State Of Gujarat vs Jitendra N Rajgor
2025 Latest Caselaw 7372 Guj

Gujarat High Court

State Of Gujarat vs Jitendra N Rajgor on 10 October, 2025

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                            R/CR.RA/658/2013                                  ORDER DATED: 10/10/2025

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                                   IN THE HIGH COURT OF GUJARAT AT AHMEDABAD

                        R/CRIMINAL REVISION APPLICATION (AGAINST ORDER PASSED BY
                                    SUBORDINATE COURT) NO. 658 of 2013

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                                                     STATE OF GUJARAT
                                                           Versus
                                                 JITENDRA N RAJGOR & ORS.
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                      Appearance:
                      PUBLIC PROSECUTOR for the Applicant(s) No. 1
                      MR PM LAKHANI(1326) for the Respondent(s) No. 1
                      MR SP HASURKAR(345) for the Respondent(s) No. 3
                      MS. KETKI P JHA(9864) for the Respondent(s) No. 2
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                        CORAM:HONOURABLE MR.JUSTICE P. M. RAVAL

                                                          Date : 10/10/2025

                                                           ORAL ORDER

1. The present Criminal Revision Application is preferred by the State of Gujarat being aggrieved and dissatisfied with the order dated 25.10.2013 passed by the Ld. Special judge, Vadodara rejecting the remand Application preferred by the Investigating Officer.

2. The facts leading to the present case in a nutshell is as under:-

2.1. The First CR No. 37/2006 came to be lodged at Gorva Police Station on 08.04.2006 for the offences punishable under Section 15,18,20,29 of NDPS Act against Prakash Pillai and Shashikant Pillai wherein, narcotics substance like Ganja, Charas, Posh doda

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worth of Rs. 32,900/- from the residence of the aforestated accused persons came to be arrested on very same day. Thereafter, the accused Prakash Pillai made complaint before the Home Department that this is planted. Narcotic case against him by the Police at the instance of Govind Somani and Krishna Somani and hence, the investigation was entrusted to CID crime and thereafter Section 169 of CRPC report came to be submitted before the concerned Court and thus, both the accused persons came to be released after 91 days.

2.2 During the Course of investigation it was found out that Police Inspector R M Rathod of Vadi Police Station and Police Inspector K V Vohonia has planted the false narcotics case against both brothers Prakash Pillai and Shahikant Pillai with help of Krishna Somani and thus, the first Chargesheet came to be filed by the accused Bagirathsinh Jadeja on 25.09.2008, whereby, three persons came to be arrested namely Krishna Gendalal Somani, K V Vohania and R M Rathod. The Vicitm preferred the Special Criminal Application No. 2431 for further Investigation under Section 173-8 of the CRPC wherein, by way of an order dated 28.09.2012, this Hon'ble Court directed further investigation. During the Course of the further investigation the accused persons came to be arrested namely Govind Gendalal Somani, Ramesh Parthasinh Nayak, Shirish Madhusudan Sardar, Jitendra N Rajgor, Bhagirathsinh Jadeja, Jagdish Keval Ram Ramani. After the arrest of the three accused persons on 24.10.2013, they were produced

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before the Ld. Special Judge, on 25.10.2013 and investigating officer sought for the police custody remand for 14 days by producing the remand report.

After hearing both sides, Ld. Special Judge rejected the Application for police custody remand vide order dated 25.10.2013.

3. Ld. Additional Public Prosecutor Mr. Pranav Dhagat would submit that:-

3.1 The impugned order passed by the Ld. Trial Court is contrary and inconsistent with the facts and evidence on record and hence, the same is required to be quashed and set aside.

3.2 The Ld. Special Judge has committed material irregularities based upon facts considering the irrelevant consideration and has passed the impugned order.

3.3 The Ld. Special Judge has arrived at the incorrect finding that the custodial remand is not at essential as there is no fact on record which may hamper the investigation in absence of the respondents accused and the statement recorded by the investigating officer reveals that interrogation has been made by the IO and no further investigation is required and thus, erroneously concluded that the IO has conducted the investigation on various dates for 17 times and the Respondent Accused No. 3 is the practicing advocate

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and hence, remand cannot be granted. Thus, it is argued that the order passed by the Ld. Special Judge is bad in both facts as well as law. It is further argued that the Ld. Special Judge ought to have considered that the case of the prosecution rests upon the circumstantial evidence and the main accusation is under Section 120(B) of the IPC for hatching the conspiracy to plant the NDPS case and thereby to scuttle the investigation.

3.4 The present Respondent No. 1 Jitendra Rajgot is retired SP and the Chief Conspirator who hatch the conspiracy in the Vadodara Jail when the Co-accused Krishna Gendalal Somani was also in Vadodara Central Jail. The Genus of the crime is that Prakash pillai was harrasing the co accused Krishna and Govind Somani for the recorvery of 15 Crore and hence, the Respondent

- Accused No. 1 accepted Rs. 10 lacs from Govid Somani to plant NDPS case against Prakash Pillai.

3.5 That the Trial court has failed to appreciate the fact that the investigating agency has collected documentary evidence of bank account of the State Bank of Travankor dated 24.03.2006 and after 11 days i.e., on 08.04.2006, the raid was carried out on the house of Prakash Pillai and Planted Narcotic substance was seized.

3.6 During the course of the raid, the Call Detail Reports indicates that Respondent accused No. 1 as in live contact with PI R M Rathod who conducted the raid.

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The Station Diary entry as well as the statement of PI R M Rathod also substantiated the said fact. The so call intelligence tips was also found to have been fake as co accused Krishna Somani was giving the tips through PCO. The similar nature of the FIR was planted at Jharva Police Station, Madyapradesh wherein, the accused person Ramesh Nayak came to be arrested. The Respondent accused No. 1 prepared the affidavit from Ratlam Jail of this accused persons statingthat they have also planted the Narcotic substance in the house of Prakash Pillai. Even the visiting card in the name of Prakash Pillai was also prepared at the behest of the Respondent accused No. 1. Thus, it is argued that Ld. Special Judge did not materially place before by the Investigating Agency while seeking remand and thus, the order passed by the Ld. Special Judge is required interference at the ends of this Court.

4. Ld. Advocate Mr Pm Lakhani for the respondent(s) no. 1, Ld. Advocate Mr S P Hasurkar for the respondent(s) no. 3, Ld. Senior Counsel Mr I H Saiyed for Ld. Advocate Ms. Ketki P Jha for the respondent(s) no. 2 jointly argued and would submit that the initial of 15 days of remand as envisaged under code has already been lapsed and nothing survives in the present case and hence, prayed to reject the present Application.

5. Heard Ld. Advocates for the respective parties. This Court has gone through the impugned order. It is undisputed the fact that the impugned order passed by

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the Ld Special Judge, Vadodara on 25.10.2013 below the Application for remand preferred by the Gorwa Police Station in II CR No. 37/2013 for the offences under Section 8(C),15,18,20,59 of NDPS Act, Sections 166, 195, 196, 201, 203, 218, 219, 220, 388, 419, 465, 467, 468, 471 and 120(B) of IPC as well as 7,12,13(1)(A) (C),13(2), 13(d)(2) of Prevention of Corruption Act and the same has been challenged by the State before this Court by way of present Revision Application on 12.11.2013. It is settled principle of law laid down in the judgment of the Hon'ble Supreme Court in the case of Central Bureau Of Investigation, vs Anupam J. Kulkarni reported in (1992) 3 SCC 141that once the initial 15 days of arrest, no remand can be further granted.

Though the decision of CBI Vs. Anupam J Kulkarni (Supra) is referred to a large bench by the Hon'ble Supreme Court in the case of V. Senthil Balaji vs. The State Represented By Deputy Director and Ors. Reported in 2023 INSC 677, the law as on date as held in the case of CBI (Supra) holds the field. In view of the same,the present Application has become infructuous and disposed of accordingly.

(P. M. RAVAL, J) MMP