JAGJIT SINGH Vs. STATE OF PUNJAB

JUDGEMENT

(1.) AS is evident from the record that the earlier 1st petition for regular bail, bearing CRM No.M -19422 of 2014 filed by the petitioner in this very case, was dismissed as withdrawn, vide order dated 11.8.2014 (Annexure P12) by this Court.

(2.) TERSELY , the facts and material, which need a necessary mention for the limited purpose of deciding the instant 2nd petition for bail filed by petitioner Jagjit Singh s/o Hira Singh (main accused) and emanating from the record, as claimed by the prosecution, are that Gurmail Singh (retired Lecturer) and Gurdev Singh (retired Headmaster), sons of Hari Singh, were the owners and in possession of the land in dispute. After their retirement, they settled in USA. After the death of Gurmail Singh, his son complainant Gurinder Singh Garcha (for brevity "the complainant"), his mother and sister, inherited his property in equal shares as per natural succession. In this manner, they became absolute owners and in possession of the land in question. According to the complainant, the petitioner with the connivance of his other co -accused, has cheated them, prepared the forged and fabricated sale deed dated 16.3.2010, purported to have been executed by Gurmail Singh (deceased). Not only that, the accused have also prepared another fake and fabricated sale deed dated 22.3.2010, pertaining to the joint land of late Gurmail Singh and Gurdev Singh and illegally transferred their property, worth crores of rupees, by impersonation and forging their signatures.

(3.) LEVELING a variety of allegations and narrating the sequence of events, in detail in the FIR, in all, the complainant claimed that the petitioner, who is main accused, has hatched a criminal conspiracy with his other co -accused, cheated them, prepared the forged documents/pointed sale deeds in respect of the land of late Gurmail Singh and Gurdev Singh, predecessors -in -interest of complainant and other owners. In this manner, the accused committed forgery and fraudulently got transferred the valuable property of the complainant and other owners in his own names by impersonating and forging their signatures, for the purpose of cheating. They prepared and used the fake and fabricated documents as genuine, knowingfully well that the same are forged. In the background of these allegations and in the wake of complaint of the complainant, the present criminal case was registered against the petitioner (main accused) and his other co -accused, vide FIR No.265 dated 15.9.2013, on accusation of having committed the offences punishable under sections 419, 420, 465, 467, 468, 471 and 120 -B IPC by the police of Police Station Focal Point, Ludhiana.