Alok @ Kunj Shivkumar Ramlakhan ... vs State Of Gujarat
2021 Latest Caselaw 18606 Guj

     R/CR.MA/6951/2021                                           ORDER DATED: 21/12/2021




            IN THE HIGH COURT OF GUJARAT AT AHMEDABAD

             R/CRIMINAL MISC.APPLICATION NO. 6951 of 2021
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               ALOK @ KUNJ SHIVKUMAR RAMLAKHAN VARMA
                                Versus
                          STATE OF GUJARAT
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Appearance:
MR ROHIT S VERMA(3887) for the Applicant(s) No. 1
MR RUTURAJ NANAVATI(5624) for the Applicant(s) No. 1
MR. MITESH AMIN, PUBLIC PROSECUTOR with MR.H.K.PATEL, APP (2)
for the Respondent(s) No. 1
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 CORAM:HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE A.Y. KOGJE

                                    Date : 21/12/2021
                                     ORAL ORDER

1. The present application is filed under Section 439 of the Code

of Criminal Procedure, 1973, for regular bail in connection with FIR

being I-CR No.11191011200007 of 2020 registered with

D.C.B. Police Station, Ahmedabad City for offence under

Sections 3 of the Gujarat Control of Terrorism and Organized Crime

Act, 2015, under Sections 188, 387, 507 and 120(B) of the IPC,

under Sections 42, 43 and 45(12) of the Prisons Act, Section 25(1-B)

(a) of the Arms Act and under Section 135 of the GP Act.

2. Learned advocate for the applicant submits that the

investigation pertains to an extortion racket targeting business

persons from the State of Gujarat and in this connection, the secret

information was gathered and it was found that the syndicate is

behind this extortion racket headed by co-accused Vishal Goswami

who was lodged in Sabarmati Central Jail was carrying out the

R/CR.MA/6951/2021 ORDER DATED: 21/12/2021

extortion activities from within jail premises. A private person had

made an application in this regard citing incident which took place

where he was subjected to extortion. Learned advocate submits that

the applicant has been arrested in the present offence by way of

transfer warrant and was also remanded to police custody and

thereafter, is in judicial custody. From the investigation, the

provisions of Arms Act and Gujarat Police Act have been added and

now the charge-sheet is also filed, where the applicant is shown as

an accused at Sr.No.8. Leaned advocate for the applicant has

argued that there is no recovery or discovery of any sort against the

applicant and considering the role attributed to the applicant to

have facilitated the commission of main offence, the custodial

presence of the applicant is no more required.

2.1 It is submitted that the role attributed to the applicant is not

based on admissible evidence, but only on the basis of the

statement of co-accused. It is submitted that the statement of the

witnesses to treat the applicant as a member of the syndicate

headed by Vishal Goswami cannot be treated as evidence which is

hear say in nature. It is submitted that Gujarat Control of Terrorism

and Organized Crime Act, 2015 (for short "GUJCTOC") has come into

force on 01.12.2019 and from perusal of the FIR, there is no incident

which can be termed to be an offence involving the applicant during

the period to which the Act would apply and hence, the case of the

applicant deserves consideration.

       R/CR.MA/6951/2021                          ORDER DATED: 21/12/2021




2.2     Learned advocate has thereafter, submitted that invoking

provisions of GUJCTOC against an individual is a serious matter and

therefore, the provisions of GUJCTOC are required to be interpreted

in a strict manner. It is specifically argued that Section 20(4) of the

Act which pertains release on bail specifies in Clause (b) satisfaction

of the Special Court that there are reasonable grounds for believing

that accused is not guilty of committing such offence. Such rigor will

not applicable to the applicant as the Legislature has restricted the

application of rigors to the application being considered by the

Special Court and therefore, in so far as the case of the applicant is

concerned, only parameters as prescribed under Section 439 of the

Code of Criminal Procedure would have application.

3. As against this, learned Public Prosecutor has opposed the

grant of the application submitting that there are sufficient

evidences in terms of the statement of the witnesses, whose

identity, for the reasons provided for is not disclosed and that there

is also sufficient evidence in terms of Call Detail Records and mobile

location of the applicant to show the complacency of the applicant

in the offence. In so far as the argument regarding application of

rigors, learned Public Prosecutor has submitted that even if such

satisfaction is not required to be recorded, but considering the

nature of evidence available on record against the applicant, prima-

facie, the case against the applicant is made out and therefore,

R/CR.MA/6951/2021 ORDER DATED: 21/12/2021

charge-sheeted and even upon application of parameters required

to be considered under Section 439 of the Code of Criminal

Procedure, the case of the applicant does not deserve any

consideration.

4. The Court has heard learned advocates for the parties and

perused the documents placed on record. It appear that the

applicant is arrested on 22.01.2020 and charge-sheeted on

06.07.2020. The applicant at the time of commission of offence was

under-trial prisoner, as he was arrested in an offence registered at

Laghnaj Police Station Dist: Mehsana in a matter of dacoity of about

more than 66 lakhs. This FIR is registered on 06.12.2018. Earlier to

it, the applicant was also involved in a case of kidnapping for

ransom as well as attempt to murder in an FIR registered at

Faizabad Uttar Pradesh on 27.12.2014. Presently 7 accused persons

are charge-sheeted and one accused named Manoj Tiwari is till

absconding and the arrested accused though have committed

offence in Ahmedabad are as such native and residents of different

States namely Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand. The

applicant and other 4 accused named Vishal Goswami who are gang

leaders as well as another Ajay Goswami and Rinku Goswami were

jail inmates and placed at Ahmedabad Central Jail and these jail

inmates accused were in contact with other accused namely Suraj

Goswami, Vijendar Gosawami, Jaipuri Goswami and Anurag Varma

through mobile telephone and the conversation of each such

R/CR.MA/6951/2021 ORDER DATED: 21/12/2021

accused persons along with their CDR details are available. Further,

it appears that all the accused persons are subjected to voice

spectrography test and their voice sample are already sent to FSL

for necessary scientific examination and its report is awaited. In all

from all accused including accused, inside jail 23 mobile

(instrument) and 17 sim-cards used by them are recovered. From

the accused persons who are arrested from outside jail, one firearm

and 40 live cartridge are recovered from accused Anurag Varma.

From one another accused named Bijendra Goswami, an amount of

Rs.50,000/- is also recovered along with other articles. From

telephonic conversation derived and procure through interception, it

clearly reveals that instructions of intimidation/ extortion etc. were

passed and given from accused person's house in Ahmedabad and

central jail to the accused persons outside jail and the same were

executed. One such instance of information and attempt for

extortion is reported through Jeweler whose reference is already

made in the FIR registered by police inspector Shree

K.G.Chaudhary. On the basis of interception dated 03.01.2020, the

applicant is talking with accused Anurag which clearly reveals that

they have engaged themselves in act of extortion in a manner

having nexus between accused persons as well as commission of

offence resulting into organized crime therefore, acts of all the

accused together are required to be looked into as same is

committed by accused persons as member of organized crime

syndicate. Leader of organized crime syndicate is accused no.1

R/CR.MA/6951/2021 ORDER DATED: 21/12/2021

Vishal Goswami, he and other co-accused named Suraj Goswami,

Rinku Goswami have involved themselves since 2013 in different

acts of extortion. Mostly extortion from business persons in business

of jewelry namely jewelers and also to an extent of murdering them.

Large number of cases of such nature are already registered against

different accused in different police stations and details thereof is

submitted in charge-sheet material. It appear that there are large

numbers of cases also of such nature registered against different

members of organized crime syndicate. The applicant intercepted

telephonic conversation with co-accused Anurag Varma clearly

established his nexus with other accused persons as well as with

organized crime committed by them.

5. The Court has taken into consideration the seriousness of the

offence which involves running of an extortion racket from within

the jail premises and therefore, the role attributed to the applicant

of merely supply of weapon when the co-accused who has operated

from outside the jail while the applicant was within the jail will gain

a different proportionate. The Court has taken into consideration the

contents of the statements of the witnesses which are clearly

attributing the role to the applicant. Over and above, the Court has

gone through the CRDs, mobile connectivity and location as well as

the contents of the conversation which is now on record due to the

intercepts. Nature of conversion is also indicative of the role played

by the applicant, which according to the Court, is participation in the

R/CR.MA/6951/2021 ORDER DATED: 21/12/2021

offence in a crucial manner. The Court finds that there is sufficient

evidence on record to the investigation to prima-facie make out the

case of serious offence against the applicant, dis-entitling the

applicant for any discretionary relief, even when examining the case

of the applicant by applying the parameters of Section 439 of the

Code of Criminal Procedure. The Court has also taken into

consideration the submission made by learned Public Prosecutor to

indicate from the record that the several accused persons are yet to

be apprehended for investigation and that the State has passed an

order under Section 268 of the Code of Criminal Procedure making it

applicable to the accused persons including the applicant of this

C.R.

6. The Court has taken into consideration the judgment of the

Special Court dated 04.11.2020 in Criminal Misc. Application

No.2571 of 2020, where the Special Court, Ahmedabad Rural has

assigned cogent reasons in rejecting the application which the Court

is in agreement.

7. With the aforesaid, the present application deserves to be and

the same is hereby dismissed. Rule is discharged.

(A.Y. KOGJE, J) SIDDHARTH