JOGINDER SINGH Vs. STATE OF PUNJAB

JUDGEMENT

(1.) As is evident from the record that the petition for anticipatory bail (CRM No.M-32965 of 2013) filed by Sukhdev Singh son of late Sita and Dev Singh s/o Ajaib Singh, similarly situated co-accused of the present petitioner, was dismissed as withdrawn, vide order dated 30.9.2013 by this Court, which is as under:-

(2.) The contour of the facts and material, which needs a necessary mention for the limited purpose of deciding the instant petition for anticipatory bail and emanating from the record, is that, in the month of January, 2013, petitioner Joginder Singh son of Kashmir Singh along with his other co-accused has approached complainant Bharatinder Singh Teja son of Dalip Singh Teja (for brevity "the complainant") and induced him to invest some money to earn huge profit. They had told him that they were getting some land in Rs.89 lacs, which, they would sell for a total consideration amount of Rs.1,22,000,00/- to one Sardar Brar and they had already received an amount of Rs. 1,50,000/- as earnest money from him on 8.2.2013. He would pay Rs. 80 lacs as earnest money more to them. They have also told the complainant that they are eight property dealers and would give Rs. 55 lacs to the owner of the land. They promised that on the next day, the vendee would pay them a sum of Rs.80 lacs. They could not arrange for the amount of Rs. 55 lacs and in case, the complainant provides them Rs. 55 lacs till 7.2.2013, then, they would return the money along with Rs. 15 lacs profit i.e. total Rs. 70 lacs to him (complainant). In this manner, he would earn profit of Rs. 15 lacs in one day. Not only that, the accused have prepared a fake agreement to sell dated 7.2.2013 (Annexure P2), mentioning therein the four times more amount of sale consideration than the actual price of the land, in order to cheat the complainant. Believing the promise of accused to be true, he gave Rs. 55 lacs to them. Subsequently, he became suspicious and approached them. Only a cheque of Rs. 3 lacs was given to him by Tilak Parkash Kataria, co-accused of the petitioner. They promised to arrange/return the amount to him within 2/3 days. Instead of making payment, the accused started putting off the matter on one pretext or the other. Ultimately, they have refused to return the amount of Rs. 55 lacs to the complainant.

(3.) Leveling a variety of allegations and narrating the sequence of events, in detail in the FIR in all, the complainant, inter-alia, claimed that the petitioner and his other co-accused have hatched a deep-rooted criminal conspiracy, prepared the false documents, induced, cheated, received and fraudulently misappropriated his huge amount of Rs. 55 lacs. In the background of these allegations and in the wake of complaint of the complainant, the present criminal case was registered against the petitioner and his other co-accused, by virtue of FIR No.190 dated 13.9.2013 (Annexure P1), on accusation of having committed the offences punishable under sections 420 and 120-B IPC by the police of Police Station Sadar, Patiala, in the manner depicted here-in-above.