Nagpur: The Nagpur Bench of the Bombay High Court has delivered a mixed verdict in a decades-old forgery and cheating case involving two businessmen from Ramdaspeth.
Arun Gourishankar Gupta (54) and his brother Ashok Gourishankar Gupta (37), both residents of 144, Ramdaspeth, had challenged their conviction by the Judicial Magistrate First Class (Court No.7, Nagpur) on February 8, 2007. They were found guilty under Sections 120-B (criminal conspiracy), 468 (forgery), 471 (using forged documents), and 420 (cheating) of the Indian Penal Code. Their earlier appeal was dismissed by the Additional Sessions Judge, Nagpur, on August 7, 2013.
The case dates back to July 1982, when businessman Mahesh Babulal Gupta (63), a relative residing at Gupta Niwas, Ramdaspeth, complained that the accused had fraudulently withdrawn sums of ₹1,213.70, ₹1,687.10, and ₹1,868.10 from the Compulsory Deposit Scheme (CDS) accounts of Mahesh, his father Babulal, and his mother Kashibai. The withdrawals were allegedly made using forged pay orders, cleared through the Bank of Baroda, Gandhibagh Branch, in the account of M/s Laxmikant Gupta & Company.
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Following a police investigation, handwriting expert analysis and testimony from several bank officials indicated that the withdrawal forms contained forged signatures.
Before the High Court, the Guptas’ counsel argued that the conviction relied solely on weak handwriting expert evidence without independent corroboration.
However, Justice Urmila Joshi-Phalke held that while there was insufficient evidence to prove criminal conspiracy (Section 120-B), the charges of forgery, cheating, and use of forged documents were supported not only by expert opinion but also by corroborating oral testimony from the complainant and bank officials.
Accordingly, the High Court quashed the conviction under Section 120-B IPC but upheld the other convictions. The brothers have been directed to surrender before Central Prison, Nagpur, by September 25, 2025, to serve the remainder of their sentence.
