The Appellants, as alluded to earlier, have adopted the stance that they never executed or registered any GPA in favor of Respondent No. 2, nor are they even acquainted with him in any form or fashion. Instead, both the 1996 GPA and the Sale Deed were completely fraudulent documents created by Respondent No. 2 and the remaining coaccused named in the FIR, in collusion with other officials at the SubRegistrar’s office. These actions were carried out in complete subterfuge and without any involvement of the Appellants.
The Appellants claim that they are in possession of the original sale deed for the Subject Land, and a true copy of it was attached to the complaint. Upon examining the 2022 Sale Deed, it was apparent to them that the accused had failed to provide a PAN Number, which is mandatorily required for a valid sale deed. Furthermore, there was no mention of the 1% amount of Tax Deducted at Source (hereinafter, ‘TDS’) being deposited, which also forms part of the requirements for execution and registration of a sale deed.
The complaint also mentioned the current market value of the Appellants’ land, measuring 15 Kanal 2 Marla, as being approximately not less than Rs. 50 crores. However, in the 2022 Sale Deed, the sale consideration was shown as an abjectly low and meager amount of Rs. 6,60,62,500/, which was significantly below its actual asking price. Moreover, the Appellants had not received even this miniscule amount even if the 2022 Sale Deed was hypothetically considered to be valid. Thus, this document was clearly created by Respondent No. 2 and the coaccused in collusion with the witnesses, the scribe, and officials of the SubRegistrar Tehsil Kadipur, District Gurugram, with the unholy intention to wisk the property away from the complainants and place it under the possession of the accused.
It goes without saying that the alleged offences of forging documents for transferring ownership of land worth crores of rupees are grave in nature. Hence, while it is extremely important to protect the personal liberty of a person, it is equally incumbent upon us to analyze the seriousness of the offence and determine if there is a need for custodial interrogation.
Land scams in India have been a persistent issue, involving fraudulent practices and illegal activities related to land acquisition, ownership, and transactions. Scammers often create fake land titles, forge sale deeds, or manipulate land records to show false ownership or an encumbrancefree status. Organized criminal networks often plan and execute these intricate scams, exploiting vulnerable individuals and communities, and resorting to intimidation or threats to force them to vacate their properties. These land scams not only result in financial losses for individuals and investors but also disrupt development projects, erode public trust, and hinder socioeconomic progress.
Given the facts and circumstances of this case, we expand the scope of inquiry in these proceedings and direct the Commissioner of Police, Gurugram to constitute a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to be headed by an officer not below the rank of Dy. Superintendent of Police along with two Inspectors as its members. The SIT shall take over the investigation forthwith. The SIT shall have the liberty to subject Respondent No. 2, the vendee(s), the Sub Registrar/officials, or other suspects to custodial interrogation to arrive at a definite conclusion, strictly in accordance with law.
SUPREME COURT JUDGMENT
Citation: 2023 STPL(WEB) 55 SC
PRATIBHA MANCHANDA & ANR. Vs. STATE OF HARYANA & ANR.
Criminal Appeal No 1793 of 2023 [Arising out of Special Leave Petition (Crl.) No.8146 2023] [Arising out of Special Leave Petition (Crl.) D.No.20936 of 2022]-Decided on 7-7-2023
Click to See Full Text of Judgment: 2023 STPL(WEB) 55 SC
