Uttarakhand High Court
BA1/1641/2023 on 20 September, 2023
Author: Rakesh Thapliyal
Bench: Rakesh Thapliyal
Office Notes,
reports, orders
SL. or proceedings
Date COURT'S OR JUDGES'S ORDERS
No or directions and
Registrar's order
with Signatures
19.09.2023 BA1 No. 1641 of 2023
Hon'ble Rakesh Thapliyal, J.
1. Mr. Navneet Kaushik, learned counsel appears for the applicant and Mr. Saurabh Pandey, learned Brief Holder appears for the State.
2. The applicant is seeking bail in relation to FIR No. 213 of 2022 in respect of the offences cognizable under Sections 420, 406, 120-B of IPC and Section 3 of the Uttarakhand Protection of Interest of Depositors (In Financial Establishment) Act, 2005, P.S. Haldwani, District Nainital.
3. Counsel for the applicant submits that the applicant was only a salaried employee of JKV Multi- State Credit Co-operative Society Limited, which is registered under the Ministry of Agriculture, Government of India, Head Office at Lucknow, having a Branch at Nawabi Road, Haldwani, District Nainital since 2015. He further submits that the applicant joined this Society in the year 2015 and was posted at Lucknow, and since 2018, despite repeated reminders to the Directors of the Society, the payments were not disbursed to the depositors and ultimately, the applicant resigned from this Society in the year 2018. In reference to this, counsel for the applicant places reliance on a written complaint made by the applicant to the Chairman of the Society dated 03.02.2018, which is appended to the affidavit filed in support of the Bail Application as Annexure-4, which was addressed to all the Directors of the Society. Counsel for the applicant has further placed reliance on the next document, which is a letter written by the applicant to the Chairman of the Society dated 08.05.2019 giving reference that the cheques through which the payments were made to the depositors have been dishonoured. Counsel for the applicant further submits that earlier he was the signatory and when no salary was paid to the applicant since 2019 and after his resignation, his name was not struck-off, then he made a request to the Branch Manager, Central Bank of India, by letter dated 30.04.2020 that his name being a signatory of the Society be removed by updating the Bank records.
4. Counsel for the applicant further submits that after resignation of the applicant from the Society, on 25.04.2022, an FIR was lodged on the complaint of one Vinay Kumar Rathore, one of the depositors, at P.S. Haldwani, bearing FIR No. 213 of 2022, and by this First Information Report, the Directors of the Society were implicated, however, the applicant has not been named in the FIR. Counsel for the applicant further submits that the charge-sheet has already been filed and cognizance has been taken by the learned Sessions Judge on 16.05.2023, and the Charge-Sheet reflects that all the Directors of the Society are absconding. He further submits that the applicant has no criminal history, he was simply a salaried employee of the Society and he has already resigned in the year 2018. He further submits that the applicant is in jail since 06.07.2023, and since the charge-sheet has already been filed, on which cognizance has been taken, there is no scope of tampering with the evidence.
5. Per contra, the State Counsel gave reference of the statements of the witnesses recorded under Section 161 Cr.P.C. He seriously opposed the bail application by saying that during the investigation, credible evidence have been collected against the applicant and the applicant is not entitled for bail.
6. All these aspects are required to be considered during trial. However, since the charge-sheet has been filed and the cognizance has already been taken, without expressing any opinion on the merits of the case, this Court is of the view that this is a fit case for grant of bail.
7. The Bail Application is allowed. Let the applicant be enlarged on bail on his furnishing a personal bond and two reliable sureties each of the like amount to the satisfaction of the Court concerned. It is also made clear that the applicant will furnish his Passport before the Court concerned within a period of one week after being released.
(Rakesh Thapliyal, J) 19.09.2023 Rathour