Gujarat High Court
Juber Iqbal Memon vs State Of Gujarat on 9 September, 2025
NEUTRAL CITATION
R/CR.MA/17404/2025 ORDER DATED: 09/09/2025
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IN THE HIGH COURT OF GUJARAT AT AHMEDABAD
R/CRIMINAL MISC.APPLICATION (FOR ANTICIPATORY BAIL) NO.
17404 of 2025
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JUBER IQBAL MEMON
Versus
STATE OF GUJARAT
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Appearance:
MS KAILASBEN D GOPANI(12735) for the Applicant(s) No. 1
S M KIKANI(7596) for the Applicant(s) No. 1
MR HARDIK SONI, APP for the Respondent(s) No. 1
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CORAM:HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE DIVYESH A. JOSHI
Date : 09/09/2025
ORAL ORDER
1. Rule. Learned APP waives service of notice of rule for respondent - State of Gujarat.
2. By way of the present application under Section 482 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 (for short "BNSS"), the applicant has prayed for anticipatory bail in the event of arrest in connection with the FIR being C.R.No.11200011251704 of 2025 registered with the Valsad Rural Police Station, Valsad for the alleged offences as mentioned in the FIR.
3. Heard learned advocate Mr. S. M. Kikani for the applicant and learned APP Mr. Hardik Soni for respondent - State.
4. Learned advocate Mr. Kikani for the applicant submits that as per the case of the prosecution, Page 1 of 9 Uploaded by LAVKUMAR J JANI(HC00210) on Thu Sep 11 2025 Downloaded on : Thu Sep 11 22:44:35 IST 2025 NEUTRAL CITATION R/CR.MA/17404/2025 ORDER DATED: 09/09/2025 undefined the so-called incident is occurred during the period between 10.03.2025 to 18.07.2025, whereas, FIR is registered on 04.08.2025 against total two known persons and other unknown persons, wherein, name of the applicant is mentioned at serial No.2. That there is gross delay of 16 days in registering the FIR and complainant has failed to explain the cause of delay in registering the FIR. He has read the FIR and submitted that it is the specific case of the prosecution that complainant is the owner of certain parcels of land and on one fine day, he has received one letter, purported signed by his well-wisher, specifically stating that someone has created false and fabricated documents in the name of complainant and on the basis of the said letter complainant has made distinct inquiry and it has come to the notice of the complainant that accused No.1 - Nilesh Rameshbhai Prajapati has impersonated himself as complainant and with the help of other co- accused he has created false and fabricated documents i.e. AADHAR Card and PAN Card in the name of complainant and on the strength of the said documents, agreement to sell in respect of land of the complainant has been executed in favour one one Harishbhai N. Aahir and said Harishbhai has also paid Rs.10 lakh to the accused No.1 in the office of the applicant. He Page 2 of 9 Uploaded by LAVKUMAR J JANI(HC00210) on Thu Sep 11 2025 Downloaded on : Thu Sep 11 22:44:35 IST 2025 NEUTRAL CITATION R/CR.MA/17404/2025 ORDER DATED: 09/09/2025 undefined submits that applicant herein has not signed any documents and he is not directly or indirectly connected and/or associated with the commission of crime and he is falsely dragged into the offence by the complainant. Thus, considering the aforesaid factual aspects of the matter, applicant may be enlarged on anticipatory bail by imposing suitable conditions.
5. Present application is strongly objected by the learned APP Mr. Hardik Soni. He submits that name as well as specific role of the applicant is clearly spelt out from the body of the FIR. He submits that at the time of opposing anticipatory bail application of the applicant before the learned Trial Court, the investigating officer concerned has filed an affidavit specifically stating that property of the complainant is tried to be sold out by the accused persons to one Harishbhai Aahir by executing Agreement to Sell and amount of consideration is fixed at Rs.8 crore, out of which, amount of Rs.10 lakh as advance is paid to the accused persons. The accused No.1 Nilesh Rameshbhai Prajapati has impersonated himself as complainant and he has also prepared false and fabricated documents i.e. AADHAR Card and Pan Card in the name of the complainant and on the strength of the said bogus documents, Agreement to Sell in respect of land of the ownership of Page 3 of 9 Uploaded by LAVKUMAR J JANI(HC00210) on Thu Sep 11 2025 Downloaded on : Thu Sep 11 22:44:35 IST 2025 NEUTRAL CITATION R/CR.MA/17404/2025 ORDER DATED: 09/09/2025 undefined the complainant has been executed in favour of Harishbhai Aahir by the accused No.1. He further submits that for the purpose of registration of sale deed, accused had also obtained online token in the name of the complainant and at that relevant point of time, Rs.20,000/- is also taken from said Harishbhai. He further submits that during the course of investigation, statement of Harishbhai is recorded, wherein, he has specifically stated that he has paid more than Rs.45 to 47 lakh to both the accused persons. He submits that applicant and other accused persons were well aware about the fact that they have created false and fabricated documents in the name of the complainant and based upon the said documents, they tried to sell the property of the complainant to one Harishbhai by executing Agreement to Sell by taken token amount of Rs.10 lakh from him. The said transaction is taken place in the office of the applicant. Learned APP Mr. Soni further submits that applicant herein has a chequered history and he has been convicted and sentenced to suffer imprisonment for a period of one year for the offence punishable under Section 138 of the Negotiable Instruments Act and he was also directed to pay an amount of Rs.20 lakh to the complainant of the said case. Thus, the aforesaid clearly goes on to show that applicant Page 4 of 9 Uploaded by LAVKUMAR J JANI(HC00210) on Thu Sep 11 2025 Downloaded on : Thu Sep 11 22:44:35 IST 2025 NEUTRAL CITATION R/CR.MA/17404/2025 ORDER DATED: 09/09/2025 undefined herein is having criminal mind and with a sole intent to dupe the complainant, he has acted in a particular manner. Thus, this is not a fit case where the Hon'ble Court is required to exercise its discretion in favour of the applicant. Therefore, present application is required to be dismissed.
6. Having heard the learned advocates appearing for the parties and perused the materials available on record, it is found out from the record that as per the case of the prosecution, the original accused No.1 - Nilesh Rameshbhai Prajapati has impersonated himself as complainant and he has also prepared false and fabricated documents i.e. AADHAR Card and Pan Card in the name of the complainant and on the strength of the said bogus documents, Agreement to Sell in respect of land of the ownership of the complainant has been executed in favour of one Harishbhai Aahir by the accused No.1. It is also found out from the record that for the purpose of registration of sale deed, accused had also obtained online token in the name of the complainant and at that relevant point of time, Rs.20,000/- is also taken from said Harishbhai. Learned APP has drawn the attention of this Court to the statement of Harishbhai, which is recorded by the investigating officer, wherein, the said witness has specifically stated that he had paid Page 5 of 9 Uploaded by LAVKUMAR J JANI(HC00210) on Thu Sep 11 2025 Downloaded on : Thu Sep 11 22:44:35 IST 2025 NEUTRAL CITATION R/CR.MA/17404/2025 ORDER DATED: 09/09/2025 undefined more than Rs.45 lakh to both the accused persons. Thus, the applicant and other accused persons were well aware about the fact that they have created false and fabricated documents in the name of the complainant with a sole intent to dupe the complainant and based upon the said forged documents, they tried to sell the property of the complainant to one Harishbhai by executing Agreement to Sell by obtaining token amount of Rs.10 lakh from him. The said transaction is also taken place in the office of the applicant. Thus, in the opinion of this Court, prima facie, involvement of the applicant in the commission of crime is clearly spelt out. Moreover, in past also, the applicant has been convicted for an offence of 138 Negotiable Instruments Act by the competent Court, which shows his criminal mind. It is well settled that at the stage of entertaining bail application, an elaborate examination of evidence and detailed reasons touching the merit of the case, which may prejudice the accused, should be avoided. Therefore, at this stage of deciding the present application seeking anticipatory bail, without discussing the evidence in detail, I restrict myself to the extent of giving my opinion of prima facie involvement of the applicant in the commission of crime.
7. It is required to be noted that normal procedure Page 6 of 9 Uploaded by LAVKUMAR J JANI(HC00210) on Thu Sep 11 2025 Downloaded on : Thu Sep 11 22:44:35 IST 2025 NEUTRAL CITATION R/CR.MA/17404/2025 ORDER DATED: 09/09/2025 undefined prescribed for curtailing the right to life & liberty, is that the investigating officer can arrest the accused even without warrant. No doubt this Court has extraordinary power to protect an innocent person. However, this power has to be exercised by the Courts with due circumspection.
8. The Hon'ble Supreme Court in the case of Sumitha Pradeep Vs. Arun Kumar C.K. & Anr., reported in 2022 SCC OnLine SC 1529 held that merely because custodial interrogation is not required, by itself, could not be a ground to grant anticipatory bail. The first and the foremost thing the Court, while hearing the anticipatory bail application, has to consider is the prima facie case against the accused. The relevant extract of the judgment is reproduced hereinbelow:-
"It may be true, as pointed out by learned counsel appearing for Respondent No.1, that charge-sheet has already been filed. It will be unfair to presume on our part that the Investigating Officer does not require Respondent No.1 for custodial interrogation for the purpose of further investigation. Be that as it may, even assuming it a case where Respondent No.1 is not required for custodial interrogation, we are satisfied that the High Court ought not to have granted discretionary relief of anticipatory bail. We are dealing with a matter wherein the original complainant (appellant herein) has come before this Court praying that the anticipatory bail granted by the High Court to the accused should be cancelled. To put it in other words, the complainant says that the High Court wrongly exercised its discretion while granting anticipatory bail to the accused in a Page 7 of 9 Uploaded by LAVKUMAR J JANI(HC00210) on Thu Sep 11 2025 Downloaded on : Thu Sep 11 22:44:35 IST 2025 NEUTRAL CITATION R/CR.MA/17404/2025 ORDER DATED: 09/09/2025 undefined very serious crime like POCSO and, therefore, the order passed by the High Court granting anticipatory bail to the accused should be quashed and set aside. In many anticipatory bail matters, we have noticed one common argument being canvassed that no custodial interrogation is required and, therefore, anticipatory bail may be granted. There appears to be a serious misconception of law that if no case for custodial interrogation is made out by the prosecution, then that alone would be a good ground to grant anticipatory bail. Custodial interrogation can be one of the relevant aspects to be considered along with other grounds while deciding an application seeking anticipatory bail. There may be many cases in which the custodial interrogation of the accused may not be required, but that does not mean that the prima facie case against the accused should be ignored or overlooked and he should be granted anticipatory bail. The first and foremost thing that the court hearing an anticipatory bail application should consider is the prima facie case put up against the accused. Thereafter, the nature of the offence should be looked into along with the severity of the punishment. Custodial interrogation can be one of the grounds to decline custodial interrogation. However, even if custodial interrogation is not required or necessitated, by itself, cannot be a ground to grant anticipatory bail."
9. Thus, while taking into consideration the ratio laid down by the Hon'ble Supreme Court in the case of Siddharam Satlingappa Mhetre as also ratio laid down in other decisions, I have gone through the contents of the FIR, which is placed on record and also considered the affidavit of the investigating officer filed before the learned Judge concerned opposing the bail application preferred by the applicant. Upon going through the contents of the FIR, it appears that prima facie case is made out Page 8 of 9 Uploaded by LAVKUMAR J JANI(HC00210) on Thu Sep 11 2025 Downloaded on : Thu Sep 11 22:44:35 IST 2025 NEUTRAL CITATION R/CR.MA/17404/2025 ORDER DATED: 09/09/2025 undefined against the applicant and material collected so far suggests the involvement of the applicant in the commission of crime.
10. For the foregoing reasons, having regard to the facts and circumstances, peculiar to the instant case, as have been analyzed hereinabove, the applicant has failed to make out a special case for exercise of power to grant anticipatory bail and considering the facts and parameters, necessary to be considered for adjudication of anticipatory bail, this Court does not find any exceptional ground to exercise its discretionary jurisdiction under Section 482 of the BNSS to grant anticipatory bail. More so, investigation is still going on in the present case. It is settled proposition of law that power exercisable under Section 482 BNSS, is somewhat discretionary in character and it is to be exercised with caution in exceptional cases.
11. Hence, the present application seeking anticipatory bail, being devoid of merit, is hereby dismissed. Notice is discharged.
12. Needless to say that the observations and findings made hereinabove are limited to the decision of this pre-arrest bail application, and shall not influence in any other proceedings arising out of the impugned FIR.
(DIVYESH A. JOSHI,J) LAVKUMAR J JANI Page 9 of 9 Uploaded by LAVKUMAR J JANI(HC00210) on Thu Sep 11 2025 Downloaded on : Thu Sep 11 22:44:35 IST 2025