FIR dismissed in Punjab property dispute

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court last week set aside an order of the Punjab and Haryana High Court and quashed the FIR filed in a property dispute of Moga in the Ludhiana district on May 27, 2013.

The Bench of Justices Abhay S Oka and Rajesh Bindal allowed the appeal of Sarabjit Kaur who got Rs 5 lakh as earnest money and date of registration of the sale deed was fied as 25 June 2014. Her husband Darshan Singh filed a case for recovery of Rs 29,39,500 from the two property dealers.

The complaint was investigated and finally it was decided on 18.05.2016 that the dispute being civil in nature, no police action was required. Darshan Singh made another complaint on 05.10.2016 without disclosing fate of his earlier complaint. He made yet another complaint on 23.01.2017 of forgery, etc., the basis of the FIR.

A perusal of the three complaints clearly suggest that from the initial prayer for return of the amount paid by him on 30.09.2015 and with no allegation of cheating. The prayer was for refund of Rs 29,39,500 from the property dealers.

Darshan Singh made anothe complaint to DIG Ludhiana on 05.10.2016, but did not mention the first two complaints. He filed another complaint on 23.01.2017 and on 15.06.2017.

The Bench noted that his tactic to pressurise the vendee, but he never got the sale deed registered. Had there been any civil proceedings initiated, the question of readiness of the vendee is also an aspect to be examined by the court.

It held that the entire idea seems to be to convert a civil dispute into criminal and put pressure on the appellant to return the amount allegedly paid. It said the criminal courts are not meant to settle scores or pressurise the parties to settle civil dispute.

Moreover, the court said the complaint in question on the basis of the FIR ws registered nearly three years after the last date fixed for registration of the sale deed. Allowing the proceedings to continue would be an abuse of process of the court, it held.