Two Acquitted in 16-Year-Old Cheating Case
Baba Pritpal Singh and Jatinder Pal Singh cleared of charges related to land transaction fraud.
Chandigarh : A local court has acquitted Baba Pritpal Singh, head of Gurdwara Gursagar Sahib near Sukhna Lake, and Jatinder Pal Singh in a cheating case that had been pending for 16 years. The case, which was initially registered in 2008 at the Sector 34 police station, involved allegations under Sections 420, 419, 467, 468, 471, and 120-B of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) related to a land transaction dispute.
The case stemmed from a complaint filed by RAS Bhullar, claiming that ATS Infrastructure, a New Delhi-based company, had purchased land in Madhopur village, Dera Bassi, from Kamaljeet Kaur for Rs 1,20,17,500. The purchase was made through a sale deed executed with a power of attorney (GPA), allegedly signed by Kaur, even though she claimed she had not authorized the sale.
Kamaljeet Kaur had raised concerns that the GPA had been forged, accusing Baba Pritpal Singh and others of fraud and misrepresentation. However, during the trial, Baba Pritpal Singh’s counsel, Harish Bhardwaj, argued that the GPA was lawfully executed by Kaur on July 22, 2005, and that the accusations were baseless.
In delivering the verdict, the court stated that the prosecution had failed to establish guilt beyond a reasonable doubt, with no sufficient evidence to support claims of forgery or cheating. As a result, both accused were acquitted.