KARUNA BHARDWAJ Vs. STATE OF PUNJAB

JUDGEMENT

(1.) PRAYER made in the petition filed by the petitioner under Section 438 Cr.P.C. is for grant of pre -arrest bail to her in case FIR No. 178 dated 5.8.2013 under Sections 420/465/467/468/471/120 -B IPC registered at Police Station Navi Baradari, District Jalandhar.

(2.) THE aforementioned FIR was registered against the petitioner and her husband Rajesh Bhardwaj on the allegations that they had manufactured a document in order to obtain favourable order from the trial Court where they were facing trial in FIR No. 3 dated 13.2.2012 under Sections 420/406/448/465/467/468/471/474 and 120 -B IPC registered at Police Station NRI, Jalandhar. The said FIR was registered on the complaint of Avtar Kaur wife of Joginder Singh, wherein she had alleged that she was holding attorney of her daughter Daljit Kaur. In the first week of November, the complainant had to leave for England for the treatment of her husband, who was suffering from cancer.

(3.) BEFORE she could leave, the petitioner started visiting her and introduced her to her husband. After few days, the petitioner and her husband started telling Avtar Kaur that they could help her in respect of her dispute regarding the house which was going on and both of them would take care of her house while she would be away to England. The petitioner and her husband started telling Avtar Kaur that they were having high status in the society and would not let anything wrong to happen. On the pretext of following the litigation in the Court and the police case on her behalf, the petitioner and her husband obtained her signatures on blank stamp papers and also on one register. Avtar Kaur being an illiterate lady and reposing faith in the petitioner and her husband had given her signatures. After returning from England, Avtar Kaur cancelled the power of attorney, which led to the petitioner and her husband becoming angry with her and started saying that she had made an agreement with them to sell her kothi after receiving Rs.3,00,000/ - a day before and in all Rs.34,00,000/ - and delivered the possession also and if the sale deed was not executed, they would collect double the amount paid by them. Avtar Kaur further stated that the petitioner and her husband had an evil eye on her house. She had not made any kind of agreement with them about the house nor received any amount from them. Rather, the petitioner and her husband had cheated her in connivance with each other. Apprehending her arrest, the petitioner had filed an application for the grant of anticipatory bail but the same was dismissed by Additional Sessions Judge, Fast Track Court, Jalandhar vide order dated 26.11.2013. Aggrieved of the same, the petitioner moved this Court by filing Criminal Misc. No.M -42857 of 2013 which came up for hearing before Sabina J. on 18.12.2013 when the following order was passed: -