In Brief
Jairam Salunke appealed against a High Court order dismissing his plea to quash criminal proceedings for alleged conspiracy to obtain land acquisition compensation using fraudulent documents. The State alleged he conspired with government officials to create false documents, fraudulently claiming title to disputed land and obtaining Rs. 23.48 lacs as compensation. The Supreme Court held that although property ownership is ordinarily a civil matter, using forged documents to defraud the State in land acquisition proceedings constitutes a criminal offence. The court dismissed the appeal, holding that the crime was rightly registered and criminal proceedings cannot be quashed merely because title is disputed—such merits will be decided by the trial court.", <parameter name="cited_cases">[]
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