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SUPREME COURT OF INDIA
R.K. AGRAWAL, ABHAY MANOHAR SAPRE, JJ.
Dineshbhai Chandubhai Patel – Appellant(s)
VERSUS
State of Gujarat & Ors. – Respondent(s)
CRIMINAL APPEAL NO. 12 OF 2018 (Arising out of S.L.P.(Crl.)No.5155 of 2017)
WITH
Balubhai Ravjibhai Ahir – Appellant(s)
VERSUS
State of Gujarat & Ors. – Respondent(s)
CRIMINAL APPEAL NO.13 OF 2018 (Arising out of S.L.P.(Crl.)No.5322 of 2017)
Arjun Shankarbhai Rathod – Appellant(s)
VERSUS
Harishbhai Ramanbhai Rathod & Ors. Etc.Etc. – Respondent(s)
CRIMINAL APPEAL NO.15 OF 2018 (Arising out of S.L.P.(Crl.)No.5476 of 2017)
Manish Patel(Advocate) – Appellant(s)
VERSUS
Harishbhai Ramanbhai Rathod
& Ors. Etc.Etc. – Respondent(s)
CRIMINAL APPEAL NO. 14 OF 2018 (Arising out of S.L.P.(Crl.)No.5475 of 2017)
Harishbhai Ramanbhai Rathod – Appellant(s)
VERSUS
State of Gujarat & Anr. – Respondent(s)
CRIMINAL APPEAL NO.16 OF 2018 (Arising out of S.L.P.(Crl.)No.5500 of 2017)
AND
Manharbhai Muljibhai Kakadia – Appellant(s)
VERSUS
State of Gujarat & Ors. – Respondent(s)
CRIMINAL APPEAL NO. 17 OF 2018 (Arising out of S.L.P.(Crl.)No.5867 of 2017)
Decided On : 05-01-2018
AIR 1982 SC 949 – Relied upon
(2015) 11 SCC 730; (2011) 3 SCC 351 – Distinguished
Facts of the case:
Grievance of the complainants before the Commissioner of Police was that the named persons conspired together and snatched away from the complainants their aforementioned valuable land (disputed land) by committing fraud, cheating, deception, breach of trust etc. on them.
Two more complaints were filed before the Collector.
By impugned judgment the Single Judge of the High Court partly allowed the criminal applications filed by the named appellants.
Finding of the Court:
High Court acted beyond its jurisdiction u/s 482 CrPC.
Result: Appeals filed by complainants allowed.
JUDGMENT
Abhay Manohar Sapre, J.
1) Leave granted.
2) These appeals are filed against the common final judgment and order dated 10.07.2017 passed by the High Court of Gujarat at Ahmedabad in Criminal Misc. Application (for quashing and set aside FIR/Order) No. 16731 of 2016 with Crl. Misc. Appln. Nos. 13733, 14842/2016, SPCRA Nos. 4387, 4357, 4951/2016, Crl.Misc. Appln. No. 32440/2016 in Crl. Misc. Appln. No.16731/2016 whereby the Single Judge of the High Court partly allowed the application for quashing the FIR.
3) In order to appreciate the issues involved in this bunch of appeals, it is necessary to state few relevant facts. The facts are taken from the SLP paper books.
4) The dispute arising between the parties to this bunch of appeals essentially relates to a piece of land bearing Survey No. 96/3/2, Block No. 121, admeasuring 5281 sq. mts., Plot No. 71, admeasuring 3475 sq. mts. of Town Planning Scheme No. 36 (Althan), situated at village Althan, Taluka & city -Surat (hereinafter referred to as "the disputed land”).
5) The disputed land was jointly owned by the members of one Rathore family, who according to them, belonged to Halpai caste.
6) Six members of the Rathore Family (hereinafter referred to as the Complainants) filed one joint complaint to the Commissioner of Police, Surat on 25.04.2011 (Annexure-P-2) complaining therein that one person by name - Dineshbhai Chandubhai Patel in conspiracy with several other named persons jointly defrauded and deceived the complainants by taking advantage of their illiteracy, poverty and unawareness got executed bogus Power of Attorney with bogus signatures in relation to the disputed land. It was alleged that these persons again in furtherance with the conspiracy got the disputed land transferred in favour of several persons and illegally got the construction maps sanctioned to enable them to do construction over the disputed land.
7) In short and in substance, the grievance of the complainants was that the above named persons conspired together and snatched away from the complainants their aforementioned valuable land by committing fraud, cheating, deception, breach of trust etc. on them.
8) The complainants enclosed all disputed documents along with their complaint to show prima facie case alleged to have been committed by the above-named persons and prayed to the Commissioner of Police to investigate the entire case in relation to their land and bring the investigation to its logical end by first registering the FIR and then after holding a proper investigation, file the charge sheet in the competent Court against all those found involved in the case and prosecute them for the offences which they have allegedly committed and punish them under the Indian Penal Code and other related Acts.
9) This was followed by another complaint (Annexure P-6) filed with the Collector (SIT), Surat on 23.01.2012 against six named persons seeking therein the prosecution of those persons for having committed the alleged offences punishable under Sections 34, 114, 120-B , 420 ,465 ,468, 471 and 476 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860 (hereinafter referred to as “IPC”) read with Sections 3, 7 and 11 of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989. The complaint also set out the allegations with details alike the previous one with some new facts.
10) Yet another third complaint was filed with the Collector, District Disputes Redressal Forum, Surat (Annexure-P-13) on 07.10.2013 by one of the complainants against 8 named persons making more or less same allegations made in the first two complaints with more detailed facts seeking to prosecute them for the commission of offences named in the earlier complaints.
11) It is these three complaints which led to registration of the FIR (CR No.I.C.R. No. 90 of 2016) on 06.06.2016 with Khatodara Police Station, Surat giving rise to filing of several criminal applications, bail petitions etc. one after the other at the instances of the named ac
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