Bombay High Court
Deepa Somaji Palkar vs The State Of Maharashtra And Ors on 17 February, 2025
Author: Revati Mohite Dere
Bench: Revati Mohite Dere
2025:BHC-AS:7770-DB
22-wp-3010-2021.doc
IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT BOMBAY
CRIMINAL APPELLATE JURISDICTION
CRIMINAL WRIT PETITION NO. 3010 OF 2021
WITH
INTERIM APPLICATION NO.1902 OF 2022
IN
CRIMINAL WRIT PETITION NO.3010 OF 2021
Ms. Deepa Somaji Palkar
Adult, Indian Inhabitant, Occu. Professional
Interior Designer, Age: 34 Yrs, Female: Unmarried
R/o. Sundarbaug Hill No.1,
Near Shiv Mandir, Kamani, Kurla (W),
Mumbai - 70 ... Petitioner
Versus
1. The State of Maharashtra
(At the instance of Sr. Inspector of Police,
Ghatkopar Police Station, Mumbai
2. The State of Maharashtra
(At the instance of Sr. Inspector of Police,
Parksite Police Station, Vikhroli, Mumbai
3. The Commissioner of Police, Greater Bombay
Crawford Market, Mumbai,
4. The Dy. Commissioner of Police, Zone-VII
5. The Sr. Inspector of Police
Economic Offences Wing, Police Commissioner
Office Building, 3rd Floor, Near Kalwa Bridge,
Thane (W)-400 601
Shivgan 1/10
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6. Mr. Bharat Keshav Rane, Age: 50, Asst. General
Manager, State Bank of India, Retail Asset
Centralized Processing Centre, First Floor,
Ashok Silk Mills Compound, L.B.S. Marg,
Ghatkopar (W), Mumbai
7. Mr. Janardhan Durga Prasad Pandey
Address: Unknown. (Was arrested by C.B.I. in
June 2017 for major fraud on bank in
another case)
8. Mr. Krishna @ Mr. Kailash Bhagwandas
Gupta, R/o. Flat No.1801, B-wing, 18th Floor
Niharika Kanakia Spaces, Thane (W), 400 010
9. Mr. Santosh Palkar @ Santosh Palakar
Address Whereabouts unknown
(purported husband of the Petitioner)
10. Mrs. Deepa Santosh Palkar @
Mrs. Deepa Santosh Palakar
Real wife of Mr. Santosh Palkar @ Palakar-
Respondent No.9 & Daughter of
Mr. Eknath Hariniwas Patil,
Residence records as per PAN No.CSHPP3856L
-Room No.28, Matruchhaya CHSL
Ambewadi, Jaibhawani Nagar, Wagle Estate
Thane- 400 604
11. The Manager, Central Bank of India
Thane Regional Office, Marathi Granth
Sangrahalaya Building, 4th Floor, St. Road,
Thane (W)- 601
12. The Manager, Central Bank of India,
Shivgan 2/10
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Vasant Vihar Branch, Agarwal Arcade,
Off. Glady Alvares Road, Opp ACME Ozone
Nr. Khevra Circle, Manpada, Thane (W)-610
13. The Manager, Bank of Maharashtra
Bombay Samachar Marg, Mumbai
14. The State of Maharashtra
(at the instance of Sr. Inspector of Police,
Mahatma Phule Chowk Police Station
Khadakpada, Kalyan (W)
15. The Deputy General Manager, State Bank
of Travancore, (Associate of State Bank of
India, R.O.: Mumbai, Jeevan Seva Annexe
94, S.V.Road, Santacruz (W), Mumbai-54
16. The Manager, State Bank of India
Birla College Road, Branch, Ground Floor
Tulip Flower Valley, Kadakpada Circle
Kalyan (W)
17. To the Legal heirs of Late Mr. Sheroz Zakir
Hussain Malik, Milestone Business Point
Ground Floor, Opp. Fauzia Hospital
Kurla (West), Mumbai 400 070
18. The Branch Manager, Central Bank of India
Vasant Vihar Branch, Thane (W)- 400 007
19. The Manager, Yes Bank
Corporate Headquarters, Nehru Centre
Dr. A.B. Road, Worli, Mumbai 400 018
20. The Chief Manager, Wilful Default Cell
Bank of Maharashtra, H.O:
Shivgan 3/10
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Lokmangal, 501, Shivajinagar, Pune 411005 ...Respondents
Mr. Diwakar Singh, with Ms. Kajal Singh, for the Petitioner.
Ms. P. P. Shinde, APP for the Respondents-State.
Mr. Vivek Sawant, for Respondent No.6.
Senior P.I. Mr. Avinash E. Kaldate attached to Ghatkopar Police
Station present.
CORAM : REVATI MOHITE DERE &
DR.NEELA GOKHALE, JJ.
RESERVED ON : 5th FEBRUARY 2025
PRONOUNCED ON : 17th FEBRUARY 2025
JUDGMENT :
(Per Dr. Neela Gokhale, J.)
1) The Petitioner seeks constitution of Special Investigation
Team ('SIT') to investigate FIR No 143 of 2015 dated 17 th April 2015
registered by the Ghatkopar Police Station, Mumbai on the complaint
of one Shri Bharat Rane, Assistant General Manager of the State Bank
of India, Ghatkopar (West) Branch, Mumbai. The Petitioner is shown
as an accused in the said FIR. Chargesheet emanating from the FIR is
filed in the Case No. 4900558/PW/2019 before the Metropolitan
Magistrate's Court, Vikhroli. The Petitioner also seeks a stay on the
proceeding of the said case.
22-wp-3010-2021.doc
2) By order dated 28th February 2022, this Court issued
notice to Respondent Nos. 1 to 5. On the next date of hearing, the
Petitioner submitted that the Respondent No.7 along with one Mr.
Krishna Gupta had taken the Petitioner's documents and misused the
same to secure a loan. The Petitioner also stated that the documents
used to secure a loan in her name were not hers and even the
photograph on the said documents was not that of the Petitioner.
Despite this, the General Manager of the SBI, Mr. Rane had implicated
her in the FIR. On this submission made by the Petitioner, by order
dated 2nd September 2024, this Court issued notice to the Respondent
No.6 as well.
3) On the next few successive dates, we found that the pace
of the investigation was quite slow. In view of the same, Mr. Sagar,
DCP, Zone VII informed us that the investigation shall be transferred
to the Senior Police Inspector of Ghatkopar Police Station, Mumbai to
conduct the investigation properly and expeditiously. Mr. Sagar
assured that he will personally supervise the said investigation. This is
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recorded in our order dated 3rd December 2024.
4) The case of the Petitioner essentially is that the Respondent
No.9, one Mr. Santosh Palkar @ Santosh Palakar, arrayed in the cause-
title as purported husband of the Petitioner hatched a conspiracy with
other Respondents and taking undue advantage of the similarity of the
name of the Petitioner with the Respondent No.10, who is the real
wife of Mr. Santosh Palkar also named as Deepa Santosh Palkar
defrauded the Banks/financial institutions for gaining funds illegally in
connivance with bank staff and the Police themselves. It is also the
case of the Petitioner, that the Petitioner was shown as a principal
borrower for a housing loan with various banks. It is her say that she
has never sought a housing loan even though loans were sanctioned
and disbursed in her account. She is aggrieved by the Police and other
Respondents unnecessarily dragging her in the criminal proceeding and
has thus filed the present petition seeking constitution of an SIT to
investigate the alleged conspiracy.
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5) On 18th December 2024 when the matter was listed for
hearing, the learned APP, Ms. Shinde representing the State informed
us that after the case was transferred and investigation was carried out
by the Senior Police Inspector of Ghatkopar Police Station, including
recording of statements of persons concerned with the identity of the
Petitioner and examination of necessary documents, it was revealed
that the Petitioner, i.e. Deepa Somaji Palkar and Deepa Santosh Palkar,
i.e. the Respondent No.10 are one and the same person and that the
Petitioner herself has used the aforesaid names in different forums. We
thus, directed the learned APP to place these facts on affidavit.
Accordingly, Mr. Avinash Eknath Kaldate, Senior Police Inspector,
Ghatkopar Police Station has duly affirmed an affidavit dated 17 th
January 2025 before a Notary Public and the same is placed on record.
6) We have heard the counsels for the parties and perused the
documents on record. We perused the affidavit of Mr. Avinash Kaldate
as well. In paragraph 7 of the affidavit, Mr. Kaldate has averred that
the Petitioner submitted application for a home loan to the Marketing
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Executive of the State Bank of India namely, Shri Deepak Kumar Zha
on 24th February 2015. At the time of submission of form, she
submitted her income-tax return and her bank statement of ICICI
Bank, Mulund (West). All these documents show her name as Deepa S.
Palkar, Deepa Palkar, Deepa Somaji Palkar. Even the photograph on
the application form is that of the Petitioner.
7) It is further averred that when the statement of the
Petitioner was recorded on 25th September 2024 pursuant to this
Court's order, she submitted her PAN Card, Aadhaar Card and
passport for verification. These documents were self-attested by the
Petitioner. The customer application form submitted by the Petitioner
was filled as Deepa Santosh Palkar and her father's name was written
as Somaji Sidhram Palkar. Thus, during the course of the investigation,
it is revealed that the Petitioner herself, while obtaining loan from the
bank has given two different names, namely, Deepa S. Palkar and
Deepa Santosh Palkar. The address of the Respondent No. 10 namely,
Deepa Santosh Palkar is found to be bogus. It thus transpires that the
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Petitioner herself submitted documents for obtaining a home loan from
SBI in different names. Thus, there is no substance in her grievance and
the FIR correctly names her as accused.
8) The aforesaid affidavit is affirmed by Senior Police
Inspector, who was vested with the authority to conduct investigation
on our orders. The investigation was supervised by Deputy
Commissioner of Police of Zone-VII, Mumbai and pursuant to the
investigation, the affidavit is filed in the matter. Considering the
averments in the affidavit, no ground is made out to consider any of
the reliefs.
9) In that view of the matter, we are not inclined to grant the
relief sought for by the Petitioner. The Petition is accordingly dismissed
and disposed off as such.
10) Since the Petition itself is disposed off, nothing survives for
consideration in the Interim Application therein and the same is also
disposed off.
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11) Needless to state, that the Petitioner is at liberty to raise
her grievance before the trial Court.
12) All parties to act on an authenticated copy of this
Judgment.
[DR. NEELA GOKHALE, J.] [REVATI MOHITE DERE, J.]
Digitally
signed by
SHAMBHAVI
SHAMBHAVI NILESH
NILESH SHIVGAN
SHIVGAN Date:
2025.02.17
15:58:00
+0530
