Gauhati High Court
Tajib Ali vs The State Of Assam on 27 September, 2022
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GAHC010182122022
THE GAUHATI HIGH COURT
(HIGH COURT OF ASSAM, NAGALAND, MIZORAM AND ARUNACHAL PRADESH)
Case No. : Bail Appln./2265/2022
TAJIB ALI
S/O RAMJAN ALI
VILL- BERABAK PART-I,
P.S. SONAI
DIST. CACHAR, ASSAM
VERSUS
THE STATE OF ASSAM
REP. BY THE PP, ASSAM
Advocate for the Petitioner : MR. N UDDIN
Advocate for the Respondent : PP, ASSAM
Linked Case : AB/2634/2022
RANU BIBI @ RANU BEGUM LASKAR
W/O- LT. AJIM UDDIN
VILL- BERABAK PART-I
P.S. SONAI
DIST.- CACHAR
ASSAM
VERSUS
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THE STATE OF ASSAM
REP. BY P.P.
ASSAM
------------
Advocate for : MR. N UDDIN
Advocate for : PP
ASSAM appearing for THE STATE OF ASSAM
BEFORE
HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE KALYAN RAI SURANA
ORDER
Date : 27-09-2022
Heard Mr. N. Uddin, learned counsel for the petitioner. Also heard Mr.
Bhaskar Sarma, the learned Addl. P.P. for the State.
2. The petitioner, namely, Ranu Bibi @ Ranu Begum Laskar, who is
apprehending arrest in connection with Silchar P.S. Case No. 1439/2022, under
sections 120B/199/420/468 IPC, is praying for pre-arrest bail under section 438
Cr.P.C.
3. The learned counsel for the petitioner has submitted that a false
FIR has been filed by the Administrative Officer of The New India Insurance Co.
Ltd. on 06.01.2022 to the effect that on 17.10.2017, one Ajim Uddin, who was a
day labourer was engaged by a person to pluck betel nut from tree and while
working he fell down from the tree and received grievous injury and he was
taken to SMCH, where he was declared brought dead, and there the two FIR
named accused had then given history of incident to the effect that the said
Ajim Uddin had died due to falling from the height. The said accused had also
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signed an inquest report showing that the deceased was wearing a half pant
and a full shirt. However, after two months, the FIR name accused no. 2 had
filed a complaint case before the Court of Chief Judicial Magistrate, Silchar,
alleging that Alim Uddin had died on 17.10.2017, after being hit by a motorcycle
of FIR named accused no. 3. Accordingly, Katigorah P.S. Case No. 727/2017 was
registered. Thereafter, the petitioner along with her 11 year old minor daughter
had filed an MAC case, which was registered as MAC Case No. 456/2018. By
judgment dated 13.05.2022, the MAC claim was dismissed. It has been
submitted that the petitioner has filed a MAC appeal before this Court, where
this Court was pleased to admit the appeal and had issued notice. Accordingly, it
has been submitted that as the appeal was pending it cannot be said that the
claim was false. Accordingly, the learned counsel for the petitioner has prayed
for bail.
4. The learned I.O. has produced the case diary and has objected
to the prayer for bail on the ground that the petitioner along with the two other
FIR named accused had manufactured a false MAC case to commit insurance
fraud.
5. On a perusal of the case diary, it appears from the investigation
carried out so far that the petitioner, who is the wife of the deceased Ajim
Uddin, is the FIR named accused no. 1. The petitioner had manufactured a false
MAC case and claimed a compensation of Rs.19,96,000/- with connivance of
several persons, where everyone involved had a definite role to play, including
the FIR named accused nos. 2 and 3. It appears that as the vigilant officers of
the Insurance Company had found out the actual events and accordingly, the
claim was dismissed. Thus, the submissions made by the learned Addl. P.P. that
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this was a case of insurance fraud is found to have some force. Therefore, the
mere filing of the MAC appeal would not entitle the petitioner to be enlarged on
bail.
6. In a case of this nature, where public money is sought to be
siphoned off by making false MAC claim, the Court is of the considered opinion
that it would not be appropriate to release the petitioner on pre-arrest bail, who
is the claimant the manufactured MAC claim by converting the accident of
person falling from betel-nut tree to be a case of the said person dying in a road
traffic accident.
7. Thus, the petitioner is a FIR named accused person and the
case diary reveals that there are sufficient materials to suggest that the
petitioner, who is one of the three co-accused person, is the claimant in the
false and fabricated MAC claim. Thus, as the involvement of the petitioner in the
alleged offence is observed in the case diary, the prayer for pre-arrest bail to the
petitioner, namely, Ranu Bibi @ Ranu Begum Laskar, is rejected at this stage.
8. At this stage we may also refer to the decision of the Supreme
Court of India in the case of CBI v. Anil Sharma, (1997) 7 SCC 187, wherein it
was observed as follows:-
"We find force in the submission of the CBI that custodial interrogation is
qualitatively more elicitation orientated than questioning a suspect who is well
ensconced with a favourable order under Section 438 of the Code. In a case like
this effective interrogation of suspected person is of tremendous advantage in
disinterring many useful informations and also materials which would have been
concealed. Success in such interrogation would elude if the suspected person
knows that he is well protected and insulated by a pre-arrest bail order during the
time he is interrogated. Very often interrogation in such a condition would reduce
to a mere ritual. The argument that the custodial interrogation is fraught with the
danger of the person being subjected to third degree methods need not be
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countenanced, for, such an argument can be advanced by all accused in all
criminal cases. The Court has to presume that responsible Police Officers would
conduct themselves in a responsible manner and that those entrusted with the
task of disinterring offences would not conduct themselves as offenders ."
9. The case diary is returned.
10. This application is disposed of.
JUDGE
Comparing Assistant
