High Court of Delhi was dealing with the petition filed under Section 438 of Cr.P.C, the petitioner seeks anticipatory bail in FIR dated 27.07.2021 and FIR dated 02.09.2021 registered under Section 420 of IPC.
Brief Facts:
The dispute is regarding transfer of 15 lakhs and 10 lakhs shares of Spice Jet for consideration of Rs.15 lakhs and Rs.10 lakhs respectively from the complainant to the petitioner. It is further the case of the complainant that the petitioner dishonestly handed over outdated Delivery Instructions Slips (DIS) for the purpose of transfer of shares. It is alleged by the complainant that the petitioner is deliberately and dishonestly resisting the transfer of shares in accordance with the Share Purchase Agreements (SPA-I and SPA-II) (entered into on 03.02.2017 and 09.07.2018 respectively) despite the closing dates as settled in the agreements. The anticipatory bail was dismissed by the learned Additional Sessions Judge vide order dated 30.03.2022 primarily considering that the petitioner deliberately and dishonestly resisted the transfer of shares in accordance with SPA I and SPA II and the shares of the Airline Company were also pledged previously on three occasions since 2015.
Petitioner’s Contention:
Learned counsel for the petitioner submitted that as per the agreements, transfer of those shares was contingent upon final outcome of the dispute between him and erstwhile promoter of the company and therefore the shares could not be transferred to the complainant as the dispute is still pending. It was further submitted that while the petitioner was not in India from 07.06.2019 to 07.07.2019, Heena Nanda Gujral, complainant in FIR, sister of the complainant/informant illegally and surreptitiously deposited Rs.10 lakhs in the account of the petitioner and presented the DI Slip with date 01.07.2019.
HC’s Observations:
After hearing both the sides Court stated that FIRs in question are based on a civil and commercial dispute out of Share Purchase Agreements dated 03.02.2017 and 09.07.2018, wherein the complainant as well as the petitioner have given different interpretations of the closing date of the transactions with regard to handing over of DI Slips. HC noted that learned senior counsel for the petitioner very fairly submitted that the petitioner was willing to undertake to keep the requisite number of shares secured as per the SPAs, to protect the interest of the parties.
HC stated that it cannot be ignored that the petitioner is a Chairman and Managing Director of Spice Jet Airlines and has deep social roots in the society and has no criminal antecedent except for the FIRs in relation to the transactions referred by the complainant. HC further stated that merely because the petitioner has travelled as per the pre-schedule commitment, it cannot be assumed that he is a flight risk. The dispute between the parties also appears to be of a civil nature which could not be finally concluded because of the different interpretations given by the parties.
HC relied upon the case of Arnesh Kumar vs. State of Bihar, where it was observed that in cases of punishment of imprisonment upto seven years, arrest is not the norm. HC stated that it is imperative to consider that the petitioner has already joined the investigation and if he is not likely to abscond, in that event, custodial interrogation should be avoided, specifically when the dispute appears to be civil in nature.
HC Held:
After evaluating submissions made by both the parties the Court held that “since the dispute concerns the transfer of shares involving breach of agreed terms and conditions, it may be appropriate to grant interim protection to the petitioner. Accordingly, no coercive action shall be taken against the petitioner till next date of hearing and NBWs, if any, issued in this regard by the Competent Authority are stayed.”
Case Title: Ajay Singh v. The State NCT of Delhi
Bench: Hon'ble Mr. Justice Anoop Kumar Mendiratta
Citation: BAIL APPLN. 1069/2022 & Crl. M. (Bail) No.390/2022
Decided on: 7th April 2022
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