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| HC quashes fake PRC case, says knowledge of forgery essential | | | Early Times Report
JAMMU, Oct 8: The High Court of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh has held that mere use of a forged document does not constitute an offence under Section 471 of the Ranbir Penal Code (RPC) unless the prosecution establishes that the accused knew or had reason to believe that the document was forged.
Justice Sanjay Dhar made the observation while quashing the challan and consequential proceedings against Ankush Sharma in a case arising out of FIR No. 08/2016 registered at Police Station Akhnoor under Sections 420, 467, 468 and 471 RPC.
The prosecution case originated from a special recruitment drive conducted by the Jammu and Kashmir Police in August 2011, during which the petitioner was selected for the post of constable.
During verification, the Permanent Resident Certificate (PRC) submitted by the petitioner was found to be forged, leading to registration of the FIR.
Investigation revealed that the certificate had allegedly been procured by the petitioner's maternal grandmother, Shanti Devi, in connivance with Patwari Ravi Singh when the petitioner was only 13 years old.
The Court observed that there was no material suggesting that the petitioner had participated in preparing the forged certificate.
Referring to the Supreme Court's judgment in A.S. Krishanan v. State of Kerala, Justice Dhar explained that knowledge or reason to believe that a document is forged constitutes an essential ingredient of the offence under Section 471 RPC.
The Court noted that the petitioner had been adopted and brought up by his maternal grandmother, who was a permanent resident of Jammu and Kashmir.
In these circumstances, the Court found no basis to conclude that the petitioner knew or had reason to believe that the certificate was forged when he produced it before the recruiting authority.
Holding that the essential ingredients of Section 471 RPC were not satisfied, the Court declared the charge against the petitioner groundless.
Accordingly, the impugned challan and the proceedings emanating from it were quashed.
(JNF) |
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