After compromise, woman acquitted in cheating case

Chandigarh, June 4

A local court has acquitted Manjit Kaur in a cheating case registered against her after the complainant reached a compromise with the accused. Manjit is facing many FIRs on the charge of cheating people on the pretext of getting them Housing Board flats allotted in Sector 51-A, Chandigarh .

The case, in which she was acquitted, was registered against her on a complaint filed by Devinder Singh Thakur. Thakur had told the police that Manjit had taken Rs 7 lakh from him on the false pretext of getting a flat allotted in the name of his son. The woman issued no receipt against the payment. When he sensed something was fishy, he asked the accused to return his money.

Manjit,, however, transferred Rs 5 lakh in the bank account of his son but refused to return the remaining amount of Rs 2 lakh. The accused was arrested and after the completion of the investigation, challan presented before the court. As the case was pending awaiting supplementary challan qua co-accused and the CFSL report, the complainant moved an application under section 320 of the CrPC for compromise and for compounding the offences committed by the accused.

A separate statement of Devinder Singh Thakur was recorded on May 17 which stated that he had received the full and final payment from the accused, as such he did not want to pursue the case.

After hearing the arguments Jaspreet Singh Minhas, Judicial Magistrate (Ist Class), Chandigarh, allowed the application and said Manjit was acquitted of the commission of offences punishable under Sections 420 and 120-B of IPC. The court said when Thakur had compounded the matter with the accused, as he had received the full and final payment of Rs 7 lakh, in order to maintain peace and harmony in society and to reform the accused, a chance of reformation was being given to her.