IN THE HIGH COURT OF KERALA AT ERNAKULAM
Crl.MC.No. 3904 of 2009()
1. ALIYAR,S/O.KOCHUPILLA,AGED 36 YEARS,
... Petitioner
2. SOOFI,W/O.ALIYAR,AGED 32 YEARS,
3. SHAMSUDHEEN,S/O.KASIM,AGED 46 YEARS,
4. SHAJITHA, AGED 36 YEARS,
Vs
1. STATE OF KERALA REP.BY THE PUBLIC
... Respondent
2. WAHEEDA,AGED 42 YEARS,W/O.ABDUL KARIM,
3. THE STATION HOUSE OFFICER,
For Petitioner :SRI.U.BALAGANGADHARAN
For Respondent :PUBLIC PROSECUTOR
The Hon'ble MR. Justice P.BHAVADASAN
Dated :19/02/2010
O R D E R
P.BHAVADASAN, J.
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Cr. MC No.3904 of 2009-A
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Dated 19th February 2010
Order
This petition is filed under S.482 of the Code of
Criminal Procedure, seeking to have Annexure D complaint and
also FIR No.671/09 registered by the Adimali Police Station,
quashed.
2. The petitioners are the accused in Crime
No.671/09 of Adimali Police Station for having committed the
offences punishable under Ss.465, 468, 471 and 120 IPC. They
would point out that the complaint is a frivolous and vexatious
one and the dispute involved is actually a civil dispute.
3. The fourth petitioner had purchased 15 cents of
land in RS No.2/48/2/2 in Valara Kara of Devikulam Taluk, from
petitioners 1 and 2. The third petitioner is the husband of the
fourth petitioner. The property is situated in two plains and there
is a canal and its ridge, passing through the middle of the
property so purchased. The ridge is used by the second
respondent and others as a pathway. It is claimed by the
petitioners that the said route has been used as a pathway for
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over 60 years and it leads to the National Highway. Various other
allegations are also made in the petition. It is pointed out that
there was a suit as OS No.206/08 before the Munsiff’s Court,
Devikulam, instituted by the second respondent, in which an
injunction against petitioners 3 and 4, was sought. There are
records to show that the Adimali Panchayat had sanctioned
amounts for the maintenance of the said road. A Commission
appointed in the suit filed by the second respondent has
submitted a report. According to the petitioners, the
Commissioner has categorically stated that there is a pathway
having a width of 1 to 2 feet. It is also stated that the pathway
has been in existence at least from 1964 onwards and it is being
used by the public. Copy of the Commissioner’s report is
produced as Annexure C. In the suit, it became necessary for
petitioners 3 and 4 to produce the original of Annexure A
document and they did so. No sooner than the said document
was produced by them, the complaint was laid by the second
respondent. In the complaint, she alleged that the petitioners
had produced a forged document to show the existence of a
pathway having an extent of 3 ft. It is also pointed out that the
petitioners have no right over the pathway in question as per the
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documents.
4. It seems that the complaint was forwarded under
S.156(3) Cr.PC. for investigation and a crime was registered.
The contention of the petitioners is that the matter is a pure civil
dispute which has to be resolved in a civil proceeding. They
submit that the act of the complainant in invoking the criminal
jurisdiction is with ulterior motives. The suit is still pending and
the matter has to be thrashed out in that suit. Therefore, it is
stated tat the present proceedings is an abuse of the process of
the Court.
5. The CD was made available before this Court for
perusal. On going through the CD and the averments in the
petition, it is felt tat the matter is purely a civil dispute. If as a
matter of fact, if there is no pathway in question and it has been
falsely shown in the document, on which petitioners 3 and 4 rely,
the dispute can be easily resolved in a civil suit. It has also to be
noticed that a civil suit is already pending before the Munsiff’s
Court Devikulam. It is also significant to notice that a
Commission has been appointed and the Commissioner has filed
a report in the matter. It is under these circumstances, that one
has to view the present complaint. If as a matter of fact, it is
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found by the Civil Court that there are fraudulent recitals in the
document relied on by the petitioners, then that Court also can
take appropriate proceedings. At any rate, the present
proceedings are quite misconceived. One cannot omit to note
that the actual dispute is regarding a pathway. While the
petitioner would say that it has been in use for a long time, the
second respondent says otherwise. Whether there is such a
recital in the document relied on by the petitioners, whether it is
true or false or whether there is any pathway in existence as
claimed by the petitioners, are all matters which have to be
resolved in the suit pending before the Munsiff’s Court. The
present proceedings are uncalled for. Accordingly, this petition is
allowed. F.I.R. In Crime No.671/09 of Adimali Police Station
stands quashed and further proceedings therein shall stand
dropped.
P.BHAVADASAN, JUDGE
sta
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