No evidence, says Madras HC; quashes forgery case against junior advocate, friend

CHENNAI: Holding that there was no material evidence to prove the charges against a junior advocate and his friend, the Madras High Court quashed the criminal case registered against them for allegedly cheating an individual to the tune of Rs 1.26 crore by impersonation and forgery.

According to the prosecution, Manickavel, an advocate, and his juniors were booked in a case of alleged forgery and impersonation for swindling Rs 1.26 crore from the complainant.

The advocate's client Anjana Rani owns a property to the extent of 4,245 square feet in Perambur. With a malafide intent, Manickavel contacted the complainant, Sivaraman, and persuaded him to buy the property. He also produced an unregistered power of attorney document with the forged signature of Anjana Rani, said Sivaraman, adding that he collected nearly Rs 1.60 crore from him.

Meanwhile, the woman transferred the title of the property to the name of her heirs. After learning about this, Sivaraman insisted that Manickavel meet Anjana Rani. However, Manickavel refused to arrange the meeting and returned Rs 40 lakh to the complainant. Sivaraman also alleged that Manickavel and his juniors threatened him when he asked to return the entire amount.

Based on Sivaraman’s complaint, a case was registered against Manickavel and his juniors. Following this, two of the accused, Ralph V Manohar and S Sankar, moved the petition to quash the criminal complaint.

After perusing the material, Justice G Jayachandran opined that as there was no material to prove the petitioners’ involvement in the forgery and in the offence of threatening the complainant, and quashed the criminal cases.