Court directs cops to lodge FIR in forged certificate case

Panaji: A North Goa court has directed Panaji police to register an FIR and conduct a fair investigation into a complaint regarding a forged residence certificate that was used to secure a govt job. The public prosecutor told the court that the records of the mamlatdar are destroyed and that no case is made out for registration of an FIR.

The complainant alleged the forged residence certificate was created and relied on to secure a job at the directorate of art and culture. He said he approached the court after police inaction.

The public prosecutor told the court that the police inquiry disclosed that the then mamlatdar, whose signature is stated to be forged, has not denied her signature, and there is no complaint from the office where the document was submitted. He added that the complainant has no locus standi to question such aspects and if at all there was any fraudulent act, the office concerned would be the right party to file a complaint.

The police noted that the records from the mamlatdar’s office are already destroyed and as such, no verification can done of the same, the public prosecutor stated.

The court, however, stated that the “police cannot decide whether there is a case made out and whether there will be any positive outcome in the investigation, unless an FIR is lodged”.

“The very offence is alleged to be committed for submitting a document by forging a signature of a govt servant and used for securing a govt job. There is an allegation of using a forged document as genuine which has an effect of cheating. Merely saying the records at the mamlatdar office are destroyed is not enough. Only when the FIR is lodged can police conduct a thorough investigation, refer the document for expert examination, and then conclude if any forgery allegation subsists or has to be ruled out,” stated JMFC, F Court, Merces, Ankita Nagvenkar.

“It is also a settled law that any person can set the law in motion and therefore just because the office in which the document is submitted and/or the mamlatdar whose signature is alleged to be forged has not filed a complaint cannot be a refuge for the police. The police cannot exercise discretion in not registering an FIR in such a serious offence and therefore there is merit in the present application,” the court held.