Jammu August 29: A court intervention following a complaint by a Patwari from Kishtwar has resulted in the registration of an FIR over allegations that his personal and official financial documents were allegedly misused to create a loan guarantee without his knowledge or consent.
The complainant, Aadil Hassan, approached the Court of the Chief Judicial Magistrate (CJM), Jammu, under Section 173(4) of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), 2023, seeking registration of an FIR and a fair and impartial investigation into the alleged fraud.
According to the complaint, Hassan had provided his Aadhaar Card, PAN Card, photographs, salary slips and signatures in July 2023 for a specific purpose — to stand as guarantor for a vehicle loan availed by his brother.
However, he alleged that the same documents were subsequently used for creating another loan guarantee in favour of Amit Singh, without his knowledge, consent or execution of any fresh guarantee documents.
The complainant has alleged that he came to know about the purported liability only after receiving recovery-related demands. Despite allegedly informing the concerned authorities that he had neither consented to nor executed the disputed guarantee, the alleged liability continued to be pursued against him.
The complaint further alleges that his salary account was subsequently subjected to a lien/freeze, causing financial hardship and affecting his access to his salary.
Through his counsel, Advocate M. A. Dar, the complainant sought judicial directions for preservation and seizure of all relevant records connected with the disputed loan transaction. These included the original loan application, guarantee documents, KYC papers, sanction and approval files, account records, correspondence and internal communications.
The complainant also sought verification and forensic examination of the disputed signatures and documents to establish whether his signatures and personal documents had been used without authorization.
Following the court proceedings, Police Station Khour registered FIR No. 67/2026 under Sections 420, 465, 468, 471 and 120-B of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).
The FIR names officials associated with AM Auto Tata Motors showroom, officials of Jammu & Kashmir Bank, Sajwal Branch, and another named individual in connection with the allegations.
The registration of the FIR marks the beginning of a formal criminal investigation into the circumstances surrounding the alleged loan guarantee, the use of the complainant’s KYC documents, the authenticity of the disputed signatures and the role, if any, of the persons named in the FIR.
The investigating agency is expected to examine the original banking and showroom records, loan documentation, KYC material, signatures, digital/transaction records and other relevant evidence to establish how the disputed guarantee was allegedly created and whether the complainant had actually consented to the transaction.
The complainant was represented before the Chief Judicial Magistrate, Jammu, by Advocate M. A. Dar.
It is important to note that the allegations contained in the complaint and FIR are yet to be established. The registration of an FIR does not by itself establish guilt, and the culpability or otherwise of the persons named will be determined on the basis of the investigation and evidence in accordance with law.
