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CHANDIGARH: Punjab and Haryana high court has upheld the conviction of seven villagers from Punjab’s Nawanshahr for attempting to swindle land by forging the will of a soldier who vanished during World War 2, reports Ajay Sura.
Harbans Singh, a native of Sheikhupur Bagh village, disappeared after 1943, prompting his wife Joginder Kaur to have him officially declared dead to claim his benefits as a legal heir. Decades later, the group of villagers falsely claimed Harbans had lived with one of them and passed away leaving a will, aiming to claim his property.
As they failed to prove the presence of the soldier, HC upheld their conviction and three-year term awarded by the trial court. “If it is proved that a person has not been heard of for seven years by those who would naturally have heard of him if he was alive, then the burden of proof that he is still alive would rest upon the person who affirms the factum of his living,” Justice Mahabir Singh Sindhu said in his April 7 order.
HC directed the seven, who were out on bail, to surrender before a Nawanshahr court within six weeks and undergo the remaining part of their sentence. Joginder, on whose complainant the FIR was filed in 1996, died during court proceedings, as did some of the accused.
Joginder married Harbans in 1941, and he joined the Army about a year later. She never saw or heard from him after 1943. Harbans owned over 50 kanal (approximately 6.2 acres) of land. With no kids and advanced in age, she lived with one Bawa Singh, who supported her.
“The offence is serious, inasmuch as, the petitioners committed forgery with a soldier who left his wife, house, and property to serve in WW2. Taking advantage of his absence, petitioners opened a fake bank account in the name of Harbans Singh, manufactured a forged will dated April 7, 1992, and thereafter, procured a false entry of his death. Thus, in the opinion of this court, petitioners do not deserve any leniency on the quantum of sentence,” HC held while dismissing a plea by the seven against their conviction.
According to the prosecution, the seven villagers forged a bank passbook of Joginder’s husband, entered a false death record, concocted a will through impersonation, and manipulated revenue officials to fraudulently transfer land ownership. They were sentenced by the lower court in July 2010 and their conviction was later upheld by a sessions court. They later appealed in HC.
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