New Delhi, Mar 6 A Delhi court has upheld the conviction of a man for cheating in a property transaction but granted him the benefit of probation considering his old age and the long duration of the trial.
Additional Sessions Judge Purshotam Pathak partly allowed the appeal of convict Braham Singh and modified the sentence awarded by the trial court, directing his release on probation for a year, subject to payment of compensation to the complainant.
On September 15, 2023, the trial court convicted Singh under section 420 (cheating) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and sentenced him to three years of simple imprisonment. He was also asked to pay a compensation amount of Rs 6.5 lakh to the complainant.
Upholding the conviction, the sessions court noted that Singh had executed sale documents in favour of the complainant despite lacking ownership of a property.
"It is clear that the appellant/convict, without any authority or ownership, induced complainant Pinnu Singh to enter into a deal for sale of plot ... and received Rs 4.5 lakh," the court said in its order dated February 28.
According to the prosecution, the complainant had purchased a 125-square yard plot in Aya Nagar from the convict in 2004 for Rs 4.5 lakh after the latter posed as the lawful owner. Later, it emerged that the convict did not have valid ownership of the property as he had already sold it to another man, leading to the cheating case. The convict had also trespassed into the complainant's office and stole all documents related to the sale of the Aya Nagar property in 2004.
Dismissing the convict's appeal, the court said there was no infirmity in the trial court's finding that he had dishonestly induced the complainant into the transaction.
However, the judge noted that the convict had already suffered a long trial of more than 15 years, as he was 52 years old when the trial began in 2011 and 67 years old at the time of filing the appeal.
Describing the earlier order on sentencing as "harsh enough", the judge extended the benefit of probation to the convict.
"Appellant/convict and complainant are neighbours and accordingly, in order to avoid any further animosity between neighbours, appellant/convict deserves an opportunity to reform himself, at this elderly age. Appellant has shown his repentance to the offence and assured not to repeat the same in future.
"In the considered opinion of this court, no useful purpose is going to be served in sending the appellant to jail at such an age of 67 years and rather the interests of justice will be more served if some compensation is awarded to the complainant for the losses suffered by him," the court said.
The judge directed the convict to furnish a personal bond of Rs 50,000 with a surety of like amount and pay Rs 6.5 lakh as compensation to the complainant within 15 days.
The court said if the convict violates the conditions of the probation during the one-year period, including maintaining peace and good behaviour, he could be called upon to undergo the original sentence.
