New Delhi, March 18 The Supreme Court has set aside a Himachal Pradesh High Court order that had quashed a First Information Report (FIR) alleging fraud, forgery, and criminal conspiracy to seize ancestral property worth crores of rupees in the Shimla district.
A bench of Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta, in a judgment pronounced on Wednesday, allowed separate appeals filed by the complainant, Sharla Bazliel, and the Himachal Pradesh government against the quashing of the FIR in the case involving alleged land grabbing.
Setting aside the high court verdict, the top court said, "We find that the high court interfered in exercising its inherent powers and quashed the FIR at the very outset, when the investigation was in full swing and crucial evidence was yet to be collected."
Writing the judgment, Justice Mehta termed the quashing of the FIR by the high court "completely unjustified", stating that allegations of forgery were presented in the FIR, and the investigating agency had undertaken the task of having 11 disputed documents examined by an expert in handwriting.
"We are of the firm opinion that the high court prematurely quashed and terminated the proceedings arising out of the FIR filed by the appellant-complainant, despite clear allegations establishing the offences of fraud, falsification of documents, forgery, and criminal breach of trust...," the apex court said.
It directed the investigating officer to conclude the investigation and file the chargesheet before the concerned trial court at the earliest.
"However, we make it clear that the observations made ... are restricted only to the decision of the present appeal(s) and shall have no bearing on the rights and defenses available to the parties at the appropriate stage of the case," it said.
The case relates to allegations that Baldev Thakur, Daljit Singh, and Jienpuri Kamsuon conspired to fraudulently seize the ancestral property and assets of the complainant's father, the late G B Bazliel, by forging documents and misappropriating funds.
According to the FIR registered by the state CID in Shimla in August 2022, the accused allegedly exploited the deteriorating mental and physical health of the complainant's father after his wife's death.
The complainant has alleged that the accused manipulated him into transferring family property and bank funds to their benefit.
The FIR also alleged that an amount of approximately Rs 1.18 crore was transferred from Bazliel's bank accounts to Singh, without any lawful transaction.
In addition, around 49 bighas of family land were allegedly sold to Thakur in 2017 through a registered sale deed for Rs 3.9 crore, purportedly at a price significantly below the prevailing circle rate.
Investigations later indicated discrepancies between the declared sale price and government-notified circle rates, indicating undervaluation and potential fraud.
The high court quashed the FIR in January 2024, observing that the allegations did not disclose the essential ingredients of fraud or forgery and appeared to be based on speculation.