: 1 : USJ IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT BOMBAY CRIMINAL APPELLATE JURISDICTION WRIT PETITION NO. 780 OF 2009 Harendra Daulatrai Shah and Ors. .. Petitioners v/s. The State of Maharashtra .. Respondent ........ Mr. P.M. Pradhan for petitioners. Smt. V.R. Bhosale, APP for State. Mr. Pradeep A. Joshi for the intervenor in APPW 207/09. ........ CORAM : B.H. MARLAPALLE & R.Y.GANOO, JJ. Dated : 16th November, 2009. P.C. : 1. Heard Mr. Pradhan, learned Counsel for the petitioners. The petitioners have approached this Court by filing this petition under Article 226 of the Constitution of India and prayed for quashing of the FIR dated 27th February, 2009 lodged by the Circle Officer with Murbad Police station as being illegal and bad in law. : 2 : 2. As per the said FIR, the petitioners while purchasing the agricultural land at Shirvali (Survey No./Gat No.148 and 149) had shown their status as agriculturists though none of them are in fact, agriculturists and thus on the basis of false documents, declared their status as agriculturists and purchased agricultural land. 3. It is the case of the petitioners that they had already purchased agricultural land in village Mhaswal, Survey No.93/1 H.No, out of 1/Part, admeasuring about 40 Ares, from one Shri. Tukaram S. Bhoir in the year 2004 and on the basis of the said acquisition of agricultural land, they acquired the status of agriculturists and purchased the agricultural land from village Shirvali and, therefore, even prima-facie, there is no case against them to investigate for the offences punishable under Section 468, 471, 420 r/w. Section 34 of the IPC. 4. We called upon the petitioners to submit a copy of the 7/12 extract of any agricultural land of their ownership prior to the purchase of agricultural land at village Shirvali. Despite adjournments, such a document could not be produced though a copy of the Sale Deed in : 3 : respect of the land at village Shirvali has been placed before us. It is possible that the Sale transaction is a bonafide transaction and the Sale Deeds have been registered. However, if the petitioners or any one of them has purchased agricultural land showing himself / themselves as agriculturist/s on the basis of some vague or fabricated documents as has been claimed by the Circle Officer as well as other private parties, who have applied to intervene in this matter, an inquiry is required to be conducted and, therefore, we are satisfied that the investigation into the FIR registered against the petitioners must go on. At the end of the investigation, the police may find some case or may not find any case against the petitioners and they will have to submit the report to the concerned Court which will deal with it as per law. Hence, the petition is rejected. 5. As the writ petition has been rejected, Application Nos.150/09 and 207/09 are not survived and disposed as such. [R.Y.GANOO, J.] [B.H. MARLAPALLE, J.]