The Punjab-Haryana High Court has expressed concern over the increasing cases of property fraud from NRIs and termed it a worrying trend. The Punjab-Haryana High Court has made this remark while refusing to grant anticipatory bail to the accused persons who sold the property of NRIs by claiming to be the owner of the property.
Ludhiana residents Bagel Singh and Raghuveer Singh had filed a petition seeking anticipatory bail. According to the allegation, a property worth crores owned by an NRI in Ludhiana was sold for only Rs 30.20 lakh. The court said that it is strange that at the time of execution of the sale deed, the sub-registrar allowed the presentation of a cheque instead of a demand draft. The facts and circumstances of the case clearly indicate that the petitioner and other co-accused had hatched a big conspiracy to usurp the property of the NRI.
The Punjab government said that the real owner was not even aware of the fraud at the time the sale deed was executed in favour of the co-accused. Custodial interrogation of the petitioners is imperative to establish the role of other co-accused including revenue officials.
The court said that this case exemplifies yet another disturbing trend which is on the rise. Unscrupulous individuals take advantage of NRIs, particularly those who are unable to frequently visit India or manage their properties here. Time and again such vulnerable property owners are duped through forged documents, misuse of power of attorney, often resulting in sale of their properties at very low prices. This also has cascading effects on public confidence in the real estate ecosystem and ultimately on the economic stability of the State.
