Excelsior Correspondent
SRINAGAR, Apr 23: The High Court has directed the investigating agency (police) to conduct further investigation with regard to forged allotment of Wakf Board Land case and submit supplementary report before the trial court in this regard.
Justice Sanjay Dhar directed the investigating agency to conduct further investigation in the matter in the light of the observations made and thereafter file a supplementary report before the trial court, preferably within a period of two months.
“Till such time the supplementary report is submitted by the respondent before the trial court, the proceedings in the impugned challan before the trial court shall remain stayed”, Justice Dhar directed.
The petitioner-Ghulam Qadir Mir has challenged the challan emanating from FIR No.22/2012 for offences under Section 420, 467, 468, 471, 120-B RPC read with Section 5(2) Prevention of Corruption Act.
As per the contents of the FIR, which has resulted in filing of the challan before the trial court, the respondent-police conducted a preliminary enquiry in respect of a complaint lodged by the Secretary, J&K Muslim Wakf Board and during the enquiry it was found that the donated land measuring 6 kanals and 8 marlas situated at Rangpora Zakura to holy shrine of Hazratbal and Khankahi Moula Srinagar was leased out by the management of the Muslim Wakf Board to one Ishtiyaq Ahmad Ashai of Aali Kadal, Srinagar, vide its decision dated 26.10.2002.
But instead of execution of a lease deed with the said Ishtiyaq Ahmad Ashai, the stretch of land in question was sold to him on the basis of a forged order bearing No.ERMAT/360-64 dated 05.08.2003, issued under the forged signature by the then Vice Chairman of the Board.
In the FIR it is further alleged that Ishtiyaq Ahmad Ashai, in pursuance of a criminal conspiracy hatched with other concerned, fabricated the sale documents to the detriment of the Board and, prima facie, offences under Section 420, 467, 468, 471, 120-B RPC were disclosed.
After investigation of the case, a charge sheet came to be laid by respondent-police against six accused- Abdul Rashid Wani (Collector, Revenue Estates/Assistant Secretary, Muslim Auqaf Trust), Mohammad Farooq Hakak alias Jan, Ghulam Qadir Mir, Mohammad Lateef Misgar, Ali Mohammad Bhat (Land Revenue Officer, Muslim Auqaf Trust) and Ghulam Ahmad Hajam. Accused Ali Mohammad Bhat and Ghulam Ahmad Hajam are expired.
The court without going into the allegations made in the charge sheet against the other accused and without dilating on the grounds of challenge which have been raised by the petitioner-accused in this petition, noticed certain startling gaps in the investigation which has been conducted by the respondent-police in the instant case.
Court from a perusal of the challan which includes the statements of the witnesses recorded under Section 161 of Cr. P. C, said that the investigating agency has neither questioned nor examined Ishtiyaq Ahmad Ashai, the person in whose favour the order of allotment has been made, which is claimed to be forged.
Court said the Investigating Officer has not taken any trouble to make any effort to summon Ishtiyaq Ahmad Ashai or to examine him. “If it is the case of the prosecution that the fraud was committed in the name of Ishtiyaq Ahmad Ashai without his knowledge, then he is certainly a very important witness in the case and in case the forged allotment was made with his knowledge and connivance, then he has to be impleaded as an accused in the challan. The investigating agency has conveniently ignored this aspect of the matter without assigning any reason, much less a cogent reason”, court said.
Another aspect of the matter which has not been probed is related to the identity of Ishfaq Ahmad Ashai is that the probe agency has not investigated as to whether Ishtiyaq Ahmad Ashai and Ishfaq Ahmad Ashai are one and the same person or they are two different persons or else whether the person by the name of Ishfaq Ahmad Ashai does not exist at all. The challan in this regard is silent. and the material annexed to the charge sheet also does not suggest anything in this regard.
Court as such stayed the proceedings of the trial of the case with the directions to the probe agency to investigate the case further and filed the supplementary report before the court of law so that the trial of the case is done fairly.
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