ABID ALI AND ORS. Vs. STATE OF RAJASTHAN

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The petitioners have prayed for quashing of FIR No.83/12 registered at Police Station Railway Colony, Kota City for offence under Sections 420 and 120B IPC.

(2.) According to the petitioners, the brief facts of the case are that the petitioner No.1 Abid Ali was working as Patwari in Patwar Circle Dadwada, Tehsil Ladpur, District Kota. The petitioner No.2 Mangi Lal Nimbel was working as Girdawar (Inspector, Land Records) in Tehsil Ladpur, District Kota. On 26.5.2010, Chaturbhuj, Ram Chandra and Ganga Ram alongwith their sisters filed an application before Abid Ali, the petitioner No.1. They claimed that they are legal heirs of one Kishna who was owner of Khasra No.202 situated at Rang Talab, Patwar Circle Dadwada, Tehsil Ladpura, District Kota. They further claimed that their father, Kishna, has expired. Therefore, the said land needs to be mutated in their name. Since the said application was not supported by any death certificate, Abid Ali asked them to furnish the death certificate. On the next date, they furnished the death certificate. Therefore, Abid Ali put a note on the mutation register recording that the Khatedar tenant has passed away and the legal heirs had filed the application. He processed the application for inquiry and appropriate orders from the concerned Tehsildar. The petitioner No.2 Mangilal Nimbel as the Inspector, Land Records, processed the application and placed it before the Tehsildar. On 22.6.2010, the Tehsildar attested the mutation entries. After mutation, Chaturbhuj and others sold the land in dispute to one Durga Shankar. Subsequently, Abid Ali discovered that Durga Shankar is too poor a person to be able to buy the land. Suspecting something amiss, he inquired into the matter. He discovered that Chaturbhuj, Ram Chandra and Ganga Ram were not the legal heirs of Kishan; that they had wrongly claimed to be his legal heirs. Therefore, he immediately informed Mangilal, the Tehsildar. The Tehsildar cancelled the mutation entries vide order dated 20.2.2011. He also cancelled the mutation entries made in favour of the subsequent purchaser, Durga Shankar. Abid Ali also requested the Tehsildar to take appropriate action against Chaturbhuj, Ram Chandra and Ganga Ram. Consequently, the Tehsildar wrote a letter to the Collector, Kota giving details of sequence of the events. Resultantly, the District Collector, Kota issued a notice to Chaturbhuj and others.

(3.) Meanwhile, one Satvendra Singh made a complaint to the District Collector, Kota alleging therein that Abid Ali alongwith others have acted illegally and have transferred a valuable land to others who were not entitled to the said land. On the basis of said complaint, an inquiry was held and it was discovered that the petitioners were negligent in carrying out their official duties. Subsequently, on the basis of inquiry, a FIR was lodged by Mr. Man Singh, SDM, Kota against the petitioners for offences under Section 420 read with Section 120B IPC. The Department has also started an inquiry against the petitioners and has suspended them from their respective posts. Hence, this petition for quashing the FIR.