Madras High Court
Ezhenchezhiyan vs The State Rep.By The Inspector Of ... on 15 July, 2021
CRL.O.P.No.11215 of 2021
IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT MADRAS
DATED : 15.07.2021
CORAM:
THE HON'BLE MR.JUSTICE M.NIRMAL KUMAR
CRL.O.P.No.11215 of 2021
and
Crl.M.P.No.6559 of 2021
Ezhenchezhiyan ... Petitioner
Versus
The State rep.by the Inspector of Police
District Crime Branch
Nagapattinam District. ... Respondent
PRAYER: Criminal Original Petition filed under Section 482 of the
Code of Criminal Procedure, to modify the condition by removing Caluse
1 of the orders passed by learned Judicial Magistrate No.I, Nagapattinam
imposed in Crl.M.P.No.2593 of 2021 on 17.06.2021 in Crime No.2 of
2020 on the file of the Inspector of Police, District Crime Branch,
Nagapattinam District.
Page No.1 of 8
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CRL.O.P.No.11215 of 2021
For Petitioner : Mr.M.K.Subramanian
For Respondent : Mr.E.Raj Thilak
Counsel for Government of
Tamil Nadu (Crl.Side)
ORDER
This petition has been filed seeking a direction, to modify the
condition by removing Clause 1 of the orders passed by learned Judicial
Magistrate No.I, Nagapattinam imposed in Crl.M.P.No.2593 of 2021 on
17.06.2021 in Crime No.2 of 2020 on the file of the Inspector of Police,
District Crime Branch, Nagapattinam District.
2. The petitioner, who is A2 in this case, has filed this petition
seeking modification of the condition of removing Clause 1 in the
statutory bail order dated 17.06.2021 passed by the Judicial Magistrate
No.I, Nagapattinam in Crl.M.P.No.2593 of 2021 in Crime No.2 of 2020.
The petitioner was arrested and remanded in the case on 12.02.2021 for
the offence under Sections 408, 409, 465, 467, 468, 471, 477A and 120B
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CRL.O.P.No.11215 of 2021
of IPCb. The petitioner was a Cashier-in-charge in the State Bank of
India, Thirukuvalai Branch, Nagapattinam District for the period from
2017 to January 2020, A1 is the Branch Manager and A3 is another
Cashier-in-charge. They together misappropriated the funds of the Bank
by forging false documents, opening false accounts to get the crop
insurance, stealing the crop insurance amount by using fake vouchers and
misappropriated the loan amount by using the KYC documents submitted
by the customers. Thus, they caused loss to the Bank and general public
to the tune of Rs.1,86,00,000/-. The petitioner has used his ID for the
misappropriation of Rs.42,72,557/-.
3. The petitioner earlier moved bail before this Court in
Crl.O.P.No.6758 of 2021 and this Court granted bail to the petitioner on
16.04.2021 and one of the condition was that the petitioner has to deposit
a sum of Rs.30 lakhs. Though that conditional order was passed based on
the voluntary submission made by the petitioner to show his bonafide, he
could not comply with the said condition. Hence, the petitioner had
moved a modification petition in Crl.M.P.No.5391 of 2020 and this Court
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CRL.O.P.No.11215 of 2021
by the order dated 29.04.2021, dismissed the same. Since the petitioner is
unable to execute the said condition, he continued to be in confinement.
Finally, the petitioner was granted bail under Section 167 of Cr.P.C. by
the Judicial Magistrate No.I, Nagapattinam and imposed the same
condition to deposit a sum of Rs.30 lakhs, probably following the earlier
order passed by this Court. However, the petitioner is now also not in a
position to deposit such amount and he continues to be in incarceration.
He further submitted that though the bail was granted on 17.06.2021, he
is still in incarceration, which shows that the condition is a onerous one.
Solvency certificate of the petitioner was issued issued by the Tahsildar
in Mu.Mu.1214/2020/A1 dated 03.03.2020.
4. The learned Counsel for Government of Tamil Nadu (Crl.Side)
has submitted that in this case, the petitioner moved a bail application
before this Court in Crl.M.P.No.6758 of 2021 and this Court considering
the cheating, misappropriation committed by the petitioner along with the
other accused and the nature of the offence, was not inclined to grant
bail. At that time, the petitioner to show his bonafide had offered to make
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CRL.O.P.No.11215 of 2021
deposit a sum of Rs.30 lakhs for getting bail. Thereafter, he filed a
modification petition to modify the condition to deposit a sum of Rs.30
lakhs and this Court had dismissed the same. Now, the petitioner has
been granted statutory bail, but he is not willing to deposit the sum of
Rs.30 lakhs. The said condition of depositing Rs.30 Lakhs is for the
purpose of safeguarding the interest of public and bank's money, which
were misappropriated and swindled by the petitioner and other accused.
5. In reply, the learned counsel petitioner has submitted that the
only requirement for granting statutory bail is that whether the
investigation is completed and charge sheet is filed, within a stipulated
period. In support of his contention, he relied upon the judgment of the
Hon'ble Apex Court in Saravanan Vs. State rep.by its Inspector of
Police, reported in (2020) 9 SCC 101, wherein it has been held that
while granting statutory bail, imposing a condition to deposit huge sums
is not contemplated.
6. Considering the submissions and perused the materials, it is
seen that the objection of the learned Government Advocate (Crl.Side)
cannot be countenanced. In the earlier bail application of the petitioner,
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CRL.O.P.No.11215 of 2021
while granting bail, a condition to deposit a sum of Rs.30 lakhs was
imposed. But, he was unable to comply with the said condition. Hence,
he filed a modification petition and the same was dismissed. Thereafter,
he was granted statutory bail only on 17.06.2021, again with the same
condition to deposit a sum of Rs.30 lakhs, which would amount to denial
of bail, since the condition is onerous. The petitioner is still in
incarceration. In view of the same, this Court is inclined to modify the
condition.
7. In view of the same, the order dated 17.06.2021 in
Crl.M.P.No.2593 of 2021 is modified by setting aside the condition to
deposit a sum of Rs.30 lakhs, instead the petitioner shall execute property
along with Solvency Certificate Mu.Mu.1214/2020/A1 dated 03.03.2020
issued by Thasildar Kilvelur, Nagapattinam to petitioner
Ezhenchezhiyan. The photocopy of Document to be retained and other
conditions passed in the said order stands unaltered.
8. With the above directions, this Criminal Original Petition is
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CRL.O.P.No.11215 of 2021
allowed. Consequently, connected Miscellaneous Petition is also closed.
15.07.2021
Index: Yes/No
Internet: Yes/No
dna/ah
Note: Issue Order Copy on 16.07.2021
To
1.The Judicial Magistrate No.I,
Nagapattinam.
2.The Inspector of Police
District Crime Branch
Nagapattinam District.
3.The Public Prosecutor,
High Court, Madras.
https://www.mhc.tn.gov.in/judis/
CRL.O.P.No.11215 of 2021
M.NIRMAL KUMAR, J.
dna/ah
CRL.O.P.No.11215 of 2021
and
Crl.M.P.No.6559 of 2021
15.07.2021
https://www.mhc.tn.gov.in/judis/
