Rising trend of crime against property can't be ignored: Court

Rising trend of crime against property can't be ignored and innocent persons need to be protected from "frivolous elements of the society" who usurp property through forged means, a Delhi court has said.
The court's observations came while upholding six months jail term to a woman for forging documents to acquire a property of a Delhi resident.
"The court cannot be oblivious of the rising trend of crime against property, wherein the property of an innocent person is usurped by frivolous elements of the society on the basis of manipulated and forged documents," Additional Sessions Judge Pulastya Pramachala said.
The judge said that the trial court had rightly adopted the deterrent approach which is appropriate for sentencing in such cases.

"The offence in question was not committed by appellant (woman) under any compulsion of life. Such offence not only affected the rights of the complainant, but at the same time it added to the misery of the society by creating an insecure condition for owner of any plot," the court said.
It dismissed the appeal of the woman and said that the trial court order cannot be said to be based on wrong application of law or wrong appreciation of facts.

The woman had filed an appeal against the trial court order claiming that despite of the positive report from probation officer, she was not granted benefit of probation.

She was awarded six months jail term and Rs 10,000 fine which was to be paid to the complainant Sardar Gurcharan Singh, a Delhi resident, who had alleged that she conspired to grab his property on the basis of forged power of attorney, sale agreement, affidavit and cash receipts.
The court also noted that the woman had filed a civil suit in 1994, on the basis of forged papers against Singh to take possession of the said plot.
The trial court had convicted the woman under section 471 (using as genuine a forged document) of IPC while holding that she had consciously used forged documents as genuine documents, to base her claim against the complainant in the civil suit.