The judgment established the principle that negligence by counsel in scrutinizing documents does not necessarily amount to active connivance or conspiracy, and conscious misrepresentation would lead to consequences.

ORDER :

This Criminal Original Petition has been preferred seeking to set aside the order dated 30.11.2021 passed in Crl.M.P.No.861 of 2021 in O.S.No.789 of 2011 by the learned II Additional Sub-Judge, Coimbatore.

2. The petitioner is the seventh respondent in Crl.M.P.No.861 of 2021 in O.S.No.780 of 2011, wherein an order has been passed by the learned II Additional Sub Judge, Coimbatore, on 30.11.2021, under Section 340 Cr.P.C., for taking action against the petitioner and five others for the offences under Sections 193, 199 and 200 read with 209 IPC for producing false evidence before the Court.

3. The complaint in the above petition was filed by the respondents herein. The allegations made in the complaint reads as under:

(i) An extent of 4 Acres 16 ½ Cents on the northern half of a total extent of 8 Acres 33 Cents in S.Nos.294 and 295 of Vellanaipatti Village, Coimbatore District was belonged to the first respondent’s paternal grandfather Komarasamy Gounder through a registered Sale Deed No.2692/1935. The said Komarasamy Gounder had executed a Settlement Deed in favour of the wife of his brother by name Ammasai Akkal in the year 1940. Ammasai Akkal had pre-deceased Komarasamy Gounder and hence the said property was inherited by the only son of Komarasamy Gounder by name Sennimalai Gounder and he was in enjoyment of the same till 1983. Subsequent to the death of Sennimalai Gounder, his wife and children inherited the same as his legal heirs. In the year 1984, the legal heirs of Sennimalai Gounder had executed a Release Deed in respect of their share in favour of the first respondent Muthusamy. From then onwards, the respondents are in joint possession and enjoyment of the said property and the revenue records have been mutated in their name.

(ii) In the meanwhile, one K.Saravanamoorthy had appointed one K.C.Somasundaram as his Power Agent and filed a Suit through the said Power Agent before the I Additional District Munsif, Coimbatore, in O.S.No.1041 of 2020. A notice was sent to the respondents on 10.11.2020 and in the said legal notice, it is stated that the properties belonging to the respondents were the subject matter of the Suit in O.S.No.789 of 2011 and by virtue of the final decree passed therein, the said properties were allotted to K.Saravanamoorthy. On seeing the said notice, the respondents obtained certified copy of the case records and came to know that (i) Palaniammal @ Palanathal (ii) K.Anandavadivel (iii) Kalamani @ Mahalakshmi (iv) Baby and (v) K.Saravanamoorthy were the parties to the said proceedings and they had engaged the petitioner G.Mathanaseelan and one S.Rajeshkumar as their respective counsels.

(iii) In the said suit, on the side of the plaintiffs, one registered document in Document No.663/1919 executed by one Ramana Gounder was filed by stating that it is a Sale Deed. But in reality, the said document is only a Mortgage Deed. The plaintiffs, defendants and their respective counsels conspired together with ulterior motive and filed a Compromise Petition in I.A.No.792/2012 in O.S.No.789 of 2011 obtained a compromise decree. The persons who did not have any title or enjoyment over the property had managed to file a Suit by misrepresenting the mortgage deed as a sale deed and abused the process of the court. The petitioner and another Advocate by name S.Rajeshkumar had also actively involved in the above said illegal plan conceived by the parties to the Suit and hence, a complaint has been filed by the respondents for initiating action against the petitioner and others for producing false evidence before the Court and in which the impugned order has been filed. Aggrieved over that, the petitioner who is the seventh respondent and the counsel for the plaintiffs in O.S.No.789/2011 has filed this Criminal Original Petition for setting aside the proceedings issued under sec.340 Cr.P.C as against him.

4. Heard the submissions made on either side and perused the materials available on record.

5. Mr.AR.L.Sun