Punjab-Haryana High Court
Gopal Soni vs State Of U.T. Chandigarh on 29 January, 2024
Author: Jasjit Singh Bedi
Bench: Jasjit Singh Bedi
Neutral Citation No:=2024:PHHC:011789
2024:PHHC:011789
CRM-M-553-2024 (O & M) ::1::
(211)
IN THE HIGH COURT OF PUNJAB AND HARYANA AT CHANDIGARH
CRM-M-553-2024 (O & M)
Date of decision:29.01.2024
Gopal Soni ...... Petitioner
V/s
State of U.T., Chandigarh and anr. ...Respondents
CORAM: HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE JASJIT SINGH BEDI
Present: Mr. Pankaj Bali, Advocate,
for the petitioner.
Mr. Munish Bansal, Public Prosecutor,
for U.T., Chandigarh,
with Mr. Saksham, Advocate and
Ms. Sukhmani, Advocate.
*****
JASJIT SINGH BEDI, J. (Oral)
The prayer in the present petition under Section 438 Cr.P.C. is
for the grant of anticipatory bail to the petitioner in case FIR No.45 dated
29.05.2023 under Sections 420, 465, 467, 468, 471 IPC, registered at Police
Station North, Chandigarh.
2. The present FIR came to be registered at the instance of Dinesh
Kumar and reads as under:-
"To, The Register General, Punjab and Haryana High Court,
Chandigarh. Subject:- Complaint against Sh. Gopal Soni,
Advocate, P/2300/2017, Practicing Advocate at Honble Punjab
and Haryana High Court at Chandigarh, for committing
cheating, forgery and fraud on the Name of Present Registrar
1 of 10
Neutral Citation No:=2024:PHHC:011789
2024:PHHC:011789
CRM-M-553-2024 (O & M) ::2::
General Sh. Sanjeev Berry Ji, by issuing me a fake/forged
appointment letter for the post of Superintendent in the Punjab
and Haryana High Court, Chandigarh. Respected Sir, 1. That
my name is Dinesh Kumar son of Sh. Surender Kumar r/o
Thakur Bani Singh Ki Gali, Lohar Bazar, Bhiwani. That Gopal
Soni Advocate, P/2300/2017, presently practicing at Punjab
and Haryana High Court at Chandigarh. The said Gopal Soni
Advocate, me since my childhood as were friends from class
6th. We were having good friendly relations since long back.
Since 2017, the said Gopal Soni Advocate, is residing in
Chandigarh. In the year of 2017, he told me that he has been
appointed a Law Researcher in the High Court of Punjab and
Haryana, at Chandigarh. And he was getting the salary of
Rs.90,000/- he also told that my power is as equal as Judges
are having, thereafter as and when we talked the said Gopal
Soni used to say I will settle you also with the help of some
official of High Court. Thereafter In February, 2021 he met me
at Bhiwani, and informed me that I have been selected for
Haryana Judicial Service, and soon I will be appointed on the
post of Judge, in the Punjab and Haryana High Court, at
Chandigarh. He assured me that since you are my childhood
friend I will settle you also in Chandigarh. 2. That in the second
week of March he again approached me at Bhiwani, and he
informed me that some post are vacant in the Punjab and
Haryana High Court, at Chandigarh and those are going to be
filled by a secret selection process. He bring an application
form for me by saying that these application forms are not
available on the official website as these posts are secret. These
posts are meant for the Judges for settle their own persons.
That on the assurance given by said Gopal Soni Advocate, I
filled the said application form, he also asked me to pay Rs. 15
lac for the said post. As he told me that you will get the salary
@ Rs.2.25 Lac per month. The said Gopal Soni Advocate, told
2 of 10
Neutral Citation No:=2024:PHHC:011789
2024:PHHC:011789
CRM-M-553-2024 (O & M) ::3::
me that the Present Registrar General Sh. Sanjeev Berry, is my
known, and surely you will get the job. He also told me that you
will have to pay 50% amount in advance and 50% after joining
on the said post of Superintendent. 3. That since the said Gopal
Soni Advocate, known to me since childhood, so I believed on
him and I paid him Rs. 2 lac through IMPS, on 31 March, 2021,
in his SBI account. He assured me that you will be issued
joining letter soon in the month of July, 2021. Thereafter, since
the month of August, 2021, I tried and asked many times to said
Gopal Soni Advocate, to provide me any proof/documents for
the said post and my joining. But the said Gopal Soni, Advocate
gave me fake assurance that these are secret posts and you need
not to worry. Till November, 2021, the said Gopal Soni
Advocate, not provide me any proof/document with regard to
said post. But by that time, I have paid multiple times to said
Gopal Soni, Advocate, through Mobile apps or through bank
transfers. Finally, on 12th November 2021, I received a joining
letter on my whatsapp which was send by said Gopal Soni,
Advocate, and the same was signed by Sh. Sanjeev Berry, the
Registrar General, Punjab and Haryana at Chandigarh. I
received the same joining letter on my email also from the mail
of from a fake email ID (Later on I came to Know that the same
was created by the said Gopal Soni, Advocate) 4. That
thereafter the Gopal Soni Advocate, gave me some different
Phone numbers of a person he claimed that these numbers are
of the person who is working with Mr. Berry, Registrar, he is
helping us to get the job and again he demanded for money
from me in order to make two Demand Drafts, of Rs.6000/- and
Rs.10616/-. The said Gopal Soni, Advocate told me that you
will have to deposit some fees in shape of DDs to get the
joining. I paid him but despite of my repeated request, I never
received copies of those DDs. 5. That in the Month of December
2021 the said Gopal Soni, Advocate gave me a Phone no. to get
3 of 10
Neutral Citation No:=2024:PHHC:011789
2024:PHHC:011789
CRM-M-553-2024 (O & M) ::4::
the joining but after verification I found that the no. 88476-
15501, which the said Gopal Soni, Advocate provided me is the
another Phone no. of Gopal Soni himself. Where Gopal Soni
demanded Rs. 10000/- to open a Salary account and
Rs. 15000/- for advance rent as High Court provide him
accommodation for residence after joining on the said post of
Superintendent. During this period, the said Gopal Soni
Advocate, offered me again that I can adjust you on the post of
Reader with the help of Mr. Berry, Registrar General and he
demanded Rs. 7.5 lacs extra for this. Upon this I told to said
Gopal Soni Advocate, that I have no money to pay as you
always made false/fake promises. Once the said Gopal Soni
Advocate, received the money he never replied my phone calls.
Till date I paid to said Gopal Soni, Advocate, Rs.22 lacs
approximately (Which I am having the details) on his fake
assurance on the name of Mr. Sanjeev Berry Ji, Registrar
General, Punjab Haryana High Court, at Chandigarh.6. That
the said Gopal Soni, Advocate, gave a third Phone No. 83600-
33790, claiming that this is New No. of that person namely Mr.
Jain, who is helping us to get the job, he also told me that Mr.
Jain (he was introduced to me by My senior Vijay Kumar
Jindal) but when I inquired about this no. then it is foun that
this no, also belongs to said Gopal Soni, Advocate. As he used
to cheat peoples by these kind of methods. In the month of
August 2022, the said Gopal Soni, Advocate again demanded
money of Rs.1.2 lac on the pretext of to submit the same in the
High Court treasury and then they will deposit my due salary
and Gopal assured me that he will provide me the deposit slip. I
again, paid in a good faith Rs. 80000/- to Gopal Soni. But till
date I have not received any receipt. 7. That as the said Gopal
Soni, told me that he joined as a Judge in the High Court, so in
order to meet him, I came at Punjab and Haryana High Court
at Chandigarh. On inquiry , I came to know that he is not a
4 of 10
Neutral Citation No:=2024:PHHC:011789
2024:PHHC:011789
CRM-M-553-2024 (O & M) ::5::
Judge in the High Court but he is an Advocate, here and
working in the office of Senior Advocate Sh. Vijay Kumar
Jindal. 8. That thereafter I called him many times but he never
answered my calls. I paid mostly through mobile app, bank
transfer, and online mode in the account no. of Gopal in SBI
BANK AND HDFC BANK, by taking loans from various mobile
applications and credit cards. Now, I have no money to repay
my loans/liabilities towards the creditors. Now I have been
harassed and humiliated by the bank officials. 9. That I am a
victim of impersonation, fraud, forgery committed by the said
Gopal Soni Advocate, on the name of Sh. Sanjeev Berry, The
Registrar General, Punjab and Haryana High Court,
Chandigarh. Therefore, it is respectfully prayed that a Criminal
case be registered under the Indian Penal Code against the
Gopal Soni, Advocate, P/2300/2017, and his advocacy license
be also ordered to be cancelled, as he has played fraud,
claiming himself to be the Judge and on the Name of the
Registrar General, Punjab and Haryana High Court,
Chandigarh. It is also requested that I am in state of shock as
the said Gopal Soni looted my entire savings not only this I am
under the burden of many loans through Mobile applications
and Credit Cards and now I am not able to repay it. So justice
may kindly be provided to me by getting my money back. I shall
be grateful to you. Note:- A copy of the fake appointment letter
is attached along with other relevant payment details. Dated:-
05.09.2022 (Dinesh Kumar) 98121-58621".
3. During the course of investigation, the complainant produced a
forged appointment letter given to him by the petitioner. The petitioner had
sent the appointment letter as a Superintendent of the High Court by way of
Whatsapp, E-mail and physically under the name of Mr. Sanjeev Berry, the
then Registrar General of this Court. This appointment letter was got
5 of 10
Neutral Citation No:=2024:PHHC:011789
2024:PHHC:011789
CRM-M-553-2024 (O & M) ::6::
verified from the concerned Branch of this Court and was found to have
been forged.
The complainant had also provided a print-out of E-mails dated
06.12.2021 and 13.01.2022 which were received by the complainant from
E-mail id [email protected] on his (complainant's) E-mail id
[email protected] assuring the complainant regarding his
selection for the post of a Special Secretary/Reader's line.
The petitioner had informed the complainant that the E-mail
had been received from the Punjab and Haryana High Court. Investigation
with regard to the verification of the E-mail id [email protected] is
going on.
A request letter for verification was sent to the Office of the
Registrar General, High Court of Punjab and Haryana for the verification of
the appointment letters dated 12.11.2021 and 21.02.2022 which had been
given to the complainant by the petitioner. In reply to the said letter, the
Office of the Registrar General has clearly stated that the letters dated
12.11.2021 and 21.02.2022 are fake.
4. The learned counsel for the petitioner contends that the
petitioner had been falsely implicated in the present case. In fact, the
petitioner had been planning to purchase a house at Zirakpur and for the said
purposes had struck a deal with one Varun Sharma for a sum of Rs. 52.50
lacs. Varun Sharma introduced him (petitioner) to a private financer Ashu
jain, who demanded Rs.10,00,000/-as down payment to get sanctioned the
loan for the remaining amount. However, despite having paid
Rs.11,45,000/- to Varun Sharma and Ashu Jain, the loan had not been
6 of 10
Neutral Citation No:=2024:PHHC:011789
2024:PHHC:011789
CRM-M-553-2024 (O & M) ::7::
advanced nor was the money refunded. An FIR No.23 dated 16.03.2023 had
been registered at the instance of the petitioner against Varun Sharma, etc.
In fact, the petitioner had borrowed an amount of Rs.8,00,000/- referred to in
the FIR from the complainant for the purchase of the said property and had
also returned Rs.1,25,000/- through bank transactions. The present FIR had
been registered by the complainant in connivance with Kanhiya Soni,
Advocate, his (petitioner's) brother as the petitioner had solemnized a
marriage which was not to the liking of his family members. The forged and
fabricated documents had been prepared by the complainant and not by the
petitioner. There was a delay of about 10 months in the filing of the instant
complaint leading to the registration of the FIR which shows that the
petitioner had been falsely implicated. Though, the complainant had been
able to prove the transactions of only Rs.09-10 lacs but the FIR suggests that
an amount of Rs.22,00,000/- had been paid. As the petitioner was a young
Lawyer and was ready and willing to join the investigation, he was entitled
to the concession of anticipatory bail.
5. The learned counsel for the respondent-U.T., Chandigarh, on
the other hand, has filed a reply dated 25.01.2024 by way of an affidavit of
DSP Gurmukh Singh, CPS, SDPO Central, which is taken on record. While
referring to the said reply, he contends that the custodial interrogation of the
petitioner is required to verify the E-mail address from which the fabricated
mails were sent to the complainant, to recover the mobile phone used in the
commission of the offence, to recover various other electronic devices such
as laptop, PC, Printer by which the forged appointment letters were prepared
and also to recover the money cheated from the complainant. Even
7 of 10
Neutral Citation No:=2024:PHHC:011789
2024:PHHC:011789
CRM-M-553-2024 (O & M) ::8::
otherwise, from the contents of the FIR and the investigation conducted so
far, the offence was prima facie established which did not entitle the
petitioner to the grant of concession of anticipatory bail.
6. I have heard the learned counsel for the parties.
7. The Hon'ble Supreme Court in the case of 'Sumitha Pradeep
Vs. Arun Kumar C.K. & Anr. 2022(4) RCR (Criminal) 977', has held that
merely because custodial interrogation was not required by itself could not
be a ground to grant anticipatory bail. The first and the foremost thing the
Court hearing the anticipatory bail application is to consider is the prima
facie case against the accused. The relevant extract of the judgment is
reproduced hereinbelow:-
"It may be true, as pointed out by learned counsel
appearing for Respondent No.1, that charge-sheet has already
been filed. It will be unfair to presume on our part that the
Investigating Officer does not require Respondent No.1 for
custodial interrogation for the purpose of further investigation.
Be that as it may, even assuming it a case where
Respondent No.1 is not required for custodial interrogation, we
are satisfied that the High Court ought not to have granted
discretionary relief of
anticipatory bail.
We are dealing with a matter wherein the original
complainant (appellant herein) has come before this Court
praying that the anticipatory bail granted by the High Court to
the accused should be cancelled. To put it in other words, the
complainant says that the High Court wrongly exercised its
discretion while granting anticipatory bail to the accused in a
very serious crime like POCSO and, therefore, the order passed
by the High Court granting anticipatory bail to the accused
should be quashed and set aside. In many anticipatory bail
8 of 10
Neutral Citation No:=2024:PHHC:011789
2024:PHHC:011789
CRM-M-553-2024 (O & M) ::9::
matters, we have noticed one common argument being
canvassed that no custodial interrogation is required and,
therefore, anticipatory bail may be granted. There appears to
be a serious misconception of law that if no case for custodial
interrogation is made out by the prosecution, then that alone
would be a good ground to grant anticipatory bail. Custodial
interrogation can be one of the relevant aspects to be
considered along with other grounds while deciding an
application seeking anticipatory bail. There may be many
cases in which the custodial interrogation of the accused may
not be required, but that does not mean that the prima facie
case against the accused should be ignored or overlooked and
he should be granted anticipatory bail. The first and foremost
thing that the court hearing an anticipatory bail application
should consider is the prima facie case put up against the
accused. Thereafter, the nature of the offence should be
looked into along with the severity of the punishment.
Custodial interrogation can be one of the grounds to decline
custodial interrogation. However, even if custodial
interrogation is not required or necessitated, by itself, cannot
be a ground to grant anticipatory bail."
8. In the instant case, a perusal of the FIR would reveal clear and
specific allegations against the petitioner of having cheated the complainant
on the pretext of providing him a job in this Court. For the said purpose,
multiple fake E-mails and documents purportedly issued by the Registrar
General of this Court have been provided to the complainant by the
petitioner to show that he had been provided employment by the Court.
Thus, the offence stands prima facie established. Further, the recovery of
various electronic devices such as the mobile phone, laptop, PC and printer
by which the mails were sent and forged appointment letters were prepared
9 of 10
Neutral Citation No:=2024:PHHC:011789
2024:PHHC:011789
CRM-M-553-2024 (O & M) ::10::
are to be recovered. Therefore, his custodial interrogation is certainly
necessary.
9. In view of the above, I find no merit in the present petition.
Therefore, the same stands dismissed.
10. However, it is made clear that the observations made in this
order are only for the purpose of deciding this bail application and the Trial
Court is free to adjudicate upon the matter on the basis of the evidence lead
before it uninfluenced by any such observations made.
( JASJIT SINGH BEDI)
JUDGE
January 29, 2024
sukhpreet
Whether speaking/reasoned : Yes/No
Whether reportable : Yes/No
Neutral Citation No:=2024:PHHC:011789
10 of 10
