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Synopsis

The Supreme Court has quashed an FIR and criminal proceedings initiated at Buxar court in Bihar against a buyer of a land at Dehradun on a complaint lodged by landowner alleging cheating, forgery and fraud by Power of Attorney holder.

The court emphasised that protection is to be accorded against unwanted criminal prosecution and from the prospect of unnecessary trial.

A bench of Justices Vikram Nath and Ahsanuddin Amanullah said the appellant cannot be dragged into dispute between land-owners/principals inter-se and/or between them and the Power of Attorney holder, when the entire consideration has been paid and a suit to cancel the sale deed was already dismissed.

The court allowed a plea by Bharat Sher Singh Kalsia against the Patna High Court's order which had dismissed his plea for quashing the FIR.

It was alleged that criminal acts were committed by the accused, including the appellant, by misusing the PoA. It was also claimed they had misappropriated the property, did not rendition the account and that the Sale Deed was fraudulent as it was without obtaining the signatures of the land owners.

The bench, however, found that a case for interference has been made out. 

"The undisputed and admitted facts are that the PoA was executed by the landowners/principals, including respondent no.2 (complainant) and others on 12.04.1994, in favour of the person from whom the appellant purchased the land on 24.08.2000," the bench noted.

The court noted, besides the contingencies where the PoA holder had been authorised to execute any type of deed and receive consideration and get registration done, which included sale of movable/immovable property on behalf of the landowners/principals, the land owners/principals had also retained the authority that if a Sale Deed was/had been signed by them, the very same PoA holder was also authorised to present it for registration and admit to execution before the authority concerned. 

In the case, the bench also noted, it is apparent that the matter relates to a dispute among the co-sharers as the PoA-holder is the son of one of the co-sharers/principals namely Smt Indumati R V Singh.

"The PoA and its execution/registration not being in dispute, the only controversy relating to the Sale Deed executed by the PoA-holder in favour of the appellant in Dehradun for property located at Dehradun would thus, in the emerging factual matrix, clearly be an issue for the courts at Dehradun to examine, much less give.rise to any cause of action at Buxar," the court said.

The bench also noted the issue of jurisdiction is limited to the transaction of the execution of the Sale Deed in favour of the appellant, and not to any other controversy or dispute the landowners/principals may have, either inter-se or against the PoA-holder. 

"Moreover, a suit filed by the land-owners/principals at Dehradun prior to the lodging of the FIR, for the same cause of action, has been dismissed in favour of the appellant, where a specific plea to cancel the Sale Deed stands rejected," the bench said.

The court said the dispute, if any, is between the land-owners/principals inter-se and/or between them and the PoA-holder. 

"We think it would be improper to drag the appellant into criminal litigation, when he had no role either in the execution of the PoA nor any misdeed by the PoA holder vis-à-vis the land owners/principals. Moreover, the entire consideration amount has been paid by the appellant to the PoA-holder," the bench said.

The court, thus, set aside the High Court's judgement and quashed the criminal proceedings.