Court takes serious note of investigation, returns Challan for further investigation

Brazen usurpation of 150 Kanal temple land

STATE TIMES NEWS

JAMMU: In a case of illegal sale of a temple land measuring over 150 Kanals, Special Judge Anticorruption Jammu Tahir Khurshid Raina on Saturday took serious note of investigation and returned the challan to ACB with the direction for further investigation
The Special Judge , after going through the challan, observed that Investigation Officer (IO) of the case, very conveniently, has given benefit of Section 13 of the Land Alienation Act to these Revenue officials and exonerated them from any criminal liability by observing that as lease is permissible to be made under Section 13 of the Act for a period of 21 years, hence no illegality is committed by the Revenue Officials. Even the two private persons, namely, Arun Kumar Gupta and Amit Gupta, who on the basis of Power of Attorneys, executed in their favour by Bawa Ram Millan Dass, sold out a major chunk of land, have not been arrayed as accused, nor the persons to whom they sold out the land, nor the Revenue Officials, who facilitated this sale to take place.
Special Judge Anticorruption Jammu Tahir Khurshid Raina further said that this Court was amazed to find that how much arrogance had been displayed by all these miscreants, who, in spite of clear mandate of the High Court with regard to protection of the Mandir land, with a clear directions to the accused Bawa Ram Millan Dass to simply act as its custodian, still the landed property of the Mandir could not be saved from its usurpation. The wanton greed for money of these persons did not spare the temple, the place of worship, where one goes as per his faith for soul purification, satisfaction and salvation.
These are the aspects which, on the face of the record, speak of prima-facie serious lapses in the investigation of such a high magnitude case wherein around 150 kanals of the land of a Pracheen Mandir, namely, ‘Thakur Dwara Shri Ram Janki Pracheen Mandir’, Udhaywala, Jammu, stand illegally sold and leased out and the temple is now left with only 13 kanals of land. Unfortunately, this highly illegal and deplorable act is done by the custodians of the Mandir with the connivance of the Revenue Officials. Alas! those who were supposed to act as the saviours of the temple property, acted as its tormentors. This has happened in spite of the fact that the High Court in its judgment dated 04-10-1989, had categorically held that the land of the temple is not the personal property of the Bawa Ram Millan Dass, who has simply to act as its custodian.
Court further observed that the most unfortunate part is that the investigating officers by their sheer incompetence or on account of some reasons but known to them, shielded all those who were responsible for committing this brazen usurpation and illegal occupation of the land of the Mandir. Only 4 persons stand arrayed as accused in the case, out of which two were already dead, whereas dozens of persons, who were the real culprits in the case have been shielded and exonerated of their criminal liability on untenable and legally unsustainable grounds.
Court observed that this case is, in-fact, an eye opener to know as to how our so-called premier investigating agencies investigate the cases, which are entrusted with the solemn duty to expose the crime and criminals in the society. Though the investigating officer has conducted stark perfunctory investigation and made a sheer misadventure of interpreting and applying law wrongly by exonerating a number of the accused in the case. However, this court is not the post office of the prosecution to get blindly swayed by whatever bullshit they will present before the court in the name of the charge-sheet.
In fact, the Code of Criminal Procedure has very well addressed such an eventuality and empowers the Magistrates to direct further investigation in the case in terms of Sec. 156(3) Cr.PC, read with Sec. 173(8) of the Code of Criminal Procedure.
Special Judge Anticorruption Jammu Tahir Khurshid Raina directed SS.P, ACB, Jammu, to conduct further investigation in the case with the directions to identify all the sale and lease deeds executed in respect of the Mandir land whereby about 150 kanals of the said land have either been sold or leased out. Identify all executants of these sale/lease deeds and the beneficiaries in whose favour these deeds have been executed. Besides identifying the Revenue Officials who have in any manner, facilitated the registration of any such lease or sale deeds viz-a-viz by providing revenue extracts, recorded their mutations etc. in the revenue records.
Court further directed to ascertain as to how and in what circumstances the Power of Attorneys executed by Bawa Ram Millan Dass and his Chella, Damodar Dass, regarding disposal of the Mandir land, came to be registered when they were merely custodians and not the owners of the said land. This is so because these are the documents which paved the way for the illegal and fraudulent disposal of the Mandir land.
Court has also directed that the original applications moved by the executants of the sale/lease for obtaining the requisite revenue extracts be also seized and get the same scientifically examined in order to prove the signatures of the executants of these documents.
Court further said that these directions are just illustrative and not exhaustive in nature. The investigating officer shall be at liberty to unfold and address such other issues as well which will in any manner expose the alleged criminality committed and the perpetrators of the crime.
Court also directed that all said persons be identified with reference to their particular roles they have played in the commission of the alleged offences. After making the said exercise, their culpability will be fixed accordingly. Court ordered that the needful be done within a period of two months from the date of receipt of this order and the IO of the case has been directed to submit the status report in the investigation before this court after every ten days.