Amit Sharma vs State Of Himachal Pradesh
2023 Latest Caselaw 10359 HP

    IN THE HIGH COURT OF HIMACHAL PRADESH, SHIMLA

                                         CrMPs(M) No. 1727 & 1770 of 2023




                                                                              .

                                                Decided on            :    27.07.2023

    CrMP (M) No. 1727 of 2023





    Amit Sharma                                                           ...Applicant

                                             Versus

    State of Himachal Pradesh ...Respondent





    .........................................................................................
    CrMP (M) No. 1770 of 2023
    Ashok Kumar           r                                               ...Applicant

                                             Versus

    State of Himachal Pradesh                                             ...Respondent


    Coram



    The Hon'ble Mr. Justice Virender Singh, Judge.
    Whether approved for reporting?1




    For the applicant(s) :              Mr. Sanjeev Kumar Suri, Advocate.





    For the respondent(s) : Mr. Mohinder Zaraick, Mr. H.S.
                            Rawat and Mr. Tejasvi Sharma,





                            Additional Advocates General, with
                            Ms. Avni Kochhar Mehta and Ms.
                            Leena Guleria, Deputy Advocates
                            General.

                                        Inspector Ashok Kumar, SHO, Police
                                        Station Gagret, District Una, H.P.,
                                        present in person, alongwith police
                                        record.


    1
        Whether Reporters of local papers may be allowed to see the judgment? Yes.




                                                             ::: Downloaded on - 31/07/2023 20:35:00 :::CIS
                                   2

    Virender Singh, Judge. (Oral)

The above-titled bail applications are being

.

disposed of by the common order, as, both these bail

applications have been filed, in the same FIR, i.e. FIR No.

78 of 2023, dated 19th June, 2023, registered under Sections

379, 420, 467, 471 of the Indian Penal Code (hereinafter

referred to as 'IPC') and Sections 41 and 42 of the Indian

Forest Act (hereinafter referred to as 'IF Act'), with Police

Station Gagret, District Una, H.P.

2. The applicants have filed the above-titled bail

applications, under Section 438 of the Code of Criminal

Procedure (hereinafter referred to as 'CrPC'), for releasing

them on bail, in the event of their arrest, in the FIR,

referred to above.

3. According to the applicants, they are permanent

resident of the addresses, as mentioned in the applications,

having the movable and immovable property in the village

and having the deep roots in the society.

4. According to them, they are innocent persons

and have falsely been named as accused, in the above-noted

case. It is their case that they are ready to join the

investigation.

.

5. On the basis of the above facts, both the

applicants have given certain undertakings, for which, they

are ready to abide by, in case any direction is issued, under

Section 438 CrPC.

6. On all these submissions, a prayer has been

made to allow the applications.

7. When put to notice, the police has filed the

status report, disclosing therein, that on 19th June, 2023,

Forest Range Officer, Amb, Shri Avinash Kumar, moved a

complaint before the police, disclosing therein, that on 18 th

June, 2023, Block Forest Officer, Gagret, alongwith, his

team, was present near Baglamukhi Temple, on

Hoshiarpur-Gagret road. They had put picketing there. At

about 09.00 a.m., one vehicle, make Tempo, bearing

registration No. PB-07AF-2635, was intercepted, while

transporting 366 tines of resin. In this regard, one General

Diary Entry No. 25, dated 18th June, 2023, was already

made in Police Station Gagret. Vide General Diary Entry

No. 26, dated 18th June, 2023, the Block Forest Officer,

Gagret has been intimated that the said resin was validly

.

transported. When the said report was taken to the Forest

Range Officer, Gagret by the Beat Officer, Gagret, then, a

suspicion got developed. Thereafter, the matter was

referred to Divisional Forest Officer, Una, for verification of

the facts. The Divisional Forest Officer, Una, has further

requested the Divisional Forest Officers, Dharamshala and

Palampur, to verify the facts, upon which, the Divisional

Forest Officers, Dharamshala and Palampur, vide letters,

dated 19th June, 2023, have specifically mentioned that no

licence, vide order No. 27/2023-24, dated 15th June, 2023,

has been issued. According to him, Amit Sharma (applicant

in CrMP (M) No. 1727 of 2023) has committed the forgery

and submitted the forged papers and thus, he has prayed

that action be taken, in this regard.

7.1. Upon this, the police registered the case under

Sections 379, 420, 467, 471 IPC and Sections 41 and 42 of

the IF Act and thereafter, the investigation was conducted.

The spot was visited and the truck alongwith the resin tins

was taken into possession. Accused-Amit Sharma

(applicant in CrMP (M) No. 1727 of 2023) has submitted the

.

papers on 18th June, 2023, which were taken into possession

and were sent to Divisional Forest Officer, Dharamshala,

Range Officer Palampur and Deputy Excise and Taxation

Commissioner, Flying Squad (Northern Range), Palampur,

was requested to look into the matter.

7.2. On the basis of the correspondence, so received,

it was found that Amit Sharma (applicant in CrMP (M) No.

1727 of 2023) has submitted the forged documents. In order

to ascertain the real ownership of the truck in question,

correspondences were made with Regional Transport Office,

Hoshiarpur. As per the information received from there, the

truck was found to be registered in the name of Balwinder

Singh s/o Shri Makhan Singh, r/o Ovilla Bihala, Hoshiarpur.

He was also associated in the investigation. The said person

has disclosed that he has sold the truck, on 29 th March,

2022, to Pradeep Kumar, through affidavit. When the said

Pradeep Kumar was contacted, he has disclosed that he has

gone to Guwahati. Thereafter, the value of the resin was

got assessed from the Forest Department, which has been

assessed as ₹ 4,28,220/-, weighing 65.88 quintal.

.

7.3. During investigation, truck driver-Anmol Kumar

was arrested. He has disclosed that the owner of the truck

is Pradeep Kumar. According to him, on the intervening

night of 17th June, 2023, he has loaded 366 tins of resin from

Palampur for taking the same to Hoshiarpur, however, on

18th June, 2023, this truck was impounded by the Forest

Department.

7.4. He has also disclosed that he has loaded 366 tins

of resin at the instance of one Kashmir Singh, who had

assured him that he is having the requisite papers for its

transportation. When the said truck was intercepted at

Gagret-Hoshiarpur road, then, he has tried to contact said

Kashmir Singh, on his mobile number 82787 67967, which

was found to be switched off, as such, he fled away from the

spot.

7.5. Thereafter, he has received a call from mobile

No. 98160 58443, who disclosed his name as Ashok Kumar

(applicant in CrMP (M) No. 1770 of 2023), and requested

him to take the papers from Mubarikpur. Consequently, he

came back to the place, where, the truck was impounded

.

and as per the direction of the Forest Department official, he

has parked the loaded truck at Forest Police Station

Tatehra. Thereafter, he has obtained the papers regarding

transportation of the resin tins, from said Ashok Kumar

(applicant in CrMP (M) No. 1727 of 2023) and submitted the

same to the Forest Department official.

7.6. Thereafter, the Consumer Application Form

addresses of the owners of the mobile numbers were

ascertained. Mobile No. 82787 67967 was found to be issued

in the name of Kashmir Singh, s/o Bhagat Ram and mobile

No. 98160 58443, was found to be issued in the name of

Ashok Kumar (applicant in CrMP (M) No. 1770 of 2023).

7.7. According to the police, mobile No. 98160 58443

was the same number, upon which Amit Sharma (applicant

in CrMP (M) No. 1727 of 2023) had made Inspector/SHO

Ashok Kumar to have a talk with the person, who has

introduced himself to be the Forest Guard of Forest Beat

Maranda. Amit Sharma (applicant in CrMP (M) No. 1727 of

2023) has also produced the documents relating to the

transportation of resin, which, later on, were found to be

.

forged.

7.8. As per the status report, when the CDRs of the

mobile numbers was obtained and perused, it was found

that accused Kashmir Singh and accused Amit Sharma

(applicant in CrMP (M) No. 1727 of 2023) had talked to each

other on 18-19 occasions with effect from 15th June, 2023 to

19th June, 2023. As such, provisions of Section 120B IPC

were added, in the case.

7.9. On 6th July, 2023, accused Anmol has disclosed

that when they came to know about the registration of the

FIR, on 19th June, 2023, he and Amit Sharma (applicant in

CrMP (M) No. 1727 of 2023) had torn the papers pertaining

to the transportation of the resin and thrown away from the

bridge. The said spot was visited, but, no traces of those

papers were found, as, there was heavy rain in the area. On

the basis of the above facts, Section 201 IPC was also added,

in this case.

8. After perusing the said status report, this Court

has directed applicant-Amit Sharma to join the

.

investigation by passing the interim direction to the police

to release him on bail, in the event of his arrest.

Consequently, applicant-Amit Sharma has joined the

investigation on 14th July, 2023.

9. Today, the police has filed the supplementary

status report, disclosing therein that against accused-Amit

Sharma (applicant in CrMP (M) No. 1727 of 2023), FIR No.

108 of 2015, dated 9th September, 2015, has been registered

under Sections 41, 42 of the IF Act Act and Sections 379,

186, 436, 201 and 120 (B) IPC, at Police Station Gagret and

the said case is still pending adjudication in the Court of

learned JMFC, Court No. 2, Amb.

10. Accused-Ashok Kumar (applicant in CrMP (M)

No. 1770 of 2023) has also associated in the investigation on

19th, 24th and 25th July, 2023. The mobile phone allegedly

used by accused Ashok Kumar (applicant in CrMP (M) No.

1770 of 2023) was also taken into possession.

11. On the basis of the above facts, a prayer has

been made to dismiss the bail applications.

.

12. Heard.

13. The role allegedly played by the applicants, in

the commission of the offence will be proved during the trial.

The applicants are residents of the addresses, as mentioned

in the respective applications and the said areas fall in the

territorial jurisdiction of this Court.

14. Moreover, it has not been apprehended by the

police, in the status report, that in case, the interim order is

made absolute, they may not be available for the trial.

15. The bail applications cannot be rejected as a

matter of punishment, as the punishment can only be

inflicted after the full-fledged trial.

16. The police is not able to make out a case for

custodial interrogation, in this case. As such, the interim

order, dated 13th July, 2023, passed in CrMP (M) No. 1727 of

2023 and order, dated 18th July, 2023, passed in CrMP (M)

No. 1770 of 2023, are made absolute. Therefore, it is ordered

that the applicants be released on bail, in the event of their

arrest, in case FIR No. 78 of 2023, dated 19th June, 2023,

registered under Sections 379, 420, 467, 471 IPC and

Sections 41 and 42 of the IF Act, with Police Station Gagret,

.

District Una, H.P., on their furnishing personal bonds, to the

tune of ₹ 50,000/- each, with one surety each of the like

amount, to the satisfaction of the Investigating Officer. The

bail is granted, subject to the following conditions:

a) That the applicants will join the investigation of the case, as and when, called for, by the Investigating Officer, in accordance with law;

b) That the applicants will not leave India, without prior permission of the Court;

c) That the applicants will not, directly or indirectly, make any inducement, threat or promise to any person, acquainted with the facts of the case, so as to

dissuade him/her from disclosing such facts to the Investigating Officer or the Court; and

d) That the applicants shall regularly attend the

trial Court on each and every date of hearing and if prevented by any reason to do so seek exemption

from appearance by filing appropriate application;

17. Any of the observations, made hereinabove, shall

not be taken as an expression of opinion, on the merits of the

case, as these observations, are confined, only, to the disposal

of the present bail applications.

18. The applicants are directed to move regular bail

applications, when charge sheet will be filed in the Competent

Court of Law.

19. It is made clear that the respondent-State is at

liberty to move an appropriate application, in case, any of the

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bail conditions, is found to be violated by the applicants.

( Virender Singh ) Judge July 27, 2023

( rajni )