Bombay High Court
Jay Madhukar Abhyankar vs State Of Maharashtra Through, ... on 21 September, 2016
Bench: S.B. Shukre
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IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT BOMBAY
NAGPUR BENCH, NAGPUR
CRIMINAL REVISION APPLICATION No.123 OF 2016
Jay Madhukar Abhyankar,
Aged about 39 years,
Occupation : Service,
R/o. Bhumiputra Colony,
Congress Nagar Road,
Amravati. : APPLICANT
...VERSUS...
State of Maharashtra,
Through Deputy Superintendent of Police,
Anti Corruption Bureau, Amravati. : NON-APPLICANT
AND
Vilas s/o. Yashwantrao Pundkar,
Amended as per Aged 53 years,
Court's order Occupation : Service,
dt.21.9.2016.
R/o. Arun Colony, VMV Road,
Amravati. : INTERVENOR
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Shri R.M. Daga, Advocate for the Petitioner.
Shri T.A. Mirza, Additional Public Prosecutor for the Respondent.
Shri P.R. Agrawal, Advocate for the Intervenor.
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CORAM : S.B. SHUKRE, J.
th
DATE : 21
SEPTEMBER, 2016.
ORAL JUDGMENT :
1. Heard.
2. Admit.
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3. Heard finally by consent of learned counsel appearing for the
parties.
4. By the order dated 29th July, 2016 passed by the Additional
Sessions Judge, Amravati on the application filed by the Anti Corruption
Bureau, Amravati i.e. the respondent under Section 439(2) of the
Criminal Procedure Code, conditional bail granted to the applicant by the
Court of Incharge Additional Sessions Judge-1, Amravati on 13 th May,
2016 has been cancelled . The ground of cancellation was that this
applicant violated the condition No.III of the bail order dated 13 th May,
2016 which reads thus :
"the applicants are directed not to contact the witnesses
nor to pressurize them."
5. The learned Additional Sessions Judge felt that the report
lodged by the complainant in the Anti Corruption case, Vilas
Yashwantrao Pundkar, on 21.6.2016 with Police Station Kholapur was
sufficient to conclude that the applicant contacted the witnesses and
pressurized them.
6. Learned counsel for the applicant submits that there was
absolutely no investigation made into the allegations of abusing the
complainant Vilas Pundkar, pushing him away and threatening him on
his life and in fact, Police Station Kholapur only registered non-
cognizable case relating to offences punishable under Sections 323,
506(4) and 506 of the Indian penal Code. He submits that even the
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learned Additional Sessions Judge did not consider the material aspect of
genuineness of the allegations made against the applicant and, therefore,
the order is perverse and illegal.
7. Learned A.P.P. submits that the learned Additional Sessions
Judge has only based his order upon the complaint dated 21.6.2016.
8. Learned counsel for the intervenor submits that it is incorrect
to say that the basis of the impugned order is only the complaint dated
21.6.2016 and that there have been several complaints made by the staff
members of the Society which runs the school in question and of which
this applicant is the Principal that this applicant and others are doing
several illegal activities such as pressurizing the staff members and not
allowing the staff members to sign the muster roll. He further submits
that the complaint dated 21.6.2016 was yet another attempt on the part
of the applicant to pressurize the witnesses. He submits that the A.C.B.
Amravati filed an application under Section 439 (2) of the Criminal
Procedure Code only when on 22.6.2016, the complainant-Vilas
Yashwantrao Pundkar brought to the notice of the A.C.B. Amravati all
these pressure tactics resorted to by the applicant. He, therefore, submits
that there is no reason to make any interference with the impugned
order.
9. I would have accepted the contentions of the learned counsel
for the intervenor had there been any material available on record prima
facie showing that this applicant indulged in any act which would
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reasonably amount to pressurizing prosecution witnesses. The
submission that this applicant and others were bringing pressure upon
the staff members and not allowing them to sign the muster roll is not
found to be reflected either in the complaint dated 21.6.2016 lodged
with Police Station Kholapur or in the representation made on 22.6.2016
by the complainant-Vilas Yashwantrao Pundkar, to the A.C.B. Amravati.
A bare perusal of the complaint dated 21.6.2016 discloses that the
incident, which allegedly occurred at about 11.15 a.m. of 21.6.2016 in
the office of the applicant, was related to some separate event, having no
bearing with the implication of the applicant and another in the case
registered against him and another for the offences punishable under
Sections 7 and 13(2) of the Prevention of Corruption Act 1988. This
complaint shows that when the complainant entered the office of the
applicant in order to obtain his signatures on the T.C. book as well as
salary bills, this applicant abused him, pushed him away and also
threatened him on his life. He has stated that at that time, the other
lecturers, namely, Prashant Vishwas Kadu, Ku. Sujata Bonde and one
guardian Sau. Meena Khedkar were present. This incident ex facie
indicates that it occurred during the course of discharge of official duties
by the complainant as well as this applicant and because of this incident,
the complainant felt, which appears to be his own opinion, that he was
being pressurized by the applicant. In this complaint, it is noteworthy to
mention, the complainant has not stated anything about the pressure
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tactics of the applicant in disallowing the staff members to sign the
muster-roll.
10. What has been found in respect of the complainant dated
21.6.2016 and noted in the forgoing paragraphs, can also be seen to be
so in respect of representation made on 22.6.2016 by the complainant to
the A.C.B. Amravati. I must mention here that although this
representation is of the date 21.6.2016, it has been received by the Office
of the A.C.B. on 22.6.2016.
11.
Then, as rightly submitted by the learned counsel for the
applicant, no inquiry whatsoever has been made by A.C.B. Amravati
before filing of the application for cancellation of bail, nor the learned
Additional Sessions Judge found it fit to order such an inquiry. The
complaint dated 21.6.2016 itself shows that some witnesses were present
at the time when the alleged incident occurred. But, the statements of
those witnesses have not been recorded.
12. In these circumstances, I find that the order passed by the
learned Additional Sessions Judge is perverse. It does not take into
account the material aspects required for arriving at the satisfaction that
the applicant has indeed breached the conditions of the order granting
bail to him. The non-consideration of such important aspect is an
illegality so manifestly seen from the impugned order. The impugned
order, therefore, cannot be sustained in law.
13. I must say that in order to avoid such allegations being made
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in future, a few more conditions are also required to be imposed, which
in my opinion would protect the interest of the prosecution as well as
take care of the interest of the applicant.
14. In the result, the criminal revision application is allowed.
15. The impugned order dated 29.7.2016, passed by the
Additional Sessions Judge, Amravati, is hereby quashed and set aside.
16. However, it is directed that till completion of the
investigation, the applicant shall not enter the premises of Shri Sant
Gadge Baba Junior College, Kholapur, and as undertaken by him, shall
discharge his functions and duties as Principal of the junior college from
another office at Amravati.
17. The pay bills, TC book and all documents which are required
to be signed by the applicant, though could be continued to be prepared
in a manner consistent with the duty assigned to the complainant-Vilas
Yashwantrao Pundkar, shall be placed before the applicant for his
signatures through a person nominated by the applicant, which person,
as informed by the applicant would be Shri Ganesh Umekar, the Peon of
M.C.V.C. Department, till the investigation is over.
JUDGE
okMksns
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Uploaded on : 23.9.2016.
