The Supreme Court has quashed criminal proceedings against a woman accused of furnishing an incorrect date of her mother’s death to obtain a death certificate, holding that the discrepancy did not establish an offence of cheating or forgery in the circumstances of the case.
The bench of Justices J. B. Pardiwala and K. Vinod Chandran noted that the certificate had been issued by the competent government authority, the date had subsequently been corrected, and there was no allegation that the woman had used the certificate to obtain any benefit.
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The case arose from a death certificate recording the date of death as November 21, 2019, instead of November 20, 2019. The certificate was issued by the competent authority under the Panchayati Raj Vibhag of the Uttar Pradesh government following an online application made by Pooja.
According to the order, Sanjay Kumar, described as a person unknown to Pooja and unconnected with her family, subsequently complained that the death had occurred on November 20, 2019.
An enquiry by the District Panchayat Raj Officer, Muzaffarnagar, found that the date furnished in the application was incorrect. An FIR, numbered 94 of 2024, was registered at Chhapar police station. A charge sheet followed, and the Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate-I, Muzaffarnagar, took cognizance of the matter.
Pooja contended that she and her sister had been involved in disputes and civil litigation. Although a settlement had been reached, she alleged that her sister had instigated the complaint.
She submitted that her sister had informed her about their mother’s death and that she had applied for the certificate in the bona fide belief that the date communicated to her was correct. She also stated that the application had been submitted through a Jan Sewa Kendra because she was not technically proficient.
These submissions formed part of her explanation for the discrepancy; the Court did not record a finding that her sister had instigated the complaint.
The Supreme Court observed that the certificate had admittedly been issued by the competent authority of the Panchayati Raj Vibhag. It found no forgery or criminal breach of trust in its issuance.
The bench held that furnishing the wrong date, on the facts before it, could not support an allegation of an offence under Section 420 or Section 465 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860, dealing with cheating and punishment for forgery, respectively.
The Court also considered that the date of death had already been corrected and that there was no allegation that Pooja had used the certificate to secure any benefit. Given that the discrepancy was only one day, the bench observed that the date furnished could have been a mistake.
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