The Delhi High Court has set aside a trial court judgment acquitting two accused in an affidavit forging case. The fake affidavit affirmed handing over of a shop by a tenant to one of the accused in South Extension Part-II here way back in 1993.
Setting side the judgment, Justice Indermeet Kaur said: “The trial court had based its version on mis-appreciation of the facts as also of the evidence. It has nowhere discussed the evidence of the prosecution; it has straightway jumped to the evidence in defence and has believed the entire version set up by the accused without giving any discussion on the evidence of the prosecution.’’
“Perverse judgement”
“The judgment of the trial court is not only perverse but it is based on manifest errors both on the factual as also on the legal aspects which has resulted in gross miscarriage of justice qua the tenant. The High Court sitting in an appeal against the trial court order is constrained to set aside it,’’ Justice Kaur said
“Evidence on record has amply established that the accused are guilty. They are convicted for having conspired with each other and having prepared the forged affidavit with an intent to cheat the tenant,’’ the judgment stated.
“The shop had been illegally usurped, demolished and destroyed with the intention to cause an irreparable and wrongful loss and damage to the tenant and a consequent wrongful gain to the accused. This was on the strength of the forged affidavit,’’ the judgment further said.
“Accused G. C. Jain and Arun Ydav are accordingly convicted under Sections 120B (criminal conspiracy) read with 468 (forgery) 471 (using as genuine a forged document which is known to be forged) and 427 (mischief) of the Indian Penal Code,’’ the judgment said.
“They are sentenced to undergo rigorous imprisonment for one year for the offence under Section 120B; for the offence under Section 468, they are sentenced to undergo for one year and to pay a fine of Rs.10,000 each. No separate sentence is called for under Section 471. For the offence under Section 427 both the respondents are sentenced to undergo rigorous imprisonment for six months. All the sentences shall run concurrently,’’ Justice Kaur said in her judgment
According to the charge-sheet filed by the Crime Branch of the Delhi Police, the shop of the tenant, Shiv Shankar Sharma, in South Extension Part-II was demolished at the instance of G. C. Jain.
In the course of the investigation G. C.Jain had produced an affidavit purported to have been executed by the tenant affirming that he had agreed to voluntarily surrender his shop in his favour. The affidavit also bore the signature of Arun Yadav as an attesting witness.
The case of the prosecution was that it was a forged affidavit and had been used by the accused and their accomplices to usurp the premises of the tenant. The evidence gathered showed that the affidavit was in fact not signed by the tenant and this was also proved in a forensic test.
However, the trial court had acquitted the two on the ground that the prosecution had not been able to prove beyond all reasonable doubt that it was the same affidavit which G. C. Jain had handed over to a head constable of the Crime Branch.
