Delhi District Court
State vs . Md Akhlaq Etc. on 22 May, 2019
IN THE COURT OF METROPOLITAN MAGISTRATE02, DISTRICT
EAST, KARKARDOOMA COURTS, DELHI
Presided by: Mr. Jitendra Pratap Singh, DJS
State Vs. Md Akhlaq etc.
FIR No. 189/01
PS.Geeta Colony
U/s. 420/34 IPC
JUDGMENT
1) SI No. of the case : 2997/16
2) The date of commission of offence : 11.07.2001
3) The name of the complainant : Sh. Rajender Pal
4) The name & parentage of accused : (1) Mozre Alam
S/o Shekh Jainul
(2) Md Akhlaq (since PO)
S/o Md Naeem
(3) Laxman (since PO)
S/o Badri Sharma
(4) Munna Kumar (since PO)
S/o Mangal Sharma
5) Offence involved : 420/34 IPC
6) The plea of accused persons : Pleaded not guilty
7) Final order : Acquitted
8) The date of such order : 22.05.2019
Date of Institution : 21.08.2002
Judgment reserved on : 22.05.2019
FIR No.189/01 State Vs Md Akhlaq etc. 1 of 11
Judgment announced on : 22.05.2019
BRIEF STATEMENT OF REASONS FOR DECISION:
1. The FIR No.189/01, PS Geeta Colony was registered on the basis of the written complaint of the complainant Sh. Rajender Pal to the effect that on 11.07.2001 at about 3.15 pm at Pontoon Bridge, Geeta Colony, Delhi the accused Mozre Alam alongwith coaccused Md Akhlaq, Munna and Laxman Sharma (all since absconding) and in furtherance of their common intention dishonestly induced Rajender Pal to deliver to them money and others telling that they had magical and spiritual powers to multiply money and they could multiply the money of the complainant five times. That the accused persons as such had committed the offence punishable u/s 420/34 IPC.
2. Upon completion of investigation, charge sheet for the offences punishable U/s 420/34 IPC was filed on behalf of the IO against the accused persons and the accused persons were consequently summoned. Due to repeated absence of the accused Md Akhlaq, Munna Kumar and Laxman, they all were pronounced proclaimed persons u/s 82 Cr.PC on 25.11.2006. Perusal of file reveals that charge for commission of offence U/sec. 420/34 IPC was framed against the accused Mozre Alam by the Ld. Predecessor to which he pleaded not guilty and claimed trial.
3. In order to prove the allegations against the accused persons, the prosecution has examined six witnesses.
FIR No.189/01 State Vs Md Akhlaq etc. 2 of 11 4. PW1 Rajinder Pal deposed that on 10.07.2001 he met
accused Md Akhlaq who claimed to have been granted magical powers by Khwaja Mainuddin Chishti and in order to exhibit those powers the said accused made the said witness believe that he had converted his currency note of Rs.10 to a note of Rs.50/. That accused Md Akhlaq made him believe that this miraculous power can only be used for needy persons upon which he claimed himself to be very miserable and sought his help. Accused Md Akhlaq then asked him to bring all the cash he was having with an assurance that he would multiply it five times. The witness told accused Md Akhlaq that he had Rs.30000/ upon which the accused asked him to visit him the next day at 3 PM at Geeta Colony Pontoon Pul and he would himself see money multiplying magically. The witness further deposed that thereafter he was advised by other persons whom he told about the incident that he was liable to be cheated and then at about 10 11.00 AM the next day he narrated the incident to a police official at PS Geeta Colony who then handed over to him 10 currency notes of Rs.100/ denomination after signing them and sent the said witness to the Pantoon Pul alongwith some police officials in plain clothes. The witness then reached the spot where accused Md Akhlaq alongwith three other persons (whom accused Md Akhlaq claimed to be learning his powers) met him and upon his demand to see Rs.30,000/ in cash he told accused Md Akhlaq to first multiply the said sum of Rs.1000/ and then the witness handed over to him the abovesaid currency notes. That accused Md Akhlaq then made him believe to have converted the sum of Rs.1000/ to Rs.5000/ which he and his associates gave to the witness asking him to open it after reaching FIR No.189/01 State Vs Md Akhlaq etc. 3 of 11 the house. He kept the said bundle of currency notes in his pocket and after moving to some distance he signaled the IO upon which the police raided the spot and apprehended accused Md Akhlaq and the abovesaid three persons. Upon checking the said bundle of Rs.5000/ was found to be having only a currency note of Rs.50/ on its stop and other at the bottom and in between there were blank papers. The same was seized by the IO vide memo Ex.PW1/A. Thereafter from the search of accused Md Akhlaq the said signed currency notes of Rs.10/ were recovered which were seized vide memo Ex.PW1/B. From further search of accused Md Akhlaq, 9 more bundles of blank papers having a currency notes of Rs.50/ on top and bottom each were recovered which were seized vide memo Ex.PW1/C. That the other three associates namely Munna Kumar, Laxman Sharma and accused Mozre Alam were also arrested. From the possession of Laxman Sharma, five bundles of blank papers having Rs.50/ on top were recovered which were seized vide memo Ex.PW1/D. From the possession of accused Munna Kumar, 10 similar bundles were recovered which were seized vide memo Ex.PW1/E and from the possession of the accused Mozre Alam, 5 similar bundles were recovered. Thereafter you all the accused persons were arrested and personally searched vide memos Ex.PW1/G to Ex.PW1/J and the respective disclosure statements were recorded. Thereafter the statement Ex.PW1/K of the witness were recorded. This witness correctly identified the accused Mozre Alam in the court as well as the seized case property Ex.P1 to Ex.P6.
FIR No.189/01 State Vs Md Akhlaq etc. 4 of 11
5. PW2 ASI Hari Lal has proved the registration of the instant case Ex.PW2/A (OSR) and the endorsement Ex.PW2/B on the rukka.
6. PW 3 Inspector Satender Mohan deposed that on 11.07.2001 while he was posted as SI in PS Geeta Colony and was present there, SI Dinesh Arya came to him and discussed the information provided by the PW1 Rajender Pal. Subsequently SI Dinesh Arya, IO prepared a raiding party comprising the complainant, HC Yatender, Ct. Rohtash, Ct. Prem, Ct. Manoj and the said witness. The IO then briefed the complainant by handing over 10 notes of Rs.100/ and asking him to go to the accused with request to multiply them 5 times. That at about 2.30 pm, the raiding party reached Yamuna Pushta Road and requested 45 members of the public to join the proceedings but when no one agreed, they proceeded to Pantoon Bridge, Geeta Colony and took there respective positions. At about 3.15 pm four persons came to the Bridge and started talking with the complainant who then handed over the notes given by the IO to one of the said persons. That the said persons turned in opposite direction and drew out one bundle from his shirt and handed over the same to the complainant and also said something to the complainant. The complainant put the said bundle in his pocket and signaled the raiding party who then apprehended the said four persons whose identity were subsequent revealed as Md Akhlaq, Laxman Kumar, Munna Kumar and Mozre Alam. The witness then reiterated and corroborated the deposition of the complainant regarding recovery of the case property and the arrest of the accused persons. He stated that thereafter IO prepared the rukka on the statement of the FIR No.189/01 State Vs Md Akhlaq etc. 5 of 11 complainant and got the FIR registered through Ct. Manoj. IO also prepared the site plan and then recorded the respective disclosure statements Ex.PW3/A to Ex.PW3/D bearing the signatures of this witness. The witness has stated that he could identify the case property as well as the accused Mozre Alam.
7. PW4 HC Yatender Kumar has deposed on identical lines of PW3 and he had also deposed in favour of the prosecution regarding the identity of accused as well as of the case property.
8. PW5 Inspector Dinesh Arya is the IO of the case and he has also corroborated the testimony of PW1, PW3 and of PW4. He has proved the rukka Ex.PW5/A, preparation of the site plan Ex.PW5/B and the respective arrest and personal search memos ex.PW5/C to Ex.PW5/F and Ex.PW1/G to Ex.PW1/J. This witness has also identified the case property as well as accused in the court.
9. PW 6 HC Rohtash Kumar who was also the part of the raiding party had confirmed the complainant meeting Inspector Dinesh Arya. He had also deposed identically to PW3 Inspector Satender Mohan, PW4 HC Yatender and of PW5 Inspector Dinesh Arya. He had also correctly identified the case property and accused Mozre Alam in the court.
10. Thereafter, statements of the accused U/sec. 313 Cr.P.C r/w Section 281 Cr. P.C was recorded after conclusion of the prosecution FIR No.189/01 State Vs Md Akhlaq etc. 6 of 11 evidence wherein he refuted the allegations levelled against him in toto and submitted that he has been falsely implicated. Accused chose not to lead defence evidence.
11. I have heard the arguments as advanced by the Ld. APP for the State and the Ld counsel for the accused and have also perused the record.
12. Ld APP for state has argued that the accused Mozre Alam has been apprehended from the spot while the accused Md Akhlaq had deceived the complainant by accepting Rs.1000/ on the pretext of multiplying the said sum by five times. That from the possession of the accused Mozre Alam five bundles of Rs.50/ having on top and bottom of each the original currency notes and blank papers in between were recovered. That the accused has been identified by all the relevant witnesses in the court including the complainant. That all the witnesses including the members of the raiding party and the complainant have also identified the said accused correctly in the court. It is submitted that in view of the same the prosecution has successfully established that the accused Mozre Alam and the absconding accused persons in furtherance of their common intention had dishonestly induced the complainant Rajinder Pal and others telling that they had been blessed by Khwaja Mouniddin Chisthi and they could multiply money by five times and as such they had received a sum of Rs.1000/ from the complainant and had given to him a purported bundle of currency notes of Rs.50/ denomination claiming it to be of a total FIR No.189/01 State Vs Md Akhlaq etc. 7 of 11 value of Rs.5000/ which in fact only had two genuine currency notes while the rest were blank papers. That the accused persons including the accused Mozre Alam in furtherance of their common intention have cheated the complainant and as such the accused deserves to be given the punished for the offence punishable u/s 420/34 IPC.
13. On the other hand, Ld Defence counsel has argued that the accused has been falsely implicated in the present case and nothing has been recovered from his possession. That the accused who was returning on the day in question after watching a movie at Ritz Cinema has been picked up by the police officials and has been falsely implicated in the present case. That he did not know the other accused persons and the fact that it is only the accused Mozre Alam who is facing trial while the other accused persons have absconded is indicative of the fact that he is innocent.
14. In a criminal trial, the onus remains on the prosecution to prove the guilt of accused beyond all reasonable doubts and benefit of doubt, if any, must necessarily go in favour of the accused. It is for the prosecution to travel the entire distance from may have to must have. If the prosecution appears to be improbable or lacks credibility the benefit of doubt necessarily has to go to the accused.
15. In the present case, the accused Mozre Alam has been charged with the allegations that on 11.07.2001 at about 3.15 PM at the Pontoon FIR No.189/01 State Vs Md Akhlaq etc. 8 of 11 Bridge, Geeta Colony he alongwith Md Akhlaq, Munna and Laxman Sharma and in furtherance of their common intention had dishonestly induced Rajinder Pal and others by telling that they had the blessings of Allah and were the disciples of Khwaja Mouniddin Chishti and with their spiritual powers they can multiply money five times and thereby they have committed the offence punishable u/s 420/34 IPC.
16. The PW1 Rajinder Pal has made the statement Ex.PW1/K leading to the registration of the present case wherein he had stated that on 10.07.2001 he met Md Akhlaq who claimed to be having powers to multiply money and to show such powers he had converted a ten rupee note to Rs.50/ note. That he induced the complainant to bring to him the entire cash he was having which he was having. That subsequently the complainant realised that he was befooled by the said person upon which he approached the police and a raiding party was formed. The complainant was given marked currency notes of Rs.1000/ and he was asked to visit the said Md Akhlaq while the police party trailed him. That the complainant went to the rendezvous point i.e. Pontoon Bridge, Geeta Colony where he met the said Akhlaq and three other persons. Akhlaq claimed the said three persons to be learning the skills from him and that they had came there to see his magic. Thereafter the complainant gave the already marked currency notes to the said Md Aklhlaq who asked him to face in other direction and to recite the name of Khwaja. That after some time he asked him to face him and gave a bundle of Rs.50 currency notes asking him to see it upon return to home. It is then that the police party raided all of the FIR No.189/01 State Vs Md Akhlaq etc. 9 of 11 said four persons and they were apprehended. Their identities were subsequently disclosed as Munna Kumar, Laxman Sharma and Mozre Alam. From the possession of these three persons similar bundles of currency notes were recovered which had genuine notes only at top and bottom and blank papers in between.
In his deposition, the complainant PW1 and the members of the raiding party namely PW3 Inspector Satyender Mohan, PW4 HC Yatender Kumar, PW5 Inspector Dinesh Arya and PW6 HC Rohtas have corroborated the contents of the said statement Ex.PW1/K. From the contents of the said statement and that of the deposition of the said witnesses this court could not find any averment regarding the accused Mozre Alam to be actively or passively involved in the alleged act of inducement of the complainant by Md Akhlaq or in accepting the money from the complainant or in giving to him the bundle of the notes which had blank papers in between. The only incriminating material against the accused Mozre Alam is the alleged recovery of five similar bundles of currency notes which had genuine notes on their top and bottom while blank papers in between. In view of the court mere recovery of such bundles from the accused Mozre Alam, even if accepted to be true, does not make him liable for the offence of cheating the complainant. There has been levelled no allegations of inducement or deception against the said accused by the complainant. As per the complaint the accused Mozre Alam has not claimed himself to be in possession of the spiritual or magical powers to multiply the money nor had he endorsed or acknowledged the accused Md Akhlaq to be in possession of such powers. If the complaint is FIR No.189/01 State Vs Md Akhlaq etc. 10 of 11 to be believed then the presence of accused Mozre Alam at the spot was to view the magic/spiritual powers of Md Akhlaq and to learn the same which does not make him a culprit as far as the allegations of the present case are concerned.
17. As a sequence to the above said discussion, this court finds that the prosecution has failed to establish the guilt of the accused beyond doubt and the accused Mozre Alam accordingly is held not guilty of the offences punishable u/s 420/34 IPC. He stands acquitted of the same.
Ordered accordingly. Digitally signed
JITENDRA by JITENDRA
PRATAP SINGH
PRATAP Date:
SINGH 2019.05.23
14:49:16 +0530
Announced in open court (JITENDRA PRATAP SINGH)
on 22.05.2019 MM2/East/KKD Courts
Delhi
FIR No.189/01 State Vs Md Akhlaq etc. 11 of 11