The inherent powers of the High Court under Section 482 of the Code of Criminal Procedure extend to protecting personal liberty when it is jeopardized by the enforcement of a forged order.

( 1 ) THESE two connected petitions may be conveniently disposed of by a single order inasmuch as they arise out of common facts and circumstances. They have been filed in somewhat extraordinary circumstances and disclose a most curious and deplorable state of affairs. In the annals of crime some rare cases have been known in which convicted accused have succeeded in. securing their release by means of forged orders in their favour but for once we have before us reverse case in which an innocent person has been deprived of his liberty with the aid of a purely forged order. Mohd. Hafiz has filed the habeas corpus petition praying that he is in unlawful custody and should be released forthwith. Hari Mohan Singh has filed a Criminal Misc. Application Under Section 482 of the Cri. P. C. stating that he is in imminent danger of being arrested in pursuance of the same forged order and conserquently his arrest may be restrained.

( 2 ) THE allegations made in the habeas corpus petition are that the petitioner has been aggrieved by the prejudicial action of the opposite parties who proceeded on the basis of an order in Mukadma No. 376 of 1973, P. S. Kotwali district Ballia, purported to have been passed in State v. Harmohan and Mohd. Hafiz Under Sections 395, 396 and 397, I. P. C. and issued by the High Court as per letter No. 1019/1976-77 stating that the applicant had been convicted under the above sections and sentenced to undergo sixteen years rigorous imprisonment. The said order appeared to bear a seal of the High Court and was sent to the Station Officer, Police Station Bhognipur, district Kanpur for the arrest of the applicant. The order was dated 4th May, 1977, having an endorsement of the signature of one K. N. Singh. This order was completely forged but the police of police station Bhognipur, district Kanpur Dehat had arrested the applicant in pursuance of that order. It was further stated that the applicant had never been prosecuted or convicted for any of the offences mentioned in the order and his detention in these circumstances was patently unlawful and consequently he was entitled to release by means of a writ of habeas corpus. More or less similar allegations were made in the Criminal Misc. Application of Hari Mohan Singh made Under Section 482 of the Code of Criminal Procedure. In short, it was stated that on the basis of the same forged order the police of police station Bhognipur, district Kanpur Dehat were proceeding to arrest him, that he was absolutely innocent and had not been convicted for any of the offences alleged in the aforesaid order and consequently this Court should in the exercise of its inherent jurisdiction pass appropriate orders preventing his arrest.

( 3 ) PURSUANT to our order passed earlier the petitioner Mohd. Hafiz was produced before us in Court today. The Police also produced before us the original document on the basis of which the petitioners arrest was effected, We have carefully scrutinised this document which purports to be an order of warrant of arrest issued by the High Court for the arrest of the petitioner. It has some striking features to which we shall presently refer and which leave no room for doubt that this is an entirely faked document. The allegations made by the petitioners are supported by affidavits. We have also examined the Deputy Registrar (Judicial), Sri Lal Ji Sahai Srivastava and Sri T. N, Varma, Section Officer, Criminal Department (C) Section, High Court, Allahabad today. Sri Lal Ji Sahai Srivastava, Deputy Registrar deposed after examining the original document in Court that the seal affixed thereon was not a genuine seal of the High Court. He pointed out that the High Court seal contains the image of the national emblem whereas the circular seal affixed on the said document bears instead the words "high Court, Allahabad" in English noted in the centre. He stated that the genuine seal of the document was kept exclusively in his custody and was a