Lucknow, Sep 18 The Allahabad High Court has declined to interfere in an FIR alleging fraud and forgery in connection with land belonging to the Maharishi Ramayan Vidyapeeth Trust in Ayodhya, observing that the accused could seek anticipatory bail if he apprehended arrest.
A division bench of justices Rajesh Singh Chauhan and R M N Mishra in Lucknow disposed of a petition filed by Gopal Mishra, who had challenged the FIR and contended that the dispute was essentially civil in nature.
The case involves allegations that Mishra, 42 years ago, executed a power of attorney claiming to be the sole legal heir of his father and subsequently executed a sale deed relating to the disputed property, according to the order made available on Friday.
Former Ayodhya mayor Rishikesh Upadhyay has also been named in the allegations, with the trust claiming that he colluded in obtaining the disputed properties through gift deeds. The allegations against Upadhyay are yet to be established through investigation.
Opposing Mishra's plea, counsel for the trust Chandan Srivastava submitted that the allegations disclosed ingredients of criminal offences and could not be treated merely as a civil dispute. He argued that the matter required police investigation.
According to the FIR lodged by a trust representative at Ayodhya Kotwali on August 5, Mishra executed the sale deed concerning land in Manjha Barhata on the basis of a power of attorney executed in 1984, claiming to be his father's sole heir.
The FIR alleges that subsequently, a person identified as Mangla Mishra claimed to be Gopal Mishra's real brother and asserted rights over half of the property. It further alleges that Gopal Mishra later supported Mangla's claim through an affidavit.
According to the FIR, after obtaining an order in his favour from the Assistant Record Officer, Mangla Mishra executed gift deeds on March 15 in respect of the disputed properties, allegedly worth crores of rupees, in favour of Ramay LLP, a partnership firm linked to Upadhyay.
The trust has alleged that the gift deeds were executed in collusion with Upadhyay.
The court declined to interfere with the FIR at this stage and disposed of Mishra's petition, while observing that he could avail the remedy of anticipatory bail in case he apprehended arrest.
