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The appellants in the rejoinder submitted that the trial court was not justified in taking cognizance of the matter when no prima facie case was made out against the appellants. The trial court gravely erred in not appreciating the complete facts of the case in the proper perspective. The trial court has not properly comprehended the complete investigation reports, which were conducted by two different investigating officers. It was pointed out that it was the respondents who had committed criminal breach by purporting to sell that part of the land for which an agreement to sell was procured, by misusing the Power of Attorney given to them for some other part of the land. Respondent no.4 was clearly guilty of offences under sections 420 and 467 IPC and the appellants had also filed a criminal complaint against respondent nos.3 and 4 before the Special Judicial Magistrate, Rishikesh under sections 120B/467/468/471 IPC. The criminal case was registered as Case No.1306 of 2003 titled as I.M. Goswami v. Suresh Ahuja. The Special Judicial Magistrate vide order dated 12th May, 2005 had issued summons to respondent nos.3 and 4.

In the instant case, the first information report has been registered under sections 420/467/120B IPC. The allegations leveled in the first information report are of (1) cheating and (2) forgery.
Analysis of relevant provisions of law Firstly, we shall deal with the section 420 IPC. Cheating is defined in section 415 IPC and is punishable under section 420 IPC. Section 415 is set out below:
415. Cheating.Whoever, by deceiving any person, fraudulently or dishonestly induces the person so deceived to deliver any property to any person, or to consent that any person shall retain any property, or intentionally induces the person so deceived to do or omit to do anything which he would not do or omit if he were not so deceived, and which act or omission causes or is likely to cause damage or harm to that person in body, mind, reputation or property, is said to cheat.

We shall now deal with the ingredients of section 467 IPC. Section 467 IPC reads as under:

467. Forgery of valuable security, will etc. Whoever forges a document which purports to be a valuable security or a will, or an authority to adopt a son, or which purports to give authority to any person to make or transfer any valuable security, or to receive the principal, interest or dividends thereon, or to receive or deliver any money, moveable property, or valuable security, or any document purporting to be an acquittance or receipt acknowledging the payment of money, or an acquittance or receipt for the delivery of any moveable property or valuable security, shall be punished with imprisonment for life, or with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to ten years, and shall also be liable to fine. The following ingredients are essential for commission of the offence under section 467 IPC:
1. the document in question so forged;
2. the accused who forged it.
3. the document is one of the kinds enumerated in the aforementioned section.

The basic ingredients of offence under Section 467 are altogether missing even in the allegations of the FIR against the appellants. Therefore, by no stretch of the imagination, the appellants can be legally prosecuted for an offence under Section 467 IPC.

Even if all the averments made in the FIR are taken to be correct, the case for prosecution under sections 420 and 467 IPC is not made out against the appellants. To prevent abuse of the process and to secure the ends of justice, it becomes imperative to quash the FIR and any further proceedings emanating therefrom.