##PAGE1##

IN THE HIGH COURT OF MADHYA PRADESH AT GWALIOR BEFORE HON'BLE SHRI JUSTICE MILIND RAMESH PHADKE

th

ON THE 4 OF FEBRUARY, 2026 MISC. CRIMINAL CASE No. 9644 of 2014 BADAM SINGH KUSHWAH Versus THE STATE OF MADHYA PRADESH AND OTHERS Appearance:

Shri Pratip Visoriya - Advocate for petitioner.

Ms Anjali Gyanani - Public Prosecutor for respondent/State.

None for the respondent No.2 though served and represented.

ORDER The present petition under Section 482 of Cr.P.C. has been filed by the petitioner seeking quashment of FIR bearing crime No. 346/2014 registered at Police Station Kotwali District Datia for offence punishable under Sections 420, 467, 468, 471, 120 of IPC as well as all subsequent proceedings arising out of the said FIR.

2. As per prosecution case, the complainant filed a complaint alleging that his grandmother, Smt. Patiya Kushwah, resided with him throughout her lifetime and died on 09.05.2014 after illness, whereupon her last rites were performed by him. During her lifetime, she executed a registered Will dated 26.09.1997 before the Sub-Registrar, Datia, bequeathing all her movable and immovable properties in favour of the complainant’s three sons— Mulchandra Kushwah, Mahendra Kushwah and Ranu Kushwah—with accused Narayan Kushwah as a witness. The complainant possesses all her original identity and property documents. When the complainant approached Halka Patwari Chandrashekhar Shrivastava for mutation on the basis of the Will, the Patwari dishonestly demanded a bribe of Rs.1,00,000/- to mutate the land situated at village Jhadia, failing which he threatened mutation by inheritance. Subsequently, upon notice of mutation proceedings filed by the complainant, the Patwari conspired with accused Narayan Kushwah and Advocate Badam Kushwah to prepare a forged Will in favour of Narayan Kushwah, which was notarized by Notary Advocate Rakesh Chaubey using a photograph taken from the deceased’s condolence pamphlet and false attesting witnesses. Further, the Patwari prepared forged applications, Panchanama, and fabricated seals and signatures of a Ward Councillor who was in jail at the relevant time, and caused the same to be filed ante-dated before the Tehsildar. On the basis of these forged documents, Narayan Kushwah obtained an illegal mutation order dated 16.06.2014. Thus, all accused persons, in furtherance of their common intention, committed cheating, forgery, fabrication of documents, and fraud with the object of illegally usurping the land of the complainant’s grandmother.

3. Learned counsel for the petitioner submits that the sole allegation against the present petitioner is that he merely identified Smt. Patiya Bai. It is pertinent to mention that the land in question originally belonged to the first husband of Smt. Patiya Bai. After the death of her first husband, she remarried; however, she succeeded to the land left by her first husband in accordance with law. It is further submitted that Smt. Patiya Bai executed an earlier Will in favour of the nephew of her second husband, wherein the land situated at Village Jhadiya was specifically excluded. Subsequently, she executed a second Will in respect of the land situated at Village Jhadiya in favour of the nephew of her first husband. Thus, the land in question indisputably pertains to the estate of the first husband of Smt. Patiya Bai. Ignoring all these material and admitted facts, the impugned F.I.R. has been mechanically registered against the petitioner, without any allegation of active participation, dishonest intention, or criminal conspiracy.

4. It is submitted that in the present case the FIR was registered on

28.09.2014, and till date, even after the lapse of more than eleven years, the chargesheet has not been filed. The investigation in a criminal case is intrinsically linked with the fundamental right to speedy trial guaranteed under Article 21 of the Constitution of India. Prolonged and unexplained delay in investigation, by itsel