba-bil-waz, but he was induced by Abdul Hye to bring a false case for challenging the genuineness of the heba-bil-waz. The jury however returned a majority verdict by 4 to 3 of guilty against both Sekender Sk. and Hasibuddin Sk. in respect of charges under Section 467 and 467/109 of the Indian Penal Code against them. The learned Judge thought that the evidence was not satisfactory, and so he has made this reference under Section 307 of the Criminal Procedure Code, recommending that both the accused be acquitted. He at the same time wrote out a separate judgment in respect of charges under Sections 82c and 82d of the Indian Registration Act and acquitted both the accused of the charges.