Darshan Lalit Gandhi vs The State Of Maharashtra
2023 Latest Caselaw 10296 Bom

2023:BHC-AS:29567
                                                        911-ABA2775-2023.DOC

                                                                        Santosh

                    IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT BOMBAY
                          CRIMINAL APPELLATE JURISDICTION


                    ANTICIPATORY BAIL APPLICATION NO. 2775 OF 2023

               Darshan Lalit Gandhi                              ...Applicant
                                   Versus
               The State of Maharashtra                        ...Respondent

               Mr. Amin Solkar, a/w S. Nagvadaria, for the Applicant.
               Smt. Ashwini Takalkar, APP for the State/Respondent.
               API Sanjay Patil, Unit-2, USG-2, EOW, Mumbai.

                                            CORAM: N. J. JAMADAR, J.

DATED: 5th OCTOBER, 2023

ORDER:-

1. Heard the learned Counsel for the applicant and the

learned APP for the State.

2. An application for pre-arrest bail preferred by the

applicant was rejected by this Court by an order dated 25 th

November, 2021.

3. The learned Counsel for the applicant submits that the

Investigating Officer thereafter never made an effort to arrest

the applicant. On 4th December, 2021, EOW issued a notice to

the applicant intimating him that charge-sheet would be

lodged against the applicant in the 47 th Court of Metropolitan

Magistrate, Mumbai, and the applicant shall appear before

the said Court, on 8th December, 2021. It is submitted that

911-ABA2775-2023.DOC

the notice implies that the Investigating Officer does not

intend to arrest the applicant and the presence of the

applicant was insisted only for filing of the charge-sheet

before the Court.

4. The learned Counsel for the applicant urged that the

learned Magistrate has, however, opined that the

Investigating Officer ought to have arrested the applicant and,

thereafter, filed the charge-sheet. The said course, according

to the learned Counsel for the applicant, is not warranted.

5. The learned Counsel for the applicant invites the

attention of the Court to the judgment of the Supreme Court

in the cases of Siddharth vs. State of Uttar Pradesh and

another1 and Aman Preet Singh vs. C.B.I. through Director 2,

wherein the Supreme Court has enunciated that the arrest of

the accused only for the purpose of filing of the charge-sheet

is not required. The provisions contained in Section 170 of

the Code of Criminal Procedure cannot be misread to insist

arrest of the accused as a prerequisite to take charge-sheet

on the record of the Court.

12021 SCC Online SC 615.

2Cri. Appeal No.929/2021, dtd.2/9/2021.

911-ABA2775-2023.DOC

6. At this stage, it would be improper to pass an order on

the basis of verbal opinion allegedly expressed by the learned

Magistrate. It would be suffice to observe that when the

applicant appears before the Court, the learned Magistrate

shall pass an appropriate order in conformity with the

judgments of the Supreme Court in the cases of Siddharth

(supra) and Aman Preet Singh (supra).

7. Application stands disposed.

[N. J. JAMADAR, J.]

Signed by: Santosh S. Kulkarni

Designation: PA To Honourable Judge Date: 07/10/2023 18:28:03