#forgery defence

Punjab & Haryana HC rules that once a defendant admits their signature on a post-dated stamp paper agreement, the burden shifts to them to prove forgery with cogent evidence. The court dismissed the appeal, holding that prior access to blank papers does not automatically invalidate the agreement, reinforcing the presumption of valid execution under contract law.

The Chhattisgarh High Court granted anticipatory bail where a property sale deed mistakenly listed a living person as deceased, emphasizing that mere clerical error, promptly corrected without fraudulent intent, does not attract charges under Sections 464-471 of the BNS. This ruling clarifies that procedural inaccuracies in land records, absent malice or deception, cannot be criminalized under forgery provisions, protecting innocent families from arbitrary arrest.