The court cannot be a mute spectator when public property is converted into private property by creating false documents of title and usurped by individuals, observed the Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court.
The court made the observation while directing a trial court to frame charges against people who transferred a village temple property at a much lesser value. The court directed the trial court to resume trial and complete the same as expeditiously as possible.
The court was hearing the petition filed by the Deputy Superintendent of Police Melur Sub - Division. An FIR was registered against nine people for conspiring to grab a village temple land in Melur taluk.
They transferred the village property for a sale of consideration of ₹ 1.57 lakh. The market value of the property was more than ₹ 1.5 crore. The police booked a case and final report was also submitted in the case.
The accused filed a petition before the trial court to discharge them on the grounds that there were no materials to proceed against them for the alleged offences. The State had objected to the discharge petition.
However, Judicial Magistrate Melur allowed the petition and discharged the accused, holding that the dispute was civil in nature. This was challenged before Additional Sessions Judge I, Madurai. The order of the Judicial Magistrate was confirmed.
Justice G. Jayachandran observed that here was a case where the managers of the village property, fraudulently, dishonestly without any lawful authority had transferred the property. For the said illegal act, the parties met and conspired, the judge said.
The court below had considered the facts on a wrong premise that it is civil in nature and no criminal offence committed, in spite of the fact that the village property was sold dishonestly by persons who were only the managers of the property and not the owners, the judge said.
