PCA recommends action against 7 police officers in will forgery case

Anil had filed a criminal complaint in the court regarding forgery committed by his brothers,Vijay Kumar and Ajay Kumar,by creating his father’s will. Police were directed to register a case. An FIR was registered at the Sector 19 police station on July 7,2001. The matter was related to a will dated November 17,1993,which was an unregistered will. There was also an earlier will of November 21,1990,which was registered on November 23 the same year. It was claimed to be the genuine will of Ram Lal Sharma,the complainant’s father.

The complainant had requested the IO to get the second will of the year 1993 examined by a handwriting and forensic expert. He also requested IO SI Bishi Ram to obtain specimen signatures of his father from Union Bank of India,Sector 21,from where he was drawing a pension. However,Bishi Ram did not do so and instead filed an untraced report on January 21,2002. His report was not accepted by the court which ordered reinvestigation by a senior police officer. Investigations were taken over by DSP S C Abrol,but he too did not get the specimen checked and filed a closure report on April 7,2003,stating that a civil case was pending in the matter.

The will in question had already been rejected by the Estate Office. Ram Lal Sharma in his original will had expressed fear and apprehension that someone might forge his signature or might force him to sign another document.

After DSP S C Abrol filed a cancellation report,the complainant filed a petition in the High Court. The judicial Magistrate was directed by the High Court in 2003 not to pass any final order on the cancellation report. Investigations were handed over to SI Poonam Dilawari,but she too did not send the will for scientific examination.

Thereafter,Inspector Ram Gopal took charge and later filed a cancellation report on April 24,2005,to the then SSP Gaurav Yadav for approval who did not approve and sent the case to the Crime Branch. The case was handed over to SI Kirpal Singh.

Kirpal Singh sent the documents to the FSL,but confined the examinations to a very limited issue in his request for examination. A report was received on December 12,2006 which,the complainant alleged,was a result of manipulation.

On Anil’s request,the SSP referred the matter to the CFSL director,New Delhi. A three-member committee of experts was then constituted which gave its report on April 23,2004. As per their report,the will dated November 17,1993,was forged. In the meantime,the investigation was handed over to SI Paramjit Sekhon.

After Sekhon,investigation passed on to SI Harjeet Kaur and later to SI Rakesh Kumar who have deliberately avoided action despite the expert report.

The civil court also accepted the expert report in the civil case and rejected the will as false and fabricated document.

“The investigating officers are found to have deliberately acted in a malafide manner. They,without any good and just reason,delayed and prolonged the investigation. It is a case of total inaction,callous attitude and abuse of power in the pursuit of investigation for eleven long years. The complainant has suffered undue harassment on account of extreme,abnormal and unnecessary delay in the case pending investigating for 11 years. He ran from pillar to post for 7 years seeking forensic and expert examination of the dispute will and for four years for further progress in the investigation after the receipt of the expert’s report,” read the PCA order.

The UT IG has been requested to take appropriate disciplinary action against DSP S C Abrol,Inspectors Ram Gopal,Poonam Dilawari,Harjeet Kaur and Sub-Inspectors Paramjit Sekhon,Rakesh Kumar and Bishi Ram.

The PCA has also asked for the investigations in the criminal case to be expedited and completed as early as possible.