STATE OF PUNJAB Vs. KULDEEP SINGH AND OTHERS

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This order shall dispose of CRM-A-345-MA of 2013 filed by the State of Punjab and Criminal Revision No. 4165 of 2012 filed by the complainant, against the judgment dated 12.10.2012 passed by the learned Additional Sessions Judge, Jalandhar, setting aside the judgment of conviction and order of sentence dated 2.7.2011 passed by the Sub Divisional Judicial Magistrate.

(2.) On the complaint of Bhajan Singh son of Nagar Singh, made to Senior Superintendent of Police, the respondents herein were prosecuted for the offence under Sections 420, 465, 467, 468, 471, 120-B IPC in FIR No. 247 dated 13.10.2010. The allegations contained in the FIR are that in the year 1999, Tirath Singh son of the complainant had to go abroad and he was in need of Rs.6.00 lacs. The accused was said to be a money lender, who advanced loan of Rs.6.00 lacs to the complainant on interest for which he signed blank stamp papers of the denomination of Rs.300/- which were also got signed from the son of the complainant, namely, Tirath Singh. Since the complainant failed to pay loan amount, the complainant suffered a sale deed of the land owned by his son Tarsem Singh on 6.1.2000 in favour of Gurdeep Singh and his wife Balwinder Kaur and the loan amount and interest was adjusted against the sale consideration, but the blank stamp papers were not returned. On 19.5.2010, when the complainant received summons from the Court of Additional Civil Judge (Senior Division) that the complaintant came to know that respondent-Gurdeep Singh in connivance with Kuldeep Singh and Dalip Singh had forged the agreement for sale dated 25.1.2010 after converting the blank signed stamp papers, which were obtained by him in July, 1999. The agreement was said to be forged to grab the property worth crores of rupees.

(3.) On completion of the investigation, report under Section 173 Cr.P.C. was filed to prove the charges against the accused. The prosecution examined as many as eight witnesses, namely, PW1- Vikas Anand, PW2-Sohan Singh, PW3-SI Jagan Nath, PW4-Makhan Singh, PW5- Avinash Chand; PW6-Mandeep Singh Dhillon, PW7-Atul Randev, PW8-HC Kulwinder Singh, PW9-Bhajan Singh and PW10- Tirath Singh. On the other hand, after recording the statement of the accused under Section 313 Cr.P.C., Dalip Singh appeared as DW1, Kuldeep Singh as DW2, Gurdeep Singh as DW3 and Palwinder Singh as DW4.