A special court in Egmore has convicted and sentenced a businessman to two years’ imprisonment for selling 1.2 acres of land belonging to a partnership firm in Tiruvottiyur, by fraudulent means, 24 years ago.
According to the prosecution, Sunil Kumar M. Thapadia, a native of Maharashtra and resident of Tiruvottiyur, was a partner of Sugenchand and Company. The firm owned 1.21 acres of land on the Tiruvottiyur High Road. Between October and November 1994, Mr. Kumar entered into an agreement with Nathmal Jain, another businessman, for the sale of the land, and registered general power of attorney in Jain’s favour. He also received a demand draft for ₹5.25 lakh. In 1995, Mr. Kumar cancelled the agreement and issued a public notice on the same.
However, Jain entered into a criminal conspiracy with two other accused, R. Ulaganathan and E. Manoharan, with criminal intention to cheat Mr. Kumar. In 1997, the accused forged a general power of attorney as if it was executed by Mr. Kumar, in favour of Jain, with forged signatures. They sold the land to several people for ₹89.85 lakh, and executed sale deeds to them at the Sub-Registrar Office in north Chennai in 1997, said the prosecution.
The VII Metropolitan Magistrate Court ordered an investigation by the Central Crime Branch (CCB), following a private complaint by Mr. Kumar.
A charge sheet was filed by the CCB in 2001, and the case was transferred to the special court for CCB cases in Egmore in 2016. During the trial, both Ulaganathan and Manoharan died, and hence the charges against them abated.
At the conclusion of the trial, Metropolitan Magistrate P. Nagarajan convicted Mr. Jain on charges, including criminal conspiracy and cheating by impersonation. Jain will have to undergo two years’ imprisonment, besides paying a fine of ₹9,000.
