Gujarat High Court
Confisec Privwte Limited Through ... vs State Of Gujarat & 3 on 10 March, 2017
Author: J.B.Pardiwala
Bench: J.B.Pardiwala
R/SCR.A/1735/2017 ORDER
IN THE HIGH COURT OF GUJARAT AT AHMEDABAD
SPECIAL CRIMINAL APPLICATION (QUASHING) NO. 1735 of 2017
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CONFISEC PRIVWTE LIMITED THROUGH MOHANCHANDRA NARAYAN
KAMATH....Applicant(s)
Versus
STATE OF GUJARAT & 3....Respondent(s)
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Appearance:
MR.NANDISH H THACKAR, ADVOCATE for the Applicant(s) No. 1
MR MITESH AMIN, PUBLIC PROSECUTOR for the Respondent(s) No. 1
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CORAM: HONOURABLE MR.JUSTICE J.B.PARDIWALA
Date : 10/03/2017
ORAL ORDER
1 By this writ application under Article 226 of the Constitution of India, the writ applicant, a private limited company, through its authorised representative, has prayed for the following reliefs:
"9(A) Your Lordships be pleased to issue appropriate writ, order or direction, restraining the respondent authorities from entering, disrupting and drawings any confidential information with regards to the ongoing printing projects at the premises of the petitioner - company which involves various secret and confidential documents, considering the future of a large number of students totaling to about 50 lakhs, who are likely to appear in the examinations which are schedule in March till June throughout the country while conducting investigation in connection with the FIR being CR No I44/2017 registered with the Agamkua Police Station, Patna City, in the interest of justice.
(B) Your Lordships be pleased to restrain the respondent authorities from entering, disrupting and drawings any confidential information with regards to the ongoing printing projects at the premises of the petitioner -
company which involves various secret and confidential documents, Page 1 of 6 HC-NIC Page 1 of 6 Created On Sat Mar 11 00:27:54 IST 2017 R/SCR.A/1735/2017 ORDER considering the future of a large number of students who are likely to appear in the examinations which are schedule in March till June while conducting investigating in connection with the FIR being CR No I 44/2017 registered with the Agamkua Police Station, Patna City, pending the admission, hearing and final disposal of this petition;
(C) Your Lordships be pleased to grant such other and further relief(s), as may be deemed fit and proper by this Hon'ble Court, in the interest of justice."
2 On 3rd March 2017, the following order was passed:
"Let urgent Notice be issued to the respondents, returnable on 10.03.2017. Ms. Pathak, the learned APP, waives service of notice for and on behalf of the respondent Nos.1, 3 and 4. Direct service is permitted qua the respondent No.2.
The writ applicant shall see to it that service to the respondent No.2 is served upon the Officer in charge of the Agamkuva Police Station, Patna, at the earliest.
Notify the matter on top of the board."
3 Pursuant to the order passed by this Court referred to above, the respondent No.2 has appeared and filed an affidavitinreply duly affirmed by one Shri Avinash Kumar Singh, the Police Inspector, Bihar Police, Patna, inter alia stating as under:
"I, Avinash Kumar Singh, Age: 46 years, S/o. Late Ram Varan Singh, Village: Rasai Bigha P.S. Hilsa, Dist: Nalanda, Bihar, am presently posted as Police Inspector, Bihar Police, Patna, Bihar, do hereby solemnly affirm and state on oath as under:
1 The answering respondent was served with the notice of the instant case only 07.03.2017 with date of hearing on 10.03.2017 and therefore, the present short reply is being filed to assist this Hon'ble Court liberty to file detail and exhaustive reply, if need be, in due course of time.
2 The answering respondent states that it transpires that 'Confisec Private Limited' - 'Printer' has approached this Hon'ble Court seeking for a direction upon the respondents for not disrupting the ongoing projects at Page 2 of 6 HC-NIC Page 2 of 6 Created On Sat Mar 11 00:27:54 IST 2017 R/SCR.A/1735/2017 ORDER the factory premises of the petitioner in the future in connection with Agam Kuan P.S. Case No.44 of 2017 and in that background the petitioner has prayed for a restrainment order by restraining the respondents from entering, disrupting and drawing any confidential information with regard to the 'ongoing printing projects' at the premises of the petitioner.
3 It is gathered that the object of the petitioner in praying for restrainment order seems to be the apprehension of the petitioner that in case the respondents do so the same may involve various secret and confidential documents relating to various examination which are scheduled in March till June throughout the country as the petitioner company prints the question papers for various examination conducted all over the country by different body.
4 It is stated at the very outset that the instant application is premature and based on apprehension and therefore, the same may not be interfered with.
5 It is stated that in connection with the above criminal case, the Police Agency has got no intention to disrupt any 'ongoing printing projects' at the premises of the petitioner's company with respect to any upcoming examination as the scope of the investigation is limited to the leakage of answers prior to the examination being conducted by the Bihar State Staff Selection Commission.
6 It is also clarified specifically that the Police have no intention to take any secrets or confidential documents with respect to any other examination either upcoming or has already been held save and except the examination in question which has led to the institution of the case.
Therefore, the apprehension of the petitioner seems to be misdirected.
7 It is stated that, as already apparent from a bare perusal of the First Information Report, the matter relates to competitive examination conducted by Bihar State Staff Selection Commission where at the time of institution of the F.I.R. a group of persons were found to be involved in cheating, defrauding candidates and ensuring success in the examination through electronic means leading to arrest and recovery of incriminating articles from them and based thereupon the criminal case in question was lodged under different section of the Indian Penal Code.
8 It is stated that during preliminary investigation it transpired that it is not an ordinary case relating to copying and cheating with the help of electronic devices, rather, it is a case where answers to the questions leaked and circulated electronically much prior thereto and in fact prior to the question papers having reached to the custodians in the State of Bihar.
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R/SCR.A/1735/2017 ORDER
9 In fact during investigation it has come substantially that for the
proposed examination on 05.02.2017, its' answers leaked on 'whatsapp' on 29.01.2017 itself which was impossible unless and until the question papers itself is leaked on 29.01.2017 or prior thereto whereas the question papers were not even delivered to the Government Treasuries on 29.01.2017 or and therefore, the role of the Printer is crucial. It has come during investigation that the Chairman of the Commission (Shri Sudhir Kumar, IAS) gave the printing orders to representative/Director of the petitioner's company (Shri Vineet Kumar already in custody) and they both were interrogated in this regard. However, their approach remained evasive.
10 It is stated that the effect of the leakage was that the entire examination had to be cancelled.
11 It is stated that the Government of Bihar took p the matter very seriously and constituted a Special Investigation Team (SIT) led by the Senior Superintendent of Police, Patna to lead the investigation.
12 It is stated that at present approximatively twentyfive Police Personnel including two Additional S.P., Dy. S.P. and other senior officials are carrying out the investigation and the States by far covered during the investigation, where the case has links are State of Jharkhand, New Delhi, State of West Bengal, State of Gujarat besides different places in Bihar.
13 It is stated that till now twenty nine persons have been arrested and sent to custody.
14 It is stated that senior most I.A.S. Officer of Bihar and the Chairman of the Commission, namely, Shri Sudhir Kumar has also been arrested a senor Bihar Administrative Service Official being the Secretary of the Commission.
15 It is stated that in fact various relatives of the Chairman have also been arrested and sent to custody in view of evidences against them.
16 It is stated that during investigation of the case close link of the Printer (Petitioner's Company) through its Representative/Director, namely, Shri Vineet Kumar and his association with the incarcerated Chairman have also transpired in dealing with the question papers.
17 It is stated that in fact representative of the petitioner's company, namely, Shri Vineet Kumar has already been arrested and set to custody.
18 It is stated that repeatedly the manuscript sent to the petitioner's company was demanded from the Company's above representative, however, he dilly dallied the matter leading to his arrest followed by Page 4 of 6 HC-NIC Page 4 of 6 Created On Sat Mar 11 00:27:54 IST 2017 R/SCR.A/1735/2017 ORDER demand to the other representative who reached to Patna as also to the petitioner's company. However, there is complete failure in providing manuscript leading to serious suspicion on the Company's approach.
19 It is stated specifically that the company and its officials are not cooperating in the mater which is a serious case so far as State of Bihar is concerned.
20 It is stated that the Investigating Agency had to approach to the Court of learned Magistrate concerned at Patna and obtain search warrant for searching the company's premise, yet instead of immediately carrying out the search, a notice was served upon the petitioner to hand over the manuscript of the question papers in question besides other relevant materials having bearing on the case, however, again the approach of the company is evasive under one pretext or the another.
21 In the above background, the answering respondent contests the application and prays for its dismissal with a direction upon the petitioner to cooperate in the investigation of the case.
22 Nongiving of parawise comments may not be treated to be an admission unless admitted specifically."
4 The affidavitinreply filed on behalf of the respondent No.2 is ordered to be taken on record.
5 I take notice of the contents of para 18 of the reply, wherein the Investigating Officer wants manuscripts of the examination papers, which are in possession of the company. According to the Investigating Officer, he needs the manuscripts for effective investigation of the matter. Mr. Pahwa, the learned counsel appearing for the writ applicant submits that his client is personally present in the Court with the manuscripts. His client is ready and willing to hand over the manuscripts here & now to the Investigating Officer. Instead of handing over the manuscripts in a sealed cover here & now before this Court to the concerned Police Officer, it would be appropriate, if the Police Officer takes possession of the manuscripts at the premises of the company itself, after having a look of those manuscripts. Shri Avinash Kumar Page 5 of 6 HC-NIC Page 5 of 6 Created On Sat Mar 11 00:27:54 IST 2017 R/SCR.A/1735/2017 ORDER Singh, the Police Officer of the Bihar Police, Patna, who is personally present in the Court, shall demand the manuscripts from the company by giving in writing, and on such request made in writing, the company shall hand over the manuscripts at the earliest.
6 For the present, no further adjudication is necessary at the end of this Court. The F.I.R. is registered at Patna, and it is for the Patna Police to carry out the investigation in accordance with law. If the writ applicant herein wants to avail of any legal remedy as regards the registration of the F.I.R., it is always open for them to approach the Honourable High Court of Patna. It is clarified that the disposal of this writ application shall not come in the way of the Patna Police in continuing with the investigation in connection with the F.I.R. I expect the company to extend full cooperation for effective and meaning full investigation.
7 With the above, this writ application is disposed of. Direct service today is permitted.
(J.B.PARDIWALA, J.) chandresh Page 6 of 6 HC-NIC Page 6 of 6 Created On Sat Mar 11 00:27:54 IST 2017