Gujarat High Court
Amit Suresh Bhatnagar vs Central Bureau Of Investigation on 11 June, 2018
Author: J.B.Pardiwala
Bench: J.B.Pardiwala
R/CR.MA/10360/2018 ORDER
IN THE HIGH COURT OF GUJARAT AT AHMEDABAD
R/CRIMINAL MISC.APPLICATION NO. 10360 of 2018
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AMIT SURESH BHATNAGAR
Versus
CENTRAL BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION
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Appearance:
MR NILESH A PANDYA(549) for the PETITIONER(s) No. 1
MR. RC KODEKAR for the RESPONDENT(s) No. 1
MR. RAKESH PATEL, ADDL. PUBLIC PROSECUTOR(2) for the
RESPONDENT(s) No. 2,3
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CORAM: HONOURABLE MR.JUSTICE J.B.PARDIWALA
Date : 11/06/2018
ORAL ORDER
1. Rule returnable forthwith. Mr. R. C. Kodekar, the learned standing counsel appearing for the CBI waives service of notice of rule for and on behalf of the respondent no. 1. Mr. Rakesh Patel, the learned APP waives service of notice of rule for and on behalf of the respondent nos. 2 and 3.
2. This is an application for temporary bail at the instance of an under-trial accused with the following prayers:-
"(A) This Hon'ble Court be pleased to grant temporary bail to the applicant for a period of 45 days in connection with R.C.No. th RC0292018A0006 dated 26 March, 2018 registered with C.B.I/A.C.B., Gandhinagar for the alleged offence under Sections 120(B) read with Sections 420, 467, 468 and 471 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860 and Section 13(2) read with Section 13(1)(d) of the Prevention of Corruption Act, Page 1 of 9 R/CR.MA/10360/2018 ORDER 1988;
(B) Pending the admission, hearing and final disposal of the present petition, this Hon'ble Court may be pleased to grant ex-parte ad-interim relief in terms of 10(A) above;
(C) This Hon'ble Court may be pleased to dispense with filing of affidavit as the applicant is in jail;
(D) Any other and further relief as deemed just and proper looking to the facts of this case, may kindly be granted in favour of the applicant, in the interest of justice."
3. The daughter of the applicant, namely Shrishti Bhatnagar, who intends to seek admission in the Duke University, North Carolina, USA, for pursuing the course of Master of Management Studies, has filed an affidavit inter alia stating as under:-
"I, Shrishti Bhatnagar, Daughter of Amit Bhatnagar, Aged: 23 years, residing at, 217 B Gotri Sevasi road, Vadodara, Gujarat, do hereby on solemn affirmation state as under:
1. I state that I am the daughter of the applicant and I am filing the present affidavit for purpose of bringing out material particulars about my admission for studying abroad.
2. I say and submit that I applied for Masters in Management in January 2018 in several institutes all over the world especially in the United States of America and London. After going through lengthy process of admission and multiple tests and interviews, I have secured admission in the New York University and Duke University, which are considered to be lvy League colleges in management studies. The acceptance rate at Duke Page 2 of 9 R/CR.MA/10360/2018 ORDER University is only 9% and the deponent through her dedication and hard work could secure the admission in such institution. The deponent will have to bear financial expenses worth $48,559 besides the scholarship which has been granted to the deponent of $35,700. That if the applicant is not granted temporary bail, the deponent will lose her chance to get admission as there is no one who can manage such huge amount of finance except for the father of the deponent who is applicant herein.
3. I say and submit that at present in order to secure admission, the institution-college will require financial arrangements to be made in advance before proceeding further with admission.
That the program begins on 18.07.2018 before which the deponent must secure visa. The cost sheet including reminders from the college for financial arrangement are annexed hereto and marked as Annexure-AA. That the acceptance letter is of 18.04.2018, which is after the applicant was taken into custody and therefore no financial arrangements could be made.
4. I say and submit that on account of incarceration of the applicant who is in custody in connection with the present offence since 17.04.2018 and also because of freezing of bank accounts, seizure of properties, attachment etc. the arrangement of finances is required to be done from other sources viz. Friends and family members. Therefore appropriate order for release of applicant on bail for 45 days be passed.
What is stated herein above is true to the best of my knowledge and belief and I believe the same to be true and correct.
Solemnly affirmed at Ahmedabad on this 11th day of June, 2018."
4. Along with the affidavit, few relevant documents have also been Page 3 of 9 R/CR.MA/10360/2018 ORDER annexed.
5. This application has been vehemently opposed by Mr. Kodekar, the learned standing counsel appearing for the CBI. According to Mr. Kodekar, the offence is very serious and the investigation is still in progress. In such circumstances, it is prayed that the prayer for temporary bail be declined. An affidavit-in-reply has been filed on behalf of the CBI, inter alia, stating as under:-
"1. I, P.K. Ghodeswar, aged adult, working as Dy. Superintendent of Police, Central Bureau of Investigation, having office at Sector-10, Gandhinagar, do hereby file this affidavit in reply of solemn affirmation and state on oath as under.
2. The petition filed by the petitioner/accused (A-3) is not at all maintainable either under law or on facts. Hence, prima facie it is liable to be dismissed in limini.
3. I state that I am competent to file this reply being a IO of the case and authorized officer of the respondent to the petition.
4. I state that I am filing this reply with a view to bringing in certain legal and factual aspects on record.
5. That on the basis of reliable source information a case bearing no. RC 0292018A0006 dated 26.03.2018 was registered in CBI, ACB, Gandhinagar branch against M/s. Diamond Power Infrastructure Limited (DPIL), Vadodara, Gujarat, Shri Suresh Narain Bhatnagar, founder of M/r. DPIL, Shri Amit Suresh Bhatnagar, Joint Managing Director, M/s. Diamond Power Infrastructure Limited (DPIL) and others for the Page 4 of 9 R/CR.MA/10360/2018 ORDER offences punishable under Sections 120-B r/w 420, 467, 468, 471 of IPC and Section 13(2) r/w 13(1)
(d) of The Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988.
6. That searches at the premises were conducted on 05.04.2018 but, he has not joined the investigation and absconded in spite of serving Notice U/s 41-A of Cr.PC at his residence in the night of 05.04.2018.
7. That Shri Amit Suresh Bhatnagar was arrested on 18.04.2018 at 0600 hrs. and was produced before the Ld. Spl. Judge.
8. The Ld. Spl. Court was pleased to grant Police Custody Remand to the accused / applicant till 27.04.2018 and further till 30.04.2018.
9. That, on 30.04.2018 the Ld. Court remanded Judicial Custody to the accused / applicant.
10. That the accused / applicant thereafter filed application U/s. 439 of Cr.PC for Bail and thereafter, after hearing both side argument, the Ld. Spl. Judge has rejected the bail application of the accused / applicant.
11. That accused / applicant has filed this application for temporary bail for a period of 45 days.
12. Hence, the parawise reply to temporary bail application filed by accused applicant Shri Amit Suresh Bhatnagar are submitted as under:-
i. That, the averment made in Para 1 is the matter of record, hence calls for no comments. ii. That, the averment made in Para 2 is the Court matter on record and to state that this Office has not received application for regular bail filed by the accused / applicant as stated in the application. iii. That, the averment made in Para 3 is the matter to state that admission is not a ground for Page 5 of 9 R/CR.MA/10360/2018 ORDER bail. Further, authentication of said letter is not verified.
iv. That, the averments made in para 4 & 5 are the matter to state that in view of the allegations against the accused/ applicant, the admission process can't be a ground for bail as the investigation is at crucial stage. v. That, the averments made in para 6 is the matter to state that this office has received only application for the temporary bail of accused and not for regular bail.
vi. That, the averments made in para 7, 8 & 9 are the matter of legal issues. Hence, call for no comments.
The following are the grounds to reject the temporary bail application of accused/applicant.
A. To ascertain the modus operandi adopted by the company of which he is Managing Director by inflating the turn over for getting enhancement in sanction of Credit Facilities by forging valuable securities is typical in nature for which the staff of the company is required to be extensively examined and if he was granted bail, he may influence the company witnesses and manipulate the records which are yet to be identified and also to be received.
B. Investigation is at crucial stage and there is every possibility that accused/ applicants may tamper with the evidence.
C. There is every possibility that the accused / applicants may influence witnesses.
D. The grant of bail is not maintainable when previous applications were dismissed and no substantial change of circumstances has arisen. State of Maharashtra Vs. Captain Buddhikota Subha Rao, 1898 Cri. L. J. 2317 wherein it is held that a second bail application cannot be allowed unless some new points have been made out and Page 6 of 9 R/CR.MA/10360/2018 ORDER also successive bail application cannot be maintained unless change in the circumstances. In this case, the petitioner has filed Bail/anticipatory bail application one after other successively. All petitions were rejected by the Ld. Spl. Judge. It is pertinent to note that the petitioner and other co accused have absconded right from the beginning and they were arrested after making all out efforts. At this stage, if he is released on bail, certainly this petitioner may abscond thereby affecting speedy investigation adversely and truth will not come to light.
E. It will be difficult to identify the purported involvement of other Private Persons and Bank Officers who prepared false documents & Reports for providing the Credit Facilities to M/s DPIL, if the accused applicant is released on bail.
PRAYER In the light of the aforesaid facts and circumstances, it is prayed that temporary Bail application of accused Shri Amit Suresh Bhatnagar (A-3) may pleased be rejected in the interest of investigation of this case.
And for this act of kindness, the Prosecution shall ever Pray. "
6. Having heard the learned counsel appearing for the parties and having considered the materials on record, more particularly, the fact that the daughter is in a helpless condition as the entire family has been arrested, I am inclined to consider the prayer for temporary bail subject to few conditions. The daughter wants to pursue further studies in the university at North Carolina, USA. She is in need of finance. To enable the applicant to arrange for necessary finance to be paid towards the fees Page 7 of 9 R/CR.MA/10360/2018 ORDER of the university, the applicant is ordered to be released on temporary bail for a period of 20 days from the date of his actual release. However, the temporary release of the applicant for 20 days shall be with the necessary police escort at the cost of the applicant.
7. I am informed that the CBI will have to file charge-sheet within a couple of days as the period of 60 days from the date of arrest of the applicant is going to expire shortly.
8. Be that as it may, I am not going into the merits of the matter. I am persuaded to consider the plea for temporary bail only with a view to help the daughter who wants to pursue studies abroad.
9. The applicant shall furnish a personal bond of Rs. 5,00,000/- (Rupees Five Lakhs) to the satisfaction of the Jail Authority.
10. At this stage, some confusion has arisen with regard to the passport. The learned counsel appearing for the respective parties are not sure about the status of the passport. Well, if the passport is with the CBI, then there should not be any difficulty. However, if the passport is yet to be seized and is with the family members of the applicant, then the same shall be handed over to the CBI latest by tomorrow. The applicant shall be released on temporary bail only after the passport is handed over to the CBI.
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R/CR.MA/10360/2018 ORDER
11. With the above, this application is disposed of. Direct service is permitted.
(J.B.PARDIWALA, J) Bhoomi Page 9 of 9