1. Mr. Saurabh Kumar Pandey, Advocate for the applicants.
Mr. Pankaj Joshi, A.G.A. for the State of Uttarakhand.
2. Applicants are praying for anticipatory bail in reference to F.I.R./Case Crime No.359 of 2026, under Section 120B, 420, 467, 468 & 471 I.P.C., registered at Police Station Patel Nagar, District Dehradun.
3. As per the allegations contained in the F.I.R., the complainant purchased 3 biswas of land from applicant no.1 through a registered sale deed dated 05.07.2016. It is alleged that upon mutation of the land in the name of the complainant, he came to know that a portion of the land so purchased was recorded in the name of Golden Forest, whereafter the present F.I.R. came to be lodged.
4. Learned counsel for the applicants submits that the applicants have been falsely implicated in the present case and that the allegations made in the F.I.R., even if taken at their face value, do not disclose the commission of any criminal offence on the part of the applicants. It is contended that applicant no.1 was a bona fide purchaser and lawful owner of the property, having himself purchased the same through a registered sale deed dated 27.02.2015 from the previous owner. Thereafter, applicant no.1 transferred the land to the complainant by means of a duly executed and registered sale deed dated 05.07.2016. It is submitted that at the time of execution of the sale deed, applicant no.1 had no knowledge whatsoever of any defect in title or of any portion of the land allegedly being recorded in the name of Golden Forest. The transaction was entered into in good faith after exercising due care and diligence and there was no dishonest or fraudulent intention on the part of applicant no.1 at any stage. Learned counsel further submits that applicant no.2 has been implicated merely on the ground that he acted as a mediator in the transaction and had no proprietary interest in the property nor any role in the execution of the sale deed. No specific allegation attributing any criminal act, misrepresentation, or dishonest inducement has been levelled against applicant no.2. It is further submitted that the impugned F.I.R. has been lodged after an inordinate delay of nearly ten years from the date of execution of the sale deed, which itself casts serious doubt upon the genuineness of the allegations. The dispute, if any, pertains to title and ownership of immovable property and is essentially civil in nature, for which appropriate civil remedies are available to the complainant. Mere existence of a title dispute or defect in title cannot, by itself, give rise to criminal liability in the absence of any material demonstrating fraudulent or dishonest intention from the inception of the transaction. It is, therefore, submitted that the essential ingredients of the offences alleged are not made out against either of the applicants and the present criminal proceedings are nothing but an abuse of the process of law, instituted with the sole object of exerting undue pressure upon the applicants.
5. As prayed, four weeks' time is granted to learned State Counsel to file counter affidavit.
6. List thereafter.
7. For an interim measure, without expressing any opinion on the merits of the case, in an event of arrest during investigation, the applicants shall be released on an interim anticipatory bail subject to furnishing of personal bond by each one of them with two reliable sureties of the like amount by each one of them, to the satisfaction of the arresting Officer subject to the following conditions:-
(i) The applicants shall cooperate with the investigation;
(ii) The applicants shall not approach any witness in any manner, whatsoever.
