Allahabad High Court
Inder Kumar vs State Of U.P. on 21 July, 2023
Bench: Krishan Pahal
HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT ALLAHABAD
?Neutral Citation No. - 2023:AHC:145533
Court No. - 72
Case :- CRIMINAL MISC ANTICIPATORY BAIL APPLICATION U/S 438 CR.P.C. No. - 7794 of 2023
Applicant :- Inder Kumar
Opposite Party :- State of U.P.
Counsel for Applicant :- Devendra Vikram Singh,Damodar Singh
Counsel for Opposite Party :- G.A.,Sanjeev Kumar Singh
Hon'ble Krishan Pahal,J.
1. List has been revised.
2. Heard Sri Devendra Vikram Singh, learned counsel for the applicant, Sri Sanjeev Kumar Singh, learned counsel for the informant and Sri Deepak Kumar Singh, learned A.G.A. for the State as well as perused the record.
3. The present anticipatory bail application has been filed on behalf of the applicant in Case Crime No.62 of 2022, registered under Sections 420, 406, 506 IPC at Police Station- Sahjanawa, District Gorakhpur with a prayer to enlarge him on anticipatory bail.
4. As per prosecution story, the informant is stated to have purchased a bus bearing no. UP 53 FT 7175 from the applicant and other co-accused persons for a consideration of Rs.38 lakhs and as an advance Rs.10 lakhs was given to the applicant and the rest amount was agreed to be repaid ininstallments at the interest rate of 12% during the period of thirty months. It transpired later on that the said 68 seater bus was permitted by the road tax office for capacity of 54 seats only, as such the vehicle was challaned by the road tax department and even the insurance company did not pay any amount owing to the said discrepancy in the said documents. Even the said original documents are stated to have not been supplied to the informant. Subsequent to it, an amount of Rs.5,76,995/- was also transferred to the account of the applicant and some money was also deposited in the account of the son of the applicant Sunni. The applicant and other co-accused persons are stated to have committed criminal breach of trust and forgery with the informant, thus, duping him of his hard earned life savings.
5. Learned counsel for the applicant has stated that the applicant has been falsely implicated in this case. He has nothing to do with the said offence. The applicant had as bona fide act given the said bus to the informant and it was very much seen by naked eye that there were 68 seats in it and the documents were genuine. Learned counsel has stated that on the default of payment of installment as was agreed between the parties, the applicant has confiscated the said bus. The applicant has no criminal history to his credit. The applicant himself has incurred loss. The matter of civil nature has been converted into criminal one by the informant. Several other submissions have been made on behalf of the applicant to demonstrate the falsity of the allegations made against him. The circumstances which, as per counsel, led to the false implication of the applicant have also been touched upon at length. The applicant has apprehension of his arrest. Learned counsel for the applicant undertakes that he has co-operated in the investigation and is ready to do so in trial also failing which the State can move appropriate application for cancellation of anticipatory bail.
6. Per contra, learned counsel for the informant as well as learned A.G.A. have vehemently opposed the anticipatory bail application on the ground that the applicant is part of larger gang having similar modus operandi and has duped several persons, but they could not dispute that the applicant has no criminal history to his credit.
7. On due consideration to the arguments advanced by learned counsel for the applicant as well as learned A.G.A. and considering the nature of accusations and antecedents of the applicant, the applicant is liable to be enlarged on anticipatory bail in view of the judgment of Supreme Court in the case of "Sushila Aggarwal Vs. State (NCT of Delhi), (2020) 5 SCC 1". The future contingencies regarding the anticipatory bail being granted to applicant shall also be taken care of as per the aforesaid judgment of the Apex Court.
8. In view of the above, the anticipatory bail application of the applicant is allowed. Let the accused-applicant- Inder Kumar be released forthwith in the aforesaid case crime (supra) on anticipatory bail till the conclusion of trial on furnishing a personal and two sureties each in the like amount to the satisfaction of the court concerned with the following conditions:-
(i). that the applicant shall make himself available for interrogation by a police officer as and when required;
(ii). that the applicant shall not, directly or indirectly make any inducement, threat or promise to any person acquainted with the facts of the case so as to dissuade him from disclosing such facts to the court or to any police officer or tamper with the evidence;
(iii). that the applicant shall not leave India without the previous permission of the court;
(iv). that in case charge-sheet is submitted the applicant shall not tamper with the evidence during the trial;
(v). that the applicant shall not pressurize/ intimidate the prosecution witness;
(vi). that the applicant shall appear before the trial court on each date fixed unless personal presence is exempted;
(vii). that in case of breach of any of the above conditions the court concerned shall have the liberty to cancel the bail.
9. It is made clear that observations made hereinabove are exclusively for deciding the instant anticipatory bail application and shall not affect the trial.
[Krishan Pahal, J.]
Order Date :- 21.7.2023
Vikas
