THE HONOURABLE SRI JUSTICE SAMUDRALA GOVINDARAJULU CRIMINAL PETITION No.4294 of 2008 ORDER: The petitioner/A2 is accused of oﬀence punishable under Section 420 I.P.C. Subject matter of the case is 200 Sq.yards of site in Sy.No.141 in Plot Nos.14 and 18. Originally, Amaram Sattaiah alias Satti Reddy and four others were owners of the said site. A1 and A2 obtained General Power of Attorneys dated 09.07.1984 and 22.07.1984 from the original owners. A1 and A2 thereafter sold Plot Nos.14 and 18 to Pridhvi Raj Singh, vide registered document No.2305 of 1991, dated 02.03.1991. It is alleged that A1 and A2 again sold the same site to N.Bhadrinarayana, by another registered document No.5068 of 1994, dated 04.05.1994. Though A2 disputes he joining in the sale deed in favour of Bhadrinarayana, the said question of fact cannot be considered in this petition. N.Bhadrinarayana died on 25.11.2002. Legal Heirs of N.Bhadrinarayana entered into registered agreements for sale - cum - General Power of Attorney, in favour of Pogaku Narasimha Goud (2nd respondent) on 28.08.2006 and 15.05.2006. It is alleged that A1 signed as witness in the agreement - cum - General Power of Attorney in respect of Plot No.14. The said Pogaku Narasimha Goud (2nd respondent) sold Plot Nos.14 and 18 to Satyanarayana and Chary in the year 2006. The said Satyanarayana and Chary went to the plots in the year 2007 and found Pridhvi Raj Singh there and thereafter obtained encumbrance certiﬁcate and came to know about the previous sales in respect of the plots. 2. It is contended by the petitioner’s counsel that even if the allegations are taken on their face value as narrated in the charge sheet, they do not constitute oﬀence under Section 420 I.P.C. On the other hand, it is contended by the 2nd respondent’s counsel that executing a second sale deed after losing their title in favour of Pridhvi Raj Singh by A1 and A2, amounts to cheating and also creation of a false document. Section 464 I.P.C. deﬁnes making a false document. None of the limbs in Section 464 I.P.C. attracts executing a second title deed after losing title to the property in favour of another person. The oﬀence alleged in this case is one under Section 420 I.P.C. In order to constitute an oﬀence under Section 420 I.P.C., there must be element of cheating as deﬁned under Section 415 I.P.C. According to the prosecution case, the 2nd respondent/de facto complainant is said to have been cheated by A1 and A2. In case there is any element of deception or fraudulent or dishonest inducement to the 2nd respondent, it was only from legal heirs of Bhadrinarayana. For the document in favour of the 2nd respondent, A2 is not a party and neither A2 signed as attestor nor witness. If any person is aggrieved by the registered sale deed dated 04.05.1994 executed by A1 and A2, it was N.Bhadrinarayana. The said Bhadrinarayana is a close relation of A1. There was no privity of contract between A2 and the 2nd respondent in the transaction. There is no element of deception practised by A2 or fraudulent or dishonest representation made by A2 to the 2nd respondent in order to attract the oﬀence under Section 420 I.P.C. against him. As contended by the petitioner’s counsel, the dispute between the parties is purely of civil nature. If the 2nd respondent obtained encumbrance certiﬁcate prior to obtaining agreements – cum - General Power of Attorney in respect of these plots, he would have known the previous transactions relating to these plots. Having failed to do so, now he cannot allege cheating of him by A2. Therefore, I ﬁnd that the allegations herein taken on their face value do not attract the offence under Section 420 I.P.C., against A2. 3. In the result, the Criminal Petition is allowed quashing proceedings in CC.No.149 of 2008, on the ﬁle of VII Metropolitan Magistrate, Cyberabad at Hayathnagar, insofar as the petitioner/A2 is concerned. ______________________________ JUSTICE SAMUDRALA GOVINDARAJULU Dt:08.12.2011 ysk THE HON’BLE SRI JUSTICE SAMUDRALA GOVINDARAJULU CRIMINAL PETITION No.4294 of 2008 Dt:08.12.2011 ysk