Judicial magistrate Jaswinder Singh has framed charges against two people, including a former IAS officer and a city-based chartered accountant, on allegations of cheating and forgery, nearly seven years after a case of forgery of a will came to the fore.
Former IAS officer Anand Sharma, a former estate officer, and Sector-16 based chartered accountant Rajiv Sood, who stood witnesses to the forged will of kin of BC Katoch, former IGP of undivided Punjab, would stand trial for cheating and forgery, with the case coming up for hearing on December 19.
Rajinder Katoch, a son of BC Katoch, moved court through his counsel Thakur Kartar Singh against his brother Gautam Katoch after Gautam had forcibly occupied the first floor of his house in sector 2. During the hearing of the case, Gautam maintained that his mother had willed the house in name of his children but when the will was challenged it was found that will was forged. As Gautam Katoch died during pendency of the complaint, the court framed charges against Anand and Rajiv Sood. Rajinder Katoch alleged, Sharma and Sood had stood witness to the will, which was later found forged.
The court considering the report of the Central Forensic Sciences Laboratory (CFSL) and the handwriting expert, which said that the signatures on the will did not match that of Parvati Katoch declared that the will was forged.
{{/usCountry}}The court considering the report of the Central Forensic Sciences Laboratory (CFSL) and the handwriting expert, which said that the signatures on the will did not match that of Parvati Katoch declared that the will was forged.
{{/usCountry}}Talking to HT on phone, Rajinder Katoch, (75), who retired as a manager from Indian Oil Corporation (IOC), said, “My father BC Katoch owned a property in Sector-2 Chandigarh and expired in August 1965. I was living on the first floor of the house after my retirement in October 1997 and later had gone to Delhi. When I returned in 2002, I found my house rented by my brother after breaking the door lock.”
Katoch added, “I moved court only to know they had a will bearing signatures of my mother Parvati Katoch, who expired in January 2000 willing the property in name of Gautam’s children.”
A case was registered against the accused under Sections 467 (charges of forgery of valuable security, will), 468 (forgery for purpose of cheating, 420 (cheating) and 120-B (criminal conspiracy).