Chukka Shilpa vs The State Of Andhra Pradesh
2023 Latest Caselaw 4918 AP

     THE HON'BLE SRI JUSTICE CHEEKATI MANAVENDRANATH ROY
                                    AND
       THE HON'BLE SRI JUSTICE TARLADA RAJASEKHAR RAO

                   CRIMINAL APPEAL NO.488 OF 2023

JUDGMENT:- (Per Hon'ble Sri Justice Cheekati Manavendranath Roy)


       This criminal appeal is preferred against the order dated

10.05.2023 passed in Crl.M.P.No.407 of 2023 in S.C.No.19 of 2023

on the file of learned Metropolitan Sessions Judge-cum-Special

Judge for Trial of N.I.A. Cases at Vijayawada, whereby the petition

filed by the appellant for grant of bail, was dismissed.


2.     Heard learned counsel for the appellant and Sri N.Harinath,

learned Special Public Prosecutor appearing for the respondent.

3. The appellant is A5 in S.C.No.19 of 2023 on the file of

learned Metropolitan Sessions Judge-cum-Special Judge for Trial

of N.I.A. Cases at Vijayawada.

4. Briefly stated, it is the case of the prosecution that the

appellant is the General Secretary of Chaitanya Mahila Sangham

(for short "CMS") and she is an active member of CMS and she is

closely associated with the organization like CPI (Maoist). She has

played an active role in indoctrinating the Maoist principles and

Naxalite principles to attract the innocent girls and other woman

towards their Maoist principles and to provoke them to join their

organization and thereby recruiting the persons to join the banned

organizations like CPI (Maoist) etc.

5. It is stated that the de facto complainant Pallepati Pochamma

is the mother of a person by name Radha, who is studying nursing

course. The leaders of the said CMS i.e., A3, A4 and the appellant

herein, who is A5 and others, used to visit her college and

radicalize her with the ideology of Maoism and A3 took her along

with him on the pretext of providing medical treatment to some

other person and after the daughter of the complainant

accompanied A3, that she did not return even after nine months.

Later, she came to know that her daughter joined the CPI (Maoist)

organization and working with them and also with members of

CMS.

6. It is the specific case of the prosecution that the appellant

herein, has actively indulged in recruiting the persons in the said

Maoist organization and frontal organizations to work along with

them and to carry on the unlawful activities.

7. During the course of investigation, it is stated that the role of

the appellant in participating in the said activities of the banned

organizations and also in recruiting people to join the said

organization to indulge in the said unlawful activities is also clearly

established as per the evidence secured to that effect.

8. Therefore, on completion of investigation, as the complicity of

the appellant, who is A5, is prima facie established as per the

evidence secured to that effect, charge sheet was filed against her

along with other accused.

9. The said case is now pending trial before the Special Court.

10. The petition filed by the appellant, who is A5, before the trial

court for grant of bail was dismissed on the ground that the

material that is secured during the course of investigation prima

facie established the role played by her in commission of the

alleged offence and that in view of the gravity of the offence and the

involvement of the appellant as a conspirator, that she is not

entitled to bail.

11. At the time of hearing, learned counsel for the appellant

would vehemently contend that the CMS organization is not a

banned organization under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act,

1967 (for short "the Act") and as such, the very launching of

prosecution against her to prosecute the appellant for the offences

under the Act, is itself not maintainable. He would then contend

that even as can be seen from the charge sheet, no specific role is

attributed to her in commission of the alleged offences and as

such, the accusation made against her is prima facie not well

founded and she has been languishing in jail without any valid

basis and thereby prayed for grant of bail to the appellant. He

would contend that the impugned order of the trial Court is legally

unsustainable and thereby prayed to set aside the same and

enlarge the appellant on bail.

12. Per contra, Sri N.Harinath, learned Special Public Prosecutor

vehemently opposed the bail. He would contend that as per first

schedule appended in the Act, terrorist organizations are notified in

terms of Sections 2(1)(m), 35, 36 and 38 (1) of the Act and at serial

number 34, Communist Party of India (Maoist) is clearly shown as

a terrorist organization and all its formations and its front

organizations are also shown as the terrorist organizations. So, he

would contend that the CMS is a frontal organization. Earlier,

when the same contention was raised, since learned counsel for

the appellant contended that there is no proof on record to show

that the CMS is a frontal organization of CPI (Maoist), this Court

has directed the prosecution to produce the material in support of

the said contention of the prosecution.

13. Today, learned Special Public Prosecutor has placed on

record the proceedings of the Ministry of Home Affairs, wherein it is

stated at page No.10 while explaining what are the frontal

organizations, it is stated that the Front Organizations are the off-

shoots of the parent Maoist party, which professes a separate

existence to escape legal liability and the Front Organizations carry

on propaganda/disinformation of the party and recruit

„professional revolutionaries‟ for the underground movement, raise

funds for the insurgency and assist the cadres in legal matters and

also provide safe houses and shelters to underground cadres. It is

also stated that the functionaries of Front Organization provide

intellectual veneer to the inherent violence in the Maoist ideology.

Also stated that they sanitize the bloodletting and attempt to make

the Maoist world view palatable to urban audiences and the media

and that the said Front Organization exist in twenty States of

India.

14. Thus, it is prima facie clear from the said explanation that

the Front Organization is the off-shoot of the parent Maoist party

and they are indulging in various activities to propagate the

ideology of the said Maoist party and also to recruit professional

volunteers for the underground movement in the said organization.

15. Therefore, in view of the prima facie material that is placed on

record, it cannot be said that the CMS is not a Front Organization

of terrorist organization i.e. CPI (Maoist).

16. The main allegation against the appellant herein is that she

has been indulging in taking up the recruitment process to recruit

professional volunteers for the underground movement of the said

CPI (Maoist), which is a terrorist organization under the Act.

During the course of investigation, some letters are secured which

are said to have been addressed to the appellant by the other

members of the said organization, which clearly prima facie shows

that she has indulged in recruiting the professional volunteers for

the underground movement. Further, the allegations ascribed

against her prima facie show that she along with other accused

approached the daughter of the complainant, who is pursuing her

nursing course and indoctrinated her with naxal principles and

Maoist principles and attracted her towards their principles and

played a vital role to join her the said organization. Therefore, the

accusation made against the appellant is prima facie well founded

from the material available on record. So, in view of the

seriousness of the allegations and prima facie material available on

record in proof of the role played by her in commission of the

offence punishable under the Act, we are of the considered view

that she is not entitled to bail as sought for.

17. The learned trial Judge also considered all the aforesaid facts

and rightly declined to enlarge the appellant on bail. We do not see

any legal flaw or infirmity in the impugned order warranting

interference of this Court.

18. Therefore, the Criminal Appeal is dismissed.

Miscellaneous petitions, if any pending, in this Criminal

Appeal, shall stand closed.

______________________________________________ JUSTICE CHEEKATI MANAVENDRANATH ROY

______________________________________ JUSTICE TARLADA RAJASEKHAR RAO Date: 12.10.2023 ARR/KSJ

THE HON'BLE SRI JUSTICE CHEEKATI MANAVENDRANATH ROY

AND

THE HON'BLE SRI JUSTICE TARLADA RAJASEKHAR RAO

CRIMINAL APPEAL NO.488 OF 2023

Date: 12-10-2023

ARR/KSJ