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2025:UHC:11526

Judgment Reserved on: 20.11.2025

Judgment Pronounced on:23.12.2025

IN THE HIGH COURT OF UTTARAKHAND

AT NAINITAL

Writ Petition (Criminal) No.812 of 2024

Anoop Agrawal and Ors ......Petitioners

Vs.

State of Uttarakhand and Ors. …..Respondents

Presence

Mr. P.N. Mishra, learned Senior Advocate, assisted by Mr. Aditya Singh,

Mr. Alok Kumar Pandey, Mr. Aakash Sanyal, learned counsel for the

Petitioners.

Mr. Vijay Khanduri, learned Brief Holder, for the State of Uttarakhand.

Mr. Piyush Garg, Ms. Priyanka Agarwal, learned counsel for the

Respondent.

Hon’ble Ashish Naithani, J.

1. The present writ petition has been instituted by the Petitioners under

Article 226 of the Constitution of India assailing the order dated

20.09.2022 passed by the learned Additional Chief Judicial

Magistrate, Kashipur, District Udham Singh Nagar, in

Miscellaneous Application No. 630 of 2021, whereby an application

moved by Respondent No. 3 under Section 156(3) CrPC was

allowed, leading to registration of FIR No. 0601 of 2022 dated

23.09.2022 at Police Station Kashipur for offences under Sections

420, 467, 468 and 471 IPC.

2. The genesis of the dispute lies in eleven registered sale deeds

executed between the years 1997 and 2009 by late Shri Mahesh

Kumar Agrawal in favour of the Petitioners. The earliest sale deed is

dated 27.03.1997, nine sale deeds were executed in the year 2004,

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Writ Petition (Criminal) No. 812 of 2024, Anoop Agrawal and ors Vs. State of Uttarakhand and ors-

Ashish Naithani J.

2025:UHC:11526

and the last sale deed was executed in the year 2009. All the said

sale deeds are registered documents.

3. Late Shri Mahesh Kumar Agrawal, the executant of the sale deeds,

expired in the year 2010. Respondent No. 3 is his widow. For more

than a decade after the death of the executant, no civil proceedings

were initiated challenging the validity, execution or genuineness of

the sale deeds.

4. On 18.08.2021, Respondent No. 3 submitted a written complaint at

Police Station Kashipur alleging that the sale deeds in question were

forged and had been executed by impersonation. The complaint was

also forwarded to the Senior Superintendent of Police. No FIR was

registered pursuant thereto.

5. Thereafter, Respondent No. 3 filed an application under Section

156(3) CrPC before the Court of the learned Additional Chief

Judicial Magistrate, Kashipur, seeking a direction for registration of

an FIR against the Petitioners.

6. The said application was dismissed by the learned Magistrate by

order dated 30.11.2021, recording a prima facie finding that no

cognizable offence was made out and that the allegations appeared

to be civil in nature.

7. Aggrieved by the said rejection, Respondent No. 3 approached this

Court by filing WPCRL No. 38 of 2022. By judgment dated

18.08.2022, this Court set aside the order dated 30.11.2021 and

remanded the matter to the Magistrate for fresh consideration, with a

specific direction to examine the documents relied upon by the

complainant and to pass a reasoned speaking order.

8. Upon remand, the learned Magistrate, by the impugned order dated

20.09.2022, allowed the application under Section 156(3) CrPC and

directed registration of an FIR, pursuant to which FIR No. 0601 of

2022 was registered on 23.09.2022.

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Writ Petition (Criminal) No. 812 of 2024, Anoop Agrawal and ors Vs. State of Uttarakhand and ors-

Ashish Naithani J.

2025:UHC:11526

9. The Petitioners thereafter approached this Court by filing the present

writ petition. During the pendency of the proceedings, interim

protection from arrest was granted, subject to cooperation with the

investigation.

10. Learned senior counsel for the Petitioners submitted that the

impugned order dated 20.09.2022 suffers from complete non-

application of judicial mind and is a mechanical reiteration passed in

disregard of the directions issued by this Court in WPCRL No. 38 of

2022.

11. It was contended that the learned Magistrate failed to examine the

effect of the registered sale deeds, despite a specific mandate to do

so. All elev