Bombay High Court
Nandini N. Suchde vs The State Of West Bengal And Anr on 5 May, 2022
Bench: S.S. Shinde, S. V. Kotwal
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IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT BOMBAY
CRIMINAL APPELLATE JURISDICTION
[1] ANTICIPATORY BAIL APPLICATION NO. 161 OF 2022
Prajith Thayyil Kallil S/o Jogesh K J ... Applicant
Versus
The State of Maharashtra ... Respondent
.....
WITH
[2] ANTICIPATORY BAIL APPLICATION NO. 26 OF 2021
Pinkesh Mehta S/o Suresh Mehta & Ors. ... Applicants
Versus
The State of Maharashtra ... Respondent
.....
WITH
[3] ANTICIPATORY BAIL APPLICATION NO. 137 OF 2022
Nikhil Premraj Kalapadan & Ors. ... Applicants
Versus
The State of Maharashtra & Anr. ... Respondents
.....
WITH
[4] ANTICIPATORY BAIL APPLICATION NO. 162 OF 2022
Sameer Jai Hiremath ... Applicant
Versus
The State of Maharashtra & Anr. ... Respondents
.....
WITH
[5] ANTICIPATORY BAIL APPLICATION NO. 186 OF 2022
Ashish Shah ... Applicant
Versus
The State of Maharashtra & Anr. ... Respondents
Deshmane(PS)
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2
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.....
WITH
[6] ANTICIPATORY BAIL APPLICATION NO. 372 OF 2021
Zoheb Nazir Ahmed Shaikh ... Applicant
Versus
The State of Maharashtra & Anr. ... Respondents
.....
WITH
[7] ANTICIPATORY BAIL APPLICATION NO. 397 OF 2021
Neeraj Shyam Sahay ... Applicant
Versus
The State of Maharashtra & Ors. ... Respondents
.....
WITH
[8] ANTICIPATORY BAIL APPLICATION NO. 399 OF 2021
Sonal Neeraj Sahay ... Applicant
Versus
The State of Maharashtra & Ors. ... Respondents
.....
WITH
[9] ANTICIPATORY BAIL APPLICATION NO. 627 OF 2018
Javed Anand and Anr. ... Applicants
Versus
The State of Gujarat & Ors. ... Respondents
.....
WITH
[10] ANTICIPATORY BAIL APPLICATION (STAMP) NO.1628 OF 2020
Mohammad Hameed Shaukat Ali ... Applicant
Versus
The State of Maharashtra & Anr. ... Respondents
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3
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.....
WITH
[11] ANTICIPATORY BAIL APPLICATION NO. 1839 OF 2021
Kawal Chamanlal Sharma ... Applicant
Versus
The State of Maharashtra & Anr. ... Respondents
.....
WITH
[12] ANTICIPATORY BAIL APPLICATION (STAMP) NO.3544 OF 2020
Nandini N. Suchde ... Applicant
Versus
The State Of West Bengal & Anr. ... Respondents
.....
WITH
[13] ANTICIPATORY BAIL APPLICATION NO.1628 OF 2021
Vishnu @ Shreenivas Laxman
Jagdale and others ... Applicants
Versus
The State of Maharashtra ... Respondent
.....
WITH
[14] ANTICIPATORY BAIL APPLICATION NO. 1770 OF 2021
Amol Gunaji Sonawane & Anr. ... Applicants
Versus
The State of Maharashtra & Anr. ... Respondents
......
Mr. Mihir Desai, Senior Advocate i/by Mr. Mihir Joshi for Applicant in
ABA/627/2018.
Mr. Amit Desai, Senior Advocate a/w Mr. Gopalakrishna Shenoy and Mr.
Mitesh Jain, Jarin Doshi i/by Mr. Kalpesh Joshi Associates for Applicant in
ABA/162/2022.
Mr. Satish Maneshinde a/w Deepal Thakkar i/by Ms. Anandini Fernandes for
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Applicant in ABA/397/2021 and ABA/399/2021.
Mr. Ashok Bhatia, for Applicant in ABA/161/2022.
Mr. Ram Mani Upadhyay for Applicant in ABA/1839/2021.
Mr. Alankar Kirpekar a/w Mr. Sagar Kasar i/by VMK Legal for Applicant in
ABA/186/2022.
Mr. Onkar Chandurkar a/w Rajesh Devgharkar, Umeash Waydande, Neha Patail
and Meghnesh Birwadkar i/by Akshay Vijay Kamble for Applicants in
ABA/1770/2021.
Ms.Saima Ansari i/b. Hulylkar & Associates in ABASt/1628/2020
Mr. Anil C. Singh, Ld. ASG a/w Mr. Aditya Thakkar, Ms. Savita Ganoo, Dr. D.
P. Singh, Ms. Smita Thakur and Mr. Pranav Thackur for Respondent / Union of
India.
Mr. A. A. Kumbhakoni, Ld. A.G. a/w. Smt. G. P. Mulekar, APP and Shri. Manoj
Badgujar for Respondent-State.
.....
CORAM : S. S. SHINDE AND
SARANG V. KOTWAL, JJ.
RESERVED ON : 22nd APRIL, 2022
PRONOUNCED ON : 05th MAY, 2022
ORDER : [PER SARANG V. KOTWAL, J.]
1. This matter is placed before us to answer the reference
made by a Single Judge of this Court (Coram: Revati Mohite Dere,
J.) in Anticipatory Bail Application No.627/2018 vide order dated
5.4.2018 and the corrected order dated 30.8.2019 in the case of
Javed Anand and another Vs. State of Gujarat and another . Following
are the issues framed for reference :
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(1) Whether an application for transit anticipatory bail for a
short duration, is maintainable in order to enable the
accused to approach the Court of appropriate jurisdiction
for seeking regular anticipatory bail for a short duration ?
(2) Whether the order dated 14th September, 2017 passed by
Gadkari, J. in Anticipatory Bail Application No. 1599 of
2017 and other connected applications, on the basis of the
observations made by the Apex Court in an interim order
dated 14th June, 2013 would lay down the law, that an
application seeking transit anticipatory bail is not
maintainable ?
(3) Whether the judgment of the Division Bench of this Court
in the case of N.K. Nayar, Director, Hastinapur Metals
Ltd. Bombay and others Vs. State of Maharashtra and
others1 is a binding precedent ?
2. Reference to a Larger Bench was necessitated because
Her Ladyship disagreed with a view of another Bench presided over
by learned Single Judge (Coram: A.S. Gadkari, J.), expressed in
the order dated 14.9.2017 passed in Anticipatory Bail Application
No.1599/2017 in the case of Dr. Augustine Francis Pinto and another
Vs. The State of Maharashtra and others . Gadkari, J. took a view that
such applications for transit anticipatory bail were not
maintainable.
1 1985 Mh.L.J. 450 [Division Bench of Bombay High Court]
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3. Though the term 'transit anticipatory bail' is not defined
or mentioned under the Code of Criminal Procedure, generally it is
understood to mean - 'Order under Section 438 of Cr.P.C. for a short
duration in respect of an offence registered in a different state to
enable the Applicant/s to approach the Court in that state for
obtaining regular order under Section 438 of Cr.P.C.'.
4. Both these conflicting orders make specific reference to a
few judgments and orders dealing with the issue of Transit
Anticipatory Bail. They are as follows:
i. N.K. Nayar (supra);
ii. Syed Zafrul Hassan and another Vs. State2
iii. Sailesh Jaiswal Vs. The State of West Bengal & others3
iv. Sandeep Sunilkumar Lohariya Vs. Jawahar Chelaram Bijlani @
Suresh Bijlani and others4.
5. We have heard Shri Mihir Desai, learned Senior Counsel,
Shri Amit Desai, learned Senior Counsel, Shri Ashok Bhatia,
learned Counsel, Shri Onkar Chandurkar, learned Counsel, for the
respective Applicants in Anticipatory Bail Applications, Shri Anil
2 1986 SCC OnLine Pat 3 [Full Bench of Patna High Court]
3 1998 SCC OnLine Cal 215 [Five Judge Bench of Calcutta High Court]
4 Order dated 14.6.2013 passed by Hon'ble Supreme Court in Special Leave to
Appeal (Crl.) No.4829/2013.
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Singh, learned Additional Solicitor General for Union of India and
Shri A. A. Kumbhakoni, learned Advocate General for the
Respondent-State of Maharashtra.
6. Learned A.S.G. Shri Singh and learned A.G. Shri
Kumbhakoni took the empathetic stand that such type of orders
cannot be passed since legally they are not sustainable; and neither
a Sessions Court nor a High Court in one State can give protection
in the nature of the order under Section 438 of Cr.P.C. in relation to
an offence registered in a some other State. The thrust of the
argument of Shri Singh, learned A.S.G., is that the order in Sandeep
Lohariya's case (supra) has concluded the issue and there was no
necessity to consider any other judgment of any other High Court
to decide the issue.
7. Learned A.G. Shri Kumbhakoni submitted that such
orders granting transit anticipatory bail could not be passed;
however he argued that, the issues referred by learned Single Judge
are important and the same need to be decided by a Larger Bench.
In support of his contention that further reference be made to a
Larger Bench for deciding these issues of public importance, our
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attention was invited to Rule 8 of Chapter-I of the Bombay High
Court, Appellate Side, Rules. Learned A.G. did not agree with the
submission of learned ASG that the order in Sandeep Lohariya's case
has concluded the issue. According to learned A.G., Sandeep
Lohariya's order has no binding precedent.
8. Learned Senior Counsel Shri Amit Desai and Shri Mihir
Desai, on the other hand, took a firm stand that by invoking Section
438 of the Cr.P.C. such orders can be passed in the interest of
justice. Both of them, in fact, submitted that even final orders in
the nature of protection under Section 438 of Cr.P.C. can be passed
in such a situation. It is jointly submitted that order dated 14 th
June 2013 passed in the case of Sandeep Lohariya's has no binding
precedent as it was passed at an interim stage. It appears from the
perusal of order passed by the learned Single Judge (Coram :
Revati Mohite Dere, J.) that Shri Mihir Desai's submissions in that
behalf were accepted in the order of reference.
9. In addition to submissions made by Shri Mihir Desai,
learned Senior Counsel, Shri Amit Desai, learned Senior Counsel
submitted that the power under Section 438 of Cr.P.C. flows from
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Article 21 and, therefore, in a given case it can be elevated to the
pedestal of Article 21 because liberty of a person is paramount. In
a given case, the statutory rights merge with the constitutional
rights and, therefore, Section 438 of Cr.P.C. should be given its
effect without any limitations.
10. Shri Amit Desai, learned Senior Counsel submitted that
maintainability of an anticipatory bail application should not be
decided on the basis of consideration of territorial jurisdiction. A
reasonable apprehension of any person of his/her arrest should be
the guiding factor and not the territorial jurisdiction. He submitted
that giving rise to such apprehension itself is a cause of action
giving jurisdiction to a Court before which such apprehension is
expressed by such person. He further submitted that the Courts are
empowered to pass orders under Section 438 of Cr.P.C. for a limited
duration and for all practicable purposes this could be resorted to,
to enable the Applicant to approach the appropriate Court.
11. Shri Amit Desai further submitted that the High Courts
and the Sessions Court are empowered to grant even final relief
though the offence is registered beyond their territorial jurisdiction.
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He submitted that the order in the nature of transit anticipatory
bail can be termed as final order under Section 438 for a limited
duration to enable the Applicant to approach the Court under
whose jurisdiction the alleged offence is actually registered. He
further maintained that the High Courts and the Sessions Court do
have jurisdiction to decide such applications though the offence
may be registered outside their territorial jurisdiction.
Learned counsel appearing for the respective parties were
unanimous to contend that the issues involved in this matter can be
more advantageously heard by Larger Bench. Learned A.S.G. left it
to the discretion of the Court whether to refer it to a Larger Bench.
12. These, in short, are the submissions made by the parties.
Of course, they have elaborately made their submissions by reading
different judgments, which we shall refer to in the following
discussion.
At the outset, we may mention that we are inclined to
refer these issues to a Larger Bench and, therefore, we are
refraining from making any conclusive observations.
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13. After hearing the arguments, the first issue which we
considered was, whether we can refer these issues to a Larger
Bench and as to whether for such exercise it was necessary to
record our disagreement with the view expressed by another
Division Bench in N.K Nayar's case (supra). To consider this, it is
necessary to reproduce Rule 8, Chapter I of the Bombay High Court
Appellate Side Rules, 1960 (for short, 'Appellate Side Rules') which
reads as follows :
" CHAPTER I
JURISDICTION OF SINGLE JUDGES AND BENCHES OF THE HIGH COURT
8. Reference to two or more Judges.--If it shall appear to
any Judge, either on the application of a party or otherwise,
that an appeal or matter can be more advantageously heard
by a Bench of two or more Judges, he may report to that
effect to the Chief Justice who shall make such order
thereon as he shall think fit."
A bare reading of this Rule suggests that the power to make such a
reference definitely lies with a Single Judge. But, the question
whether it also lies with the Division Bench; if it was felt that the
matter can be more advantageously heard by a Larger Bench; is
answered by a Five Judges' Bench of this Court in the case of State
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of Maharashtra Vs. Kusum Charudutt Bharma Upadhye 5. The Bench
was considering Rule 28 of Chapter I of the Bombay High Court
Original Side Rules, 1980 (for short, 'Original Side Rules'), which
was reproduced in paragraph-15 of that judgment. Said Rule 28
reads thus :
" CHAPTER I
ORIGINAL JURISDICTION
28. Reference to two or more Judges: - If it shall appear to
any Judge, either on the application of a party or otherwise,
that a suit or matter can be more advantageously heard by a
bench of two or more Judges, he may report to that effect to
the Chief Justice, who shall make such order thereon as he
shall think fit."
Learned Judges made a reference to Rule 28 of the Original Side
Rules, which is worded similar to Rule 8 of Chapter I of the
Appellate Side Rules; and after giving their reasons based on the
General Clauses Act, they held that the words "any Judge"
occurring in Rule 28 would include "any Judges, whether two or
more, exercising original jurisdiction of the High Court."
The same principles should apply to Rule 8 of Chapter I
of the Appellate Side Rules. We agree with Shri Kumbhakoni in
5 1980 SCC OnLine Bom 309
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that behalf and under that Rule a reference to a Larger Bench can
be made even by a Division Bench if it appeared that the matter can
be more advantageously heard by a Larger Bench.
14. Shri Kumbhakoni submitted that for reference to a Larger
Bench, conflict with the coordinate Bench of equal strength is not
necessary. To support this submission, he relied on the judgment of
a Full Bench of this Court in the case of Anant H. Ulahalkar and
another Vs. Chief Election Commissioner and others 6. In paragraph-15,
the Full Bench considered the submissions regarding incompetency
of the reference to proceed upon the premise that the power of the
Chief Justice to make such reference was confined only to cases
where a conflict was noticed between decisions of two or more
coordinate Benches. The Full Bench observed that such a premise
was neither supported by any legal provisions nor by precedents.
The Full Bench proceeded to answer the reference which was made
by a Division Bench on forming the opinion that the matter, in that
case, could be more advantageously heard by a Bench of more than
two Judges.
6 2017(1) Mh.L.J. 431 [Full Bench]
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Thus, from these observations, it is clear that we do not
have to disagree with the view expressed in N.K. Nayar's case
(supra); and yet, we can refer the matter to a Larger Bench if we
form a opinion that it can be more advantageously heard by a
Larger Bench of more than two Judges. Such course of action was
recently adopted by a Division Bench headed by Hon'ble the Chief
Justice (Coram:Dipankar Datta, CJ & M.S.Karnik, J) vide order
dated 25.11.2021 passed in (O.S.) Writ Petition No.2935/2018 in
the case of Jalgaon Janta Sahakari Bank Ltd. and another Vs. Joint
Commissioner of Sales Tax and another with other companion
Petitions.
15. Based on the reasons mentioned in the following
discussion, we are also inclined to adopt a similar approach.
16. To emphasize the complexity and the importance of the
issue involved, it is now necessary to refer to the divergent views
expressed by different High Courts. Most of these judgments have
referred to a landmark judgment of the Hon'ble Supreme Court in
the case of Shri Gurbaksh Singh Sibbia and others Vs. State of Punjab7.
7 (1980) 2 SCC 565
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As is well known, the judgment discusses the scope of Section 438
of Cr.P.C. in the background of Article 21 of the Constitution of
India. This judgment considered various facets of the powers under
Section 438 of Cr.P.C. It was observed that there was no risk
involved in entrusting a wide discretion to the Court of Session and
the High Court in granting anticipatory bail because these are
higher courts manned by experienced persons and their orders are
not final but are open for appeal or revisional scrutiny and above
all; because, discretion has always to be exercised by Courts
judicially and not according to whims, caprice or fancy.
17. Shri Mihir Desai submitted that Shri Gurbaksh Singh
Sibbia's case indicates that there is absolutely no restriction on
exercise of the powers under Section 438 of Cr.P.C. and, therefore,
this power can be exercised by the Sessions Court or the High Court
in Maharashtra in respect of the offences registered outside the
State of Maharashtra.
18. Shri Kumbhakoni, learned A.G., on the other hand,
submitted that the exercise of such powers will have to be
circumscribed by the territorial limits of the High Court and the
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Sessions Court in that particular State. He submitted that the High
Court cannot pass orders directing the authorities beyond the
territorial limits of the High Court and similarly the Sessions Court
cannot give directions to the authorities outside its territorial limits.
19. The term 'High Court' is defined under Section 2(e) of
Cr.P.C. thus :
"2. Definitions.-- In this Code, unless the context otherwise
requires,--
(e) "High Court" means, -
(i) in relation to any State, the High Court for that
State;
(ii) in relation to a Union territory to which the
jurisdiction of the High Court for a State has
been extended by law, that High Court;
(iii) in relation to any other Union territory, the
highest Court of criminal appeal for that territory
other than the Supreme Court of India;"
Article 214 of the Constitution of India refers to 'High Court' as
follows :
"214. High Courts for States.-There shall be a High Court for
each State."
Territorial limits of the High Court can be related to these two
provisions.
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20. Various judgments taking different views were cited
before us. We are referring only to a few prominent judgments in
that behalf.
JUDGMENTS TAKING A VIEW THAT SUCH ORDERS CANNOT BE PASSED :
21. The prominent judgments taking a view that such power
cannot be exercised outside the territories are as follows :
(i) Syed Zafrul Hassan (supra);
(ii) Sailesh Jaiswal (supra); and
(iii) Mathews Peter and others Vs. State of Maharashtra and others 8
22. The Full Bench of Patna High Court in Syed Zafrul Hassan
(supra) was answering the question whether Section 438 of the
Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 envisages the grant of
anticipatory bail by any High Court or any Court of Session within
the country, irrespective of the locale of the commission of the
offence. It was observed in that judgment that the law assumes in
this context, that, the reference to the Court is in terms of the Court
having territorial jurisdiction. In the said judgment, the phraseology
"the High Court" or "the Court of Session" was considered
emphasizing the fact that, it meant the Court having jurisdiction
8 1999 SCC OnLine AP 1180
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over the area where a non-bailable offence was committed. After a
detailed discussion, ultimately it was held that such power vests
only in the Court of Session or the High Court having jurisdiction
over the locale of the commission of offence of which a person is
accused.
23. The same issue fell for consideration before a Five Judge
Bench of Calcutta High Court in the case of Sailesh Jaiswal (supra).
It was ultimately held that the reasoning of the Full Bench decision
of the Patna High Court in the case of Syed Zafrul Hassan (supra)
appeared to be more reasonable and convincing and, therefore, the
said Bench of Calcutta High Court agreed with the views of the Full
Bench decision in Syed Zafrul Hassan (supra). While agreeing with
this view, the Five Judge Bench of Calcutta High Court disagreed
with the view of a Single Bench of Karnataka High Court expressed
in the case of L.R. Naidu Vs. State of Karnataka9, wherein it was held
that the place of offence was not material while considering the
prayer for bail and the Applicant could move before the Court
where he ordinarily resides even though the offence was committed
9 1984 Cri.L.J. 757
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outside the jurisdiction of that Court.
24. In the case of Mathews Peter (supra) a Division Bench of
High Court of Andhra Pradesh held that it is the place of offence
which determines the jurisdiction for anticipatory bail and not the
place of residence of the accused.
25. It was contended by Shri Kumbhakoni that if final relief
could not be granted for want of territorial jurisdiction, then even
the interim relief for a short duration, which is described as 'transit
anticipatory bail', cannot be granted.
26. Since the bench presided over by Justice A. S.Gadkari has
relied extensively on the case of Sandeep Lohariya (supra) and since
the issue under reference makes a reference to that Order, it would
be appropriate to refer to the observations in the said Order. In the
case of Sandeep Lohariya (supra), the offence had taken place within
the jurisdiction of Vashi Police Station, Navi Mumbai, Maharashtra
under Sections 302, 120B read with 34 of IPC and under Sections 3
and 25 of the Arms Act. The accused Sandeep in that case had
applied for anticipatory bail before this High Court, which was
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rejected vide order dated 25.2.2013. Thereafter, he had filed an
application for anticipatory bail in the nature of transit bail before
the High Court of Madhya Pradesh. In that background, the Hon'ble
Supreme Court passed the order on 14 th June 2013. We reproduce
the said order in Sandeep Lohariya's case (supra) in its entirety, as
under :
"These special leave petitions have come up before
this Court challenging the order passed by the High
Court of Madhya Pradesh Bench at Indore in which
notice has already been issued by this Court and the
impugned order has been stayed. The matter came up
before us in the category of 'notice served' cases and
on perusal of the impugned order and hearing the
counsel for the parties; we are amazed and shocked to
see the nature of the order passed by the High Court
of Madhya Pradesh in M.Cr.C. No. 3807 of 2013
whereby the High Court has granted transit bail to the
respondent no. 1 even without notice to the State of
Maharashtra where the case against the respondent
no.1/accused was registered; although admittedly he
is an accused in a case under Sections 302, 120B, 34
of the Indian Penal Code, 1860 and under Section 3
and 25 of the Arms Act, which offence took place at
Police Station Washi, Navi Mumbai, Maharashtra.
The respondent no.1/ accused thereafter applied for
anticipatory bail before the High Court of Bombay
which was rejected vide order dated 25.02.2013.
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Thereafter, the respondent no.1/accused appears to
have filed an application for anticipatory bail in the
nature of transit bail, which in our view has no
provision under the Code of Criminal Procedure,
1973. The High Court of Madhya Pradesh, without
considering as to whether the bail application was
maintainable before it or not in regard to an incident
which took place at Police Station Washi, Navi
Mumbai, Maharashtra and the High Court of Bombay
had already rejected the anticipatory bail application
of the respondent no.1, ignoring the fact that the order
of the High Court of Bombay was upheld by this
Court in SLP(Crl) No.2790/2013 vide order dated
29.04.2013. Learned senior counsel for the respondent
submitted that one of the matter was dismissed as
withdrawn. However, the implication of this order is
quite clear that the order of the High Court of Bombay
was refused to be interfered with by this Court and the
SLP against the same practically was dismissed and
the order of the High Court of Bombay was upheld.
Thereafter, the respondent no. 1 had also filed a
second special leave petition SLP(Crl.) No.4297/2013
against the same order, which also was dismissed vide
order dated 13.05.2013. In spite of the aforesaid
orders, the High Court of Madhya Pradesh entertained
anticipatory bail application termed as transit bail
application.
It is difficult to comprehend under what
provisions and under what authority of law such an
application was even registered by the High Court of
Madhya Pradesh. In our view it is an absolutely
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shocking order which has been brought to the notice
of this Court, hence we deem it appropriate to direct
the Petitioner-State of Maharashtra as also the
Petitioner-complainant/son of the deceased to implead
the High Court of Madhya Pradesh in these petitions.
Thereafter a notice be issued to the High Court of
Madhya Pradesh through the Registrar indicating to
file reply as to how the bail application of the
respondent no.1/accused was even registered by the
High Court before it was taken up by the Bench and
also as to whether the Bench was apprised of the fact
of rejection of his anticipatory bail application by the
High Court of Bombay, which was upheld by the
Supreme Court of India on two occasions.
List for further arguments on 12.07.2013.
In the meantime the respondent no.1/accused
is directed to surrender forthwith before the concerned
Trial Court in the State of Maharashtra."
It was specifically observed in this order that there was no provision
under Cr.P.C. for grant of anticipatory bail in the nature of transit
bail. It was also observed that it was difficult to comprehend under
what provisions and under what authority of law such application
was even registered by the High Court of Madhya Pradesh.
27. However, learned Advocate General and learned counsel
for various Applicants raised an issue which was also in fact was
raised before the bench presided over by Justice Revati Mohite Dere
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that the order passed Sandeep Lohariya's case (supra) was in the
nature of interim order and it had not decided the question and,
therefore, it was not a binding precedent. It was argued on behalf
of these parties that the said matter was posted by the Supreme
Court for further arguments on 12.7.2013 and, therefore, the issue
was not concluded by said order dated 14.6.2013.
28. Learned A.S.G. however, supported the view taken by
Gadkari, J.. He submitted that, as far as the issue of transit
anticipatory bail is concerned, it was concluded on the date of this
order i.e. on 14.6.2013 because the accused was directed to
surrender forthwith before the concerned trial Court in the State of
Maharashtra. Therefore, according to learned A.S.G., this issue was
specifically referred to in the order and it was observed that there
was no such provision for transit anticipatory bail. According to
learned A.S.G., this concluded issue and the observations of the
Hon'ble Supreme Court were binding.
29. The bench presided over by Justice A.S.Gadkari, in fact,
had taken a similar view in respect of which the bench presided
over by Justice Revati Mohite Dere had expressed a different
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opinion. However, since we are proposing to refer all the issues to
a Larger Bench, we are refraining from making any observations as
to whether this order in Sandeep Lohariya's case (supra), is in the
nature of interim order or final order and whether it, therefore,
decides the issue involved. Various judgments were cited before us
to canvass what is 'ratio decidendi', what is 'obiter dicta' and
whether such observations can have binding effect. Since we are
not expressing any opinion about the binding nature of this order
and since we are leaving this issue to be decided by a Larger Bench,
we are not expressing any opinion whether these observations are
either ratio decidendi or obiter dicta and as to whether they are
binding precedents.
JUDGMENTS TAKING VIEW THAT SUCH ORDERS CAN BE PASSED:
30. As mentioned earlier, there are various judgments which
have taken a view that such orders can be passed protecting the
citizens either for a limited period or by way of final relief in
respect of an offence registered in a different state. A few
prominent judgments are discussed in the following paragraphs.
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31. The Madras High Court in the case of S.P. Shanthi Swaroop
Vs. State of Tamil Nadu 10 has considered the Patna High Court Full
Bench judgment in Syed Zaful Hassan (supra) and disagreed with
that view. It was observed in the concluding paragraph that, the
view taken by the Full Bench of the Patna High Court was an
extreme one and it was against the very concept of anticipatory bail
as provided under Section 438 of Cr.P.C. and also was affecting the
liberty of the person whose liberty is guaranteed under the
Constitution of India providing necessary safeguards against arrest.
The definition of 'High Court' provided under Section 2(e) of
Cr.P.C. had no relevance in that context and it cannot be said that in
view of the said definition, the High Court cannot exercise the
power of granting anticipatory bail under Section 438 of Cr.P.C. in
respect of persons who are sought to be arrested or who face threat
of arrest within the jurisdiction of that particular High Court where
the apprehension arises. In arriving at this conclusion, the Madras
High Court relied on Shri Gurbaksh Singh Sibbia's case (supra). At
the same time, in the same judgment, the Madras High Court
clarified that while granting anticipatory bail the High Court had to
10 1990 SCC OnLine Mad 914
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restrict the relief for a limited period and had to direct the
concerned persons to move the Court which was having jurisdiction
over the matter in the meantime and also could impose such
conditions so as to make the petitioners available for interrogation
by the concerned police in the meantime.
Thus, though this judgment in S.P. Shanthi Swaroop's case
(supra) granted limited relief, the last observations meant that
ultimately the final relief had to be obtained from the Court having
jurisdiction over the matter. To that extent, the view is different
from N.K. Nayar's case (supra).
32. The Delhi High Court went a step further in the case of Capt.
Satish Kumar Sharma Vs. Delhi Administration and others 11. This
judgment considered the ratio in the cases of Shri Gurbaksh Singh
Sibbia (supra), N.K. Nayar (supra) and Syed Zafral Hassan (supra).
It was ultimately held that though the Petitioner before the Delhi
High Court was apprehending arrest in respect of non-bailable
warrant issued by C.J.M. Sultanpur, State of Uttar Pradesh, there
was a threat of deprivation of liberty of the petitioner in Delhi in
11 ILR (1990) I Delhi 203
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connection with an offence alleged to have been committed in the
State of Uttar Pradesh; the cause of action in part arose in Delhi.
Therefore, the Delhi High Court had jurisdiction in the matter
irrespective of the seat of the Government or the High Court within
whose jurisdiction the offence had allegedly been committed. It
was further held that since the petitioner had reason to believe that
he could be arrested in Delhi on an accusation of having committed
a non-bailable offence, the Delhi High Court had the jurisdiction to
enlarge the petitioner on anticipatory bail under Section 438 of
Cr.P.C. as well as under Article 226 of the Constitution of India.
. This judgment suggests that even a final relief can be
granted by a High Court though the offence was not committed
within the jurisdiction of that Court.
33. The main judgment which this Court needs to discuss is a
Division Bench judgment of this Court itself in the case of N.K.
Nayar (supra). After that judgment, all the Courts in Maharashtra
have been following this particular ratio expressed in this
judgment. In that case, the FIR was filed at Rai Police Station,
Sonipat District in the State of Haryana and the Applicants were
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apprehending their arrest in Mumbai as they were permanent
residents of Mumbai.
Again after referring to the observations in Shri Gurbaksh
Singh Sibbia's case (supra) and other judgments, viz., the judgment
of the Karnataka High Court in the case of Dr. L.R. Naidu Vs. State of
Karnataka12 and also the judgment of the Calcutta High Court in the
case of B.R. Sinha Vs. The State13, in the concluding paragraph it was
observed that an order of anticipatory bail would have a relevancy
to the moment of arrest of the concerned person and, therefore,
this Court would have the jurisdiction if a person was likely to be
arrested at a place within the jurisdiction of this Court even if the
offences were allegedly committed outside the State of
Maharashtra. Having observed thus, the Court also considered a
practical difficulty that the Public Prosecutor in Mumbai would not
have details of the offence and other material in respect of the
offence and it was ultimately observed that the Bench intended to
exercise their powers under Section 438 of Cr.P.C. by granting
anticipatory bail for a period of one month to enable the Applicants
12 1984 Cr.L.J. 757
13 1984 Cr.L.J.61
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to move appropriate Courts for seeking appropriate orders. It was
clarified that the anticipatory bail order was to stand automatically
vacated at the end of that period if in the intervening period no
orders about grant of anticipatory bail from the appropriate Court
were obtained. The concluding lines of this judgment are also
important which read thus :
"In the event of the arrest of the applicants in the territory of
this State each of the applicants be released on bail upto 12 th
April, 1985 on each of them executing a personal recognizance
bond of Rs.2000/- and a surety in the like amount."
The analysis of this judgment shows that the Division Bench held
that anticipatory bail under Section 438 of Cr.P.C. can be granted to
a person apprehending arrest in this State though the offence is
registered in a different State. The discussion indicates that the
relief in the nature of final relief can be granted. However,
considering the practical difficulties the relief actually granted by
the Court was restricted to a period of one month. The important
words in the operative portion were that "In the event of the arrest
of the applicants in the territory of this State.........". This operative
part gives rise to a practical difficulty that for the period of one
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month if the Applicants were not arrested at all then this order was
practically ineffective as the applicants could not step out of this
State without protection if they were not arrested in this State.
This position needs to be clarified.
34. There is one more aspect which needs to be considered if
it has to be held that N.K. Nayar's case (supra) is still good law.
After this judgment was delivered in 1985, there was a subsequent
Maharashtra amendment of 1993 to this particular Section 438 of
Cr.P.C. The amended provision reads thus :
" Maharashtra:
For section 438, substitute the following section,
namely:-
"438. Direction for grant of bail to person
apprehending arrest.--(1) When any person has reason
to believe that he may be arrested on an accusation of
having committed a non-bailable offence, he may
apply to the High Court or the Court of Session for a
direction under this section that in the event of such
arrest, he shall be released on bail; and that Court
may, after taking into consideration, inter alia, the
following factors:--
(i) the nature and gravity or seriousness of
accusation as apprehended by the applicant;
(ii) the antecedents of the applicant including the
fact as to whether he has, on conviction by a
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Court, previously undergone imprisonment for a
term in respect of any cognizable offence;
(iii) the likely object of the accusation to humiliate or
malign the reputation of the applicant by having
him so arrested, and
(iv) the possibility of the appellant, if granted
anticipatory bail, fleeing from justice, either
reject the application forthwith or issue an
interim order for the grant of anticipatory bail:
Provided that where the High Court or, as the
case may be, the Court of Session, has not passed any
interim order under this sub-section or has rejected the
application for grant of anticipatory bail, it shall be
open to an officer in charge of a police station to
arrest, without warrant, the applicant on the basis of
the accusation apprehended in such application.
(2) Where the High Court or, as the case may be, the
Court of Session, considers it expedient to issue an
interim order to grant anticipatory bail under sub-
section (1), the Court shall indicate therein the date,
on which the application for grant of, anticipatory bail
shall be finally heard for passing an order thereon, as
the Court may deem fit; and if the Court passes any
order granting anticipatory bail, such order shall
include inter alia the following conditions, namely:--
(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
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facts of the accusation against him so as to
dissuade him from disclosing such facts to the
Court or to any police officer;
(iii) that the applicant shall not leave India without
the previous permission of the Court; and
(iv) such other conditions as may be imposed under
sub-section (3) of section 437 as if the bail was
granted under that section.
(3) Where the Court grants an interim order under sub-
section (1), it shall forthwith cause a notice, being not
less than seven days notice, together with a copy of
such order to be served on the Public Prosecutor and
the Commissioner of Police or, as the case may be,
the concerned Superintendent of Police, with a view
to give the Public Prosecutor a reasonable opportunity
of being heard when the application shall be finally
heard by the Court.
(4) The presence of the applicant seeking anticipatory
bail shall be obligatory at the time of final hearing of
the application and passing of final order by the
Court, if on an application made to it by the Public
Prosecutor, the Court considers such presence
necessary in the interest of justice.
(5) On the date indicated in the interim order under sub-
section (2), the Court shall hear the Public Prosecutor
and the applicant and after due consideration of their
contentions, it may either confirm, modify or cancel
the interim order made under sub-section (1).]
[Vide Maharashtra Act 24 of 1993, sec. 2 (w.e.f. 28-7-1993)]"
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The amendment may impact the reasoning and
effectiveness of this judgment. After the amendment, which is still
in force today, two steps were contemplated. At the first stage,
either interim relief could be granted or the application itself could
be rejected. If interim relief is granted and the matter is posted for
consideration at the final stage then the Court may either confirm,
modify or cancel the interim order. Therefore, the question would
arise if the interim order is granted by the Court in Maharashtra
whether it can be confirmed, modified or cancelled by a Court
outside the State. In this respect, Shri Amit Desai submitted that
when the Court in Maharashtra grants relief under Section 438 of
Cr.P.C. it would be a final relief though it could be restricted for a
limited period.
It is argued by the learned Advocate General that, in such
a case, the applicants would have options of approaching four
different Courts i.e. the Sessions Court and the High Court in this
State as well as the Sessions Court and the High Court having
jurisdiction where the offence is committed. This may give rise to
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unhealthy practice of forum shopping. Therefore, this aspect also
needs a serious consideration.
35. One more issue which needs to be considered is whether
the High Court can exercise its power under Article 226 of the
Constitution of India in respect of the offence registered outside the
State of that High Court. In this context, reference can be made to
the judgment of the Hon'ble Supreme Court in the case of
Navinchandra N. Majithia Vs. State of Maharashtra and others14.
36. We have discussed different view points, practical
difficulties and the arguments advanced before us. It is more than
clear that there is a vertical rift in the views expressed by different
High Courts. The importance of this question cannot be overstated.
It involves liberty of citizens. At the same time, the Court will have
to balance the difficulties of the investigating agency. The provision
can be misused either by the accused or even by the complainant.
In a given case, only with a view to harass somebody, the informant
may choose to file his FIR at a far away place in India, by showing
some part of cause of action there. In such a case, the accused
14 (2000) 7 SCC 640
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would require some protection to approach that Court. On the
other hand, as has happened in Sandeep Lohariya's case (supra), the
accused may take wrong advantage of this provision by obtaining
this type of order to buy time, which could be used to destroy the
evidence. Both these mischiefs must be checked while
considering this issue. Therefore, based on all this discussion, we
are of the view that the matter involves larger interest of the
citizens and, therefore, it can be more advantageously heard by a
Larger Bench.
37. We have already discussed that Rule 8 of Chapter I of
Appellate Side Rules does make such provision and the ratio of the
judgments referred to hereinabove cited by learned A.G. does
enable a Division Bench to refer such cases to a Larger Bench.
38. Considering the importance of the issue instead of
answering the reference we are forwarding three issues framed in
reference order mentioned in para-1 hereinabove, and additional
issues to be decided by a Larger Bench. Hence, following
additional issues are framed for reference to a Larger Bench :
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(4) Whether the Maharashtra Amendment of 1993 to Section
438 of Cr.P.C. affects the ratio of N.K. Nayar's case
(supra).
(5) Whether the final relief under Section 438 of Cr.P.C. can be
granted for the offences registered or likely to be registered,
outside the territorial jurisdiction of the Sessions Court or
the High Court, as the case may be.
(6) Whether a Sessions Court can grant any relief under
Section 438 of Cr.P.C. in respect of the offences registered
outside its jurisdiction.
(7) If it is held that the powers of the High Courts under
Section 438 of Cr.P.C. are restricted to passing of these
orders only for the offences registered or likely to be
registered within the territorial jurisdiction, whether the
High Courts in exercise of their powers under Article 226
of the Constitution of India, can pass protective orders in
the nature of relief under Section 438 of Cr.P.C. in respect
of those offences.
It is made clear that whether the order dated 14.6.2013 of
the Hon'ble Supreme Court in Sandeep Lohariya's case, referred to in
Issue No.2, is interim or not, is also left open.
39. It is, of course, the prerogative of the Hon'ble the Chief
Justice to decide whether these matters should be placed before a
Larger Bench consisting of three or more Judges. Therefore, after
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framing of these additional issues in addition to 3 issues in
reference order of learned Single Judge mentioned in para-1 herein
above, we direct the Registry to place these matters with this order
before the Hon'ble the Chief Justice as per Rule 8 of Chapter I of
the Appellate Side Rules.
(SARANG V. KOTWAL, J.) (S.S. SHINDE, J.)
Deshmane (PS)
Digitally signed
by
PRADIPKUMAR
PRADIPKUMAR PRAKASHRAO
PRAKASHRAO DESHMANE
DESHMANE
Date:
2022.05.05
15:39:20 +0530
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