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Pratibha Manchanda & Anr. vs State of Haryana & Anr. (2023 INSC 612)

Criminal Appeal · 2023 INSC 612Decided 7 Jul 2023
Criminal Appeal No. 1793 of 2023
Surya Kant · C.T. Ravikumar · Dipankar Datta

Background

An elderly NRI couple who owned a valuable plot of land (over 15 kanals, claimed worth around Rs. 50 crores) near Gurugram discovered that a stranger, Respondent No. 2, had sold their land using a 1996 General Power of Attorney (GPA) they say they never executed, and a 2022 sale deed that omitted mandatory details like the PAN number and TDS deduction, for a price far below market value. They filed an FIR alleging forgery and cheating; the Additional Sessions Judge refused Respondent No. 2 anticipatory bail citing unresolved questions, but the Punjab and Haryana High Court granted him anticipatory bail subject to conditions, treating the dispute as largely civil in nature. The appellants challenged the grant of anticipatory bail before the Supreme Court.

Decision Breakdown

The Supreme Court found multiple red flags the High Court had overlooked: the original 1996 GPA was never produced, Respondent No. 2 sought a certified copy only 26 years after its supposed execution, the land's ownership never changed in revenue records despite the GPA's sweeping powers, and the sale deed lacked mandatory formalities and undervalued the property. Applying the settled anticipatory-bail principles from Siddharam Satlingappa Mhetre and Sushila Aggarwal (weighing the gravity of the offence, the accused's role, and the need for custodial interrogation), the Court held these material facts were not properly placed before the High Court and that custodial interrogation of Respondent No. 2 and others was necessary to uncover a suspected land fraud/conspiracy. It set aside the anticipatory bail, directed the Gurugram Police Commissioner to constitute a Special Investigation Team to probe the matter (including the vendees and Sub-Registrar officials) within two months, and clarified that pending civil suits over the GPA's validity cannot stall or override the criminal investigation.

Lesson Learnt

Anticipatory bail can be set aside where a court granting it was not shown crucial red flags (a missing original document, decades-long unexplained delay, formalities skipped in registration), and pending civil litigation over the same property does not prevent parallel criminal investigation into forgery or fraud allegations.

Official source (sci.gov.in)View Judgment (PDF)

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