Punjab-Haryana High Court
Rajesh Kaler @ Rajesh Kumar vs State Of Punjab on 23 February, 2024
Author: Anoop Chitkara
Bench: Anoop Chitkara
Neutral Citation No:=2024:PHHC:025444
CRM-M-64777-2023
IN THE HIGH COURT OF PUNJAB AND HARYANA
AT CHANDIGARH
CRM-M-64777-2023
Reserved on: 14.02.2024
Pronounced on: 23.02.2024
Rajesh Kaler @ Rajesh Kumar ...Pe oner
Versus
State of Punjab ...Respondent
CORAM: HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE ANOOP CHITKARA
Present: Mr. Harsh Goyal, Advocate
for the pe oner.
Mr. A.D.S. Sukhija, Addl. A.G., Punjab.
****
ANOOP CHITKARA, J.
FIR No. Dated Police Sta0on Sec0ons
1 10.02.2017 Economic Offences 409, 420, 467, 468, 471, 201, 120-B
Wing, Vigilance IPC and 13(1) (d) and 13(2) of
Bureau, District Preven on of Corrup on Act, 1988
Ludhiana
1. Apprehending arrest in the FIR cap oned above, the pe oner, who in the year 2015-2016 was posted as Patwari in village Singriwal and allegedly showed inflated rates to help the land owners to get higher compensa on from Competent Authority for Land Acquisi on, headed by Anand Sagar Sharma, who was the Kingpin, had come up before this Court seeking an cipatory bail.
2. On 09.01.2024, on the extreme resistance by the State's counsel, this Court did not grant interim bail to the pe oner but stayed his arrest, and the said interim order is con nuing to date.
3. The facts of the case are being taken from the reply dated 14.02.2024 filed by the concerned Deputy Superintendent of Police, which reads as follows:
1. That it is per nent to men on here that the FIR No. 01 dated 10.02.2017, registered Under Sec on 409, 420, 467, 468, 471, 120-B IPC and Sec on 13 (1) (d) 13 (2) of the Preven on of Corrup on Act 1988, at Police Sta on Economic Offences Wing, Punjab, Vigilance Bureau Ludhiana was ini ally registered a8er Vigilance enquiry no. 09/2016 Jalandhar. Earlier 13 accused were 1 1 of 13 ::: Downloaded on - 24-02-2024 19:38:31 ::: Neutral Citation No:=2024:PHHC:025444 CRM-M-64777-2023 nominated in this FIR and the role played by other 15 suspects was to be inves gated. Therea8er, during the course of inves ga on a SIT was cons tuted to inves gate the said ma=er by the then Chief Director Vigilance Bureau Punjab vide its office order dated 25.05.2018. The said SIT inves gated the ma=er and filed cancella on report before the Hon'ble Special Court of Dr. Ajit A=ri, Ludhiana on 13.06.2019.
2. That the Hon'ble Special Court of Dr. Ajit A=ri, Ludhiana had directed to further inves gate the said FIR vide its order dated 05.04.2022. That as per the direc on of this Hon'ble court the case was further inves gated especially in the light of following 13 points.
a) Whether any permission was sought from the Municipal Commi=ee, Hoshiarpur/administra on prior to publica on of no fica on no.3-A for the development of the colonies or not and what is the exact me of the development of colony if any?
b) Whether the proper procedure for the change in the nature of the land has been followed before issuance of the varia on cer ficates and when the change in the nature of land was applied in each such case and when the necessary procedure was followed in each case of change of the nature of the land? Whether owner of the land moved any wri=en applica on before the SDM with regard to change in nature of the land or not and whether these applica on were entered in the diary by assigning the numbers?
Apart from this, whether the nature of the land could be changed a8er publica on of the no fica on 3-A. 3-D, 3G or not and if it was possible, then what procedure was to be adopted for this purpose? In how many cases the nature of the land is changed a8er the no fica on 3A, 3-D and 3G?
c) Whether the land in ques on has been sold or purchased a8er publica on of no fica on no.3-A and subsequent no fica ons in pursuance to some conspiracy by the accused? The number of the sale deeds executed and registered immediately before and a8er the issuance of the no fica on/s, the market rate of the area prior to those sale deeds and the market rate of the area a8er the issuance of the no fica ons?
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d) In how many cases the applica ons for the change in the nature of the land were received, in how many cases such applica on were allowed and in how many cases the applica ons were not allowed? The en re process followed for the change of the nature of the land?
e) To what extent the amount of compensa on was increased on change of nature of the land on sale/purchase of land in ques on a8er the publica on of no fica on no.3-A?
f) On what basis, the amount of compensa on was calculated?
g) To how many persons the compensa on was disbursed and at what rate, who purchased land a8er the publica on of no fica on 3-A?
h) What were the guidelines of the M.O.R.T.H regarding the aspect of sale/purchase of the land during the process of acquisi on?
i) What were the responsibili es of the CALA regarding the issue of sale/purchase of the land and whether CALA carried out his responsibili es as outlined in the M.O.R.T.H guidelines?
j) Whether the proper procedure was followed by CALA in determina on of I the compensa on to be paid to the land owners?
k) Whether the change of the nature of land in ques on influenced the rates of compensa on, if yes, then how much loss was caused by this to the State?
i) Whether the CALA determined the rates of compensa on bases on nature of the land and market value as on the date of no fica on issued under sec on 3-A of the N.H. Act 1956 or not?
m) Whether the criteria followed for deciding the market value of the lands was based on the parameters provided by the law?
3. That, in order to comply with the direc ons of the Hon'ble court under order dated 05.04.2022, a Special Inves ga on Team (SIT) was cons tuted. Therea8er, during the course of further inves ga on by the said SIT, new facts have been discovered regarding the gravity of offence commi=ed by the accused in the said ma=er. A8er perusal of the case documents by the SIT, it has come to no ce that Dra8 3A schedule was prepared by the survey 3 3 of 13 ::: Downloaded on - 24-02-2024 19:38:32 ::: Neutral Citation No:=2024:PHHC:025444 CRM-M-64777-2023 company Louis Berger group and same was sent to office of XEN PWD Hoshiarpur (Project Director). Therea8er the same dra8 3A Schedule was further sent to the office of co-accused Anand Sagar Sharma who was the then SDM-cum-CALA Hoshiarpur by XEN PWD Hoshiarpur vide office le=er no. 903 dated 19-01- 2015 for verifica on of khasras. It is per nent to men on here that the accused Anand Sagar Sharma the then SDM-cum-CALA Hoshiarpur inten onally and with malafide kept the said Dra8 3A schedule pending in his office for about four months and fraudulently changed the khasra numbers of five villages namely Khwaspur/Piplanwala, DaganaKalan, DaganaKhurd, Hardokhanpur and Bassijana in the 3A schedule. By doing this he illegally created a new road alignment falling in the above men oned five villages. That, in order to prove this illegal road alignment, the present SIT compared both the dra8 3A schedule prepared by Louis burger company and 3A schedule prepared by the accused and then SDM cum CALA Anand Sagar Sharma along with men oned khasra numbers in both and map showing the road alignments through concerned Revenue officials. (Copy of the comparison report and map a=ached herewith as annexure-1).
4. That a8er the crea on of new road alignment in the above men oned five villages the accused Anand Sagar Sharma the then SDM-cum-CALA Hoshiarpur involved his near and close persons namely Harpinder Singh etc. That accused Harpinder Singh started purchasing the agricultural land in villages Khawaspur and Hardokhanpur in is own name and in the name of his family members/rela ves/close associates. Therea8er, in connivance and conspiracy with accused Anand Sagar Sharma, the accused Harpinder Singh and other accused men oned in this FIR received compensa on on colony/residen al rates, which is totally unfair and illegal in the eyes of law. It is worth while to men on here that the present SIT while during the course of inves ga on obtained reports from the concerned departments to verify and inves gate the facts as following:
(i) The SIT obtained report dated 04/10/2023 from the office of District town planner Hoshiarpur and as per this report/record no 4 4 of 13 ::: Downloaded on - 24-02-2024 19:38:32 ::: Neutral Citation No:=2024:PHHC:025444 CRM-M-64777-2023 CLU/Lay out/Site plan/NOC were issued by the then office. In fact there is no communica on between any the accused who filed applica on under 3C and the Office of District town Planner with regard to same. It is crystal clear from the report of DTP dated 04/10/2023 that there is no basic facility like street lights/drainage system/water supply etc. available even as on date as per the record. (Copy of the report dated 04/10/2023 is a=ached as annexure- 2).
(ii) That during the course of inves ga on the report from PSPCL was also obtained. While in the said report dated 10/10/2023 it is specifically men oned that none of accused who filed applica on under 3C has applied for issuance/installa on of the electricity meter nor same been the department as per office record. (The copy of said PSPCL report dated 10/10/2023 a=ached as annexure-3)
(iii) That the current/latest report from the revenue department was also obtained the SIT during the course of inves ga on and as per the said report dated 21/09/2023 there colony/residen al area in the said land described by the accused while filing applica on under 3C. Even the said area is surrounded by agricultural crops as well. (The copy of revenue report dated 21/09/2023 is a=ached annexure-4).
5. That as per the law laid down in the Na onal Highway Act 1956 under sec on 3D(2);-
"On the publica on of the declara on under sub-sec on (1), the land shall vest absolutely in the Central Government free from all encumbrances." But the accused and the then SDM cum CALA Anand Sagar Sharma, in connivance and conspiracy with other accused and by abusing process law kept transferring the ownership tles in the changed khasra numbers in 3A schedule by him even a8er no fica on under 3D/3G, even when the names of actual owners of the land were already published the no fica on under 3D/3G, in order to give compensa on to other accused and conspirators in this ma=er. It is also per nent to men on here that during the course inves ga on actual owners of the land came forward and got recorded their statements that the accused 5 5 of 13 ::: Downloaded on - 24-02-2024 19:38:32 ::: Neutral Citation No:=2024:PHHC:025444 CRM-M-64777-2023 have cheated and defrauded them and their compensa on amount has been grabbed by them, in connivance and conspiracy with each other.
6. Detail of sequen ally published no fica ons regarding the acquisi on of land under Na onal 70 (Now NH-3)(Jalandhar- Chintpurani) as following:
Sr. No. No fica ons Date of publica on in newspaper
1. 3A 14.07.2015
2. 3D 10.11.2015&11.11.2015
3. 3G 01.12.2015
7. Specific role of the accused/pe oner Rajesh Kaler is described as following:
That the accused/pe oner Rajesh Kaler, in connivance and conspiracy with other accused Anand Sagar Sharma (the then SDM-cum-CALA Hoshiarpur) and other accused determined the land value of accused Avtar Singh Johal at commercial rates while the collector rate/value was available. Accordingly, the accused Avtar Singh Johal who had moved a claim applica on under no fica on 3G against his acquired land, could succeed to grab the compensa on amount in excess due to the illegal act of accused/pe oner. (The copy of claim applica on annexure-5) That from the facts men oned here it is crystal clear that the accused/pe oner instead of discharging his du es within the frame of law worked on the instruc ons of other accused Anand Sagar Sharma the then SDM-cum-CALA Hoshiarpur in order to have wrongful gain and cause wrongful loss to others. That the accused/pe oner with mala fide inten on and mensrea and in connivance and conspiracy with other accused as men oned above, determined the land value at commercial rate instead of it's actual collector rate which was available at the me of assessment of the same and caused huge loss to the state exchequer. The said recommenda ons by Tehsildar Baljinder Singh and concerned competent authority under Land Acquisi on Act 6
6 of 13 ::: Downloaded on - 24-02-2024 19:38:32 ::: Neutral Citation No:=2024:PHHC:025444 CRM-M-64777-2023 (NH Act 1956) Cum-S.D.M. Hoshiarpur and final award in excess was distributed (as a=ached in A-5,A-6,A-7,A-8,A- 9,A-10,A-11).
8. That it is per nent to men on here that the present SIT, in addi on to the said FIR added sec on 201 IPC, nominated 42 other accused and mean while declared one accused as innocent vide DDR no. 06 dated 17.11.2023 and accused/applicant is among these 42 accused. It is also worthwhile to men on here that the name of accused/applicant was men oned as suspect ini ally in the present FIR.
It is respecOully prayed that keeping in view above men oned facts and circumstances the present pe on filed by the pe oner, seeking grant of an cipatory bail may kindly be dismissed, in the interest of jus ce."
4. I have heard counsel for the par es and gone through the pleadings and its analysis would lead to the following outcome.
5. Counsel for the pe oner argued that the pe oner -Rajesh Kaler @ Rajesh Kumar, was posted as a Patwari in village Singariwal and no other village; as such, he cannot be burdened with the inflated valua ons carried out in other villages. The State counsel does not dispute this argument. As such, this Court shall read the evidence only about alleged inflated market rates for land acquisi on, in which the pe oner had given reports about valua on rela ng to village Singariwal and none else.
6. The State's counsel submiHed that the pe oner determined the land value at rates which were much higher even than the prevalent market rates for the commercial proper es, for compensa on, whereas he was bound to follow the collectorate rates. The state has annexed Annexure-A-8 at Page No.20 of Affidavit filed today in court, which shows that Compensa on is awarded/recommended by the CALA and Tehsildar aLer considering the Market Prices as per Sec on-26, 27, 28, 29, 30 of Right to Fair Compensa on and Transparency in Land Acquisi on, Rehabilita on and ReseHlement Act, 2013 which comes around Rs.600000/- Per Marla for Showroom. The pe oner's counsel submits that there is no signatures of pe oner on the report or there is no recommenda on of pe oner to consider Market Rate for grant of compensa on. He further submiHed that Sec on-26 of The Right to Fair Compensa on and Transparency in Land Acquisi on, Rehabilita on and ReseHlement Act, 2013 and Sec on-3G (7) (a) empowered the Competent Authority and Arbitrator to grant compensa on on the basis of Market Rates and the CALA has passed award accordingly, which was even approved by M.O.R.T.H. He further argued that the issue in ques on regarding 7 7 of 13 ::: Downloaded on - 24-02-2024 19:38:32 ::: Neutral Citation No:=2024:PHHC:025444 CRM-M-64777-2023 assessment of Market Rate is of Civil Nature and that is challenge able and the concerned authority has already availed their remedy before the Arbitrator Cum Commissioner, Jalandhar, and referred to the copy of one order dated 03-09-2019.
7. The pe oner's counsel's next submission is that some of the beneficiaries have approached this Hon'ble Court for disbursement of compensa on as per Award passed by CALA in ques on dated 27- 04-2016 by way of filling CWP-27621/2023 tled as Mandeep Sharma and others Vs Union of India and CWP-1262-2024 tled as Nand Kishore Sharma vs Union of India, wherein this Hon'ble Court vide order dated 10-1- 2024 and 20-1-2024, directed the Authority/Respondent no.3 therein to bring demand draL for the amount of compensa on payable as per the Award dated 27-04- 2016.
8. The pe oner's next argument is that it is undisputed that one Tata Motors Showroom had been built in village Singariwal, and as such, the land adjacent to such Tata Motors Showroom would also fall in the commercial category.
9. The State's counsel has argued that the collector rate at the commercial/shop plot was Rs.3 lakhs per marla and as such, the rate per acre would be Rs.4 crore 80 lakhs, whereas the pe oner allegedly showed the rate as Rs.5 lakhs per marla which would take the total rate per acre to Rs.8 crore. In the reply dated 14.02.2024, the report prepared by the pe oner has been annexed as Annexure A-7. The English transla on of the said order is annexed on page 19, which reads as follows:
"As per your order the applicant has a showroom at Khasra No. 25-12/3-13 whose collector rate is Rs. 3,00,000/- and market rate is Rs. 5,00,000/- per marla."
10. The pe oner's case is that even if every word of this report is accepted, even then, the pe oner did not commit any offence. The pe oner's counsel submits that the pe oner has men oned the collector rate of the showroom as Rs.3 lakhs per marla and the market rate as Rs. 5 lakhs per marla. He further submits that when CALA Anand Sagar Sharma passed the award, he had assessed the market value as Rs.6 lakhs per marla, which would show that he did not rely upon the report given by the pe oner, Patwari.
11. State counsel opposes this on the ground that it was part of a strategy to inflate the rate brick by brick, and as such, Patwari was instrumental, and he knowingly men oned the market rate as Rs. Five lakhs per marla because there was no reason for him to point out the market rate Rs. Five lakhs per marla without any suppor ve documents.
12. An analysis of the above points out that the pe oner assessed the market rate at Rs. Five lacs per marla, but he has no occasion to assess that market rate of Rs. Five 8 8 of 13 ::: Downloaded on - 24-02-2024 19:38:32 ::: Neutral Citation No:=2024:PHHC:025444 CRM-M-64777-2023 lakhs without any suppor ve documents, which shows that he was in connivance with said Anand Sagar Sharma, the then SDM who inten onally raised it further and assessed the compensa on as Rs.6 lakhs per marla. Further, the report given by the pe oner did not give corrobora ve reference to any sale deed or other valua on to conclude that the market rate had increased from the collector rate of Rs.3 lakhs to Rs. 5 lakhs aLer the no fica on or the breaking of the news of such an acquisi on.
13. Roads are the arteries through which the economy pulses, and Na onal Highways are considered the backbone of our road infrastructure. The Governments allocate and spend massive chunks of tax payer's money for the development of Na onal Highways to provide general assistance to the public- to make ci es more accessible to the masses for their economic, medical, educa onal, and social needs, aiming to provide beHer opportuni es to people to further their development; thereby, targe ng at the overall growth of the country. The rate increases whenever the land acquisi on takes place for a Na onal Highway. When a vital road or infrastructure project is laid, then the rates of adjacent lands also go up. Land price apprecia on depends on various factors like demand, supply, market forces, development of infrastructure, and improved connec vity. However, it is common knowledge that in most places, real estate market rates are much higher than the collector rates. Despite knowing such differences in rates, when it comes to registra on of the proper es, most of the revenue authori es never point out the actual market rates but issue valua on cer ficates at the collectorate rates/ circle rates without correc ng the collector rates/circle rates. Concerned officials mostly refrain from upda ng the data to facilitate the adjustment of black and undeclared money in property transac ons. It causes loss to the State exchequer, which receives lesser registra on and other fees; loss to the Income Tax department because the capital gain tax is less; and a fatal blow to the system because it provides a foolproof method to those government employees who are corrupt, to launder their ill-goHen and bribe money; to the criminals who adjust the proceeds of crime and illicit money; and also to the others to adjust their undeclared income. However, some of these very revenue officials at once refer to the market rates or even the highly inflated current market rates for assessing the compensa on payable for the land acquisi on, making the infrastructural development extremely expensive, breaching the project's es mated costs, and delaying the execu on.
14. A patwari, Kanungo, and Tehsildar are the key revenue officials at the grassroots level and plays a vital role in the revenue administra on at the base level. The allega ons of such major leakages in the system at the base level are a maHer of grave concern and the concerned Government must deal with the corrupt ones with a firm 9 9 of 13 ::: Downloaded on - 24-02-2024 19:38:32 ::: Neutral Citation No:=2024:PHHC:025444 CRM-M-64777-2023 hand because if the termite of corrup on is allowed to fest, at this rate, it would slowly but surely bleed state exchequer dry and make our founda ons hollow.
15. The pe oner, being a patwari, at the ground level is the first func onary to assess the value of land/nature of the land.
16. The pe oner had made a founda on for Anand Sagar Sharma for a grant of higher compensa on. The increase of the rates from Rs.3 lakhs per marla to Rs.5 lakhs per marla without any corrobora ve sale deeds points out that the pe oner was ac ng beyond his official du es with malice and clearly to help the owner of the land to get higher compensa on for acquisi on. Had the pe oner been sincere towards his job, then the moment he would have come to no ce that the market rate was above the collector rate, it was his bounden duty to inform his superior officer to enable them to make an increase in the collector rate of the relevant area which was not done by him, which shows that market rate was not Rs.5 to 6 lakhs per marla but was Rs. 3 lakhs per marla.
17. Suppose the assessment of rates was made before the breaking of the news of land acquisi on, or issuance of no ce under the NHAI Act, or actual acquisi on. In that case, such an assessment can be said to be without any malicious intent. However, that is not the case at hand. The present case establishes the pe oner's malicious intent to benefit the land's owner and certainly in connivance with Anand Sagar Sharma, CALA, who further sanc oned the compensa on at Rs.6 lakhs per marla. Due to this nexus, massive revenue loss was caused to the government. Thus, the pe oner's custodial interroga on is required to determine the financial benefits he had gained from the land purchaser and Anand Sagar Sharma, the then CALA, and recover the said amount, if any.
18. Given the nature of allega ons, custodial interroga on is required. An analysis of the allega ons and evidence collected does not warrant the grant of bail to the pe oner.
19. In Sumitha Pradeep v Arun Kumar CK, 2022 SCC OnLine SC 1529, Supreme Court holds, [16]. ... We have no ced one common argument being canvassed that no custodial interroga on is required and, therefore, an cipatory bail may be granted. There appears to be a serious misconcep on of law that if no case for custodial interroga on is made out by the prosecu on, then that alone would be a good ground to grant an cipatory bail. Custodial interroga on can be one of the relevant aspects to be considered along with other grounds while deciding an applica on seeking an cipatory bail. There may be many cases in which the custodial interroga on of the accused may not be required, but that does not mean that the prima facie case against the accused should be an cipatory bail.
1010 of 13 ::: Downloaded on - 24-02-2024 19:38:32 ::: Neutral Citation No:=2024:PHHC:025444 CRM-M-64777-2023 The first and foremost thing that the court hearing an an cipatory bail applica on should consider is the prima facie case put up against the accused. ThereaLer, the nature of the offence should be looked into along with the severity of the punishment. Custodial interroga on can be one of the grounds to decline an cipatory bail. However, even if custodial interroga on is not required or necessitated, by itself, cannot be a ground to grant an cipatory bail.
20. In State of Gujarat v. Mohanlal Jitamalji Porwal (1987) 2 SCC 364, Supreme Court holds, [5]. ....The en re community is aggrieved if the economic offenders who ruin the economy of the State are not brought to book. A murder may be commiHed in the heat of moment upon passions being aroused. An economic offence is commiHed with cool calcula on and deliberate design with an eye on personal profit regardless of the consequence to the community. A disregard for the interest of the community can be manifested only at the cost of forfei ng the trust and faith of the community in the system to administer jus ce in an even-handed manner without fear of cri cism from the quarters which view white collar crimes with a permissive eye unmindful of the damage done to the na onal economy and na onal interest....."
21. In State rep. by CBI v. Anil Sharma, (1997) 7 SCC 187, Supreme Court holds, [6]. We find force in the submission of the CBI that custodial interroga on is qualita vely more elicita on oriented than ques oning a suspect who is well ensconded with a favourable order under Sec on 438 of the code. In a case like this effec ve interroga on of suspected person is of tremendous advantage in disinterring many useful informa ons and also materials which would have been concealed. Succession such interroga on would elude if the suspected person knows that he is well protected and insulted by a pre-arrest bail during the me he interrogated. Very oLen interroga on in such a condi on would reduce to a mere ritual. The argument that the custodial interroga on is fraught with the danger of the person being subjected to third degree methods need not be countenanced, for, such an argument can be advanced by all accused in all criminal cases. The court has to presume that responsible Police Officers would conduct themselves in task of disinterring offences would not conduct themselves as offenders.
22. InJai Prakash Singh v. State of Bihar and another (2012) 4 SCC 379, Supreme Court holds, [19]. Parameters for grant of an cipatory bail in a serious offence are required to be sa sfied and further while gran ng such relief, the court must record the reasons therefor. An cipatory bail can be granted only in excep onal circumstances where the court is prima facie of the view that the applicant has falsely been enroped in the crime and would not misuse his liberty. [See D.K. Ganesh Babu v. P.T. Manokaran (2007) 4 SCC 434, State of Maharashtra v. Mohd. Sajid Husain Mohd. S. Husain (2008) 1 SCC 213 and Union of India 11 11 of 13 ::: Downloaded on - 24-02-2024 19:38:32 ::: Neutral Citation No:=2024:PHHC:025444 CRM-M-64777-2023 v. Padam Narain Aggarwal (2008) 13 SCC 305].
23. In Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy v. CBI (2013) 7 SCC 439, Supreme Court holds, [34]. Economic offences cons tute a class apart and need to be visited with a different approach in the maHer of bail. The economic offences having deep-rooted conspiracies and involving huge loss of public funds need to be viewed seriously and considered as grave offences affec ng the economy of the country as a whole and thereby posing serious threat to the financial health of the country.
[35]. While gran ng bail, the court has to keep in mind the nature of accusa ons, the nature of evidence in support thereof, the severity of the punishment which convic on will entail, the character of the accused, circumstances which are peculiar to the accused, reasonable possibility of securing the presence of the accused at the trial, reasonable apprehension of the witnesses being tampered with, the larger interests of the public/State and other similar considera ons.
24. In P. Chidambaram v. Directorate of Enforcement, 2019 9 SCC 24, Supreme Court holds, [70]. We are conscious of the fact that the legisla ve intent behind the introduc on of Sec on 438 Cr.P.C., 1973 is to safeguard the individual's personal liberty and to protect him from the possibility of being humiliated and from being subjected to unnecessary police custody. However, the court must also keep in view that a criminal offence is not just an offence against an individual, rather the larger societal interest is at stake. Therefore, a delicate balance is required to be established between the two rights - safeguarding the personal liberty of an individual and the societal interest. It cannot be said that refusal to grant an cipatory bail would amount to denial of the rights conferred upon the appellant under Ar cle 21 of the Cons tu on of India.
25. In Central Bureau of Inves ga on v. Santosh Karnani, Cr.A 1148 of 2023, dated 17-04- 2023, Supreme Court, in an FIR registered under sec ons under Sec ons 7, 13(1) and 13(2) of the Preven on of Corrup on Act, 1988, holds, [24]. The me−tested principles are that no straitjacket formula can be applied for grant or refusal of an cipatory bail. The judicial discre on of the Court shall be guided by various relevant factors and largely it will depend upon the facts and circumstances of each case. The Court must draw a delicate balance between liberty of an individual as guaranteed under Ar cle 21 of the Cons tu on and the need for a fair and free inves ga on, which must be taken to its logical conclusion. Arrest has devasta ng and irreversible social s gma, humilia on, insult, mental pain and other fearful consequences. Regardless thereto, when the Court, on considera on of material informa on gathered by the Inves ga ng Agency, is prima facie sa sfied that there is something more than a mere needle of suspicion against the 12 12 of 13 ::: Downloaded on - 24-02-2024 19:38:32 ::: Neutral Citation No:=2024:PHHC:025444 CRM-M-64777-2023 accused, it cannot jeopardise the inves ga on, more so when the allega ons are grave in nature.
[31]. The nature and gravity of the alleged offence should have been kept in mind by the High Court. Corrup on poses a serious threat to our society and must be dealt with iron hands. It not only leads to abysmal loss to the public exchequer but also tramples good governance. The common man stands deprived of the benefits percola ng under social welfare schemes and is the worst hit. It is aptly said, "Corrup on is a tree whose branches are of an unmeasurable length; they spread everywhere; and the dew that drops from thence, Hath infected some chairs and stools of authority." Hence, the need to be extra conscious.
26. In the background of the allega ons and the light of the judicial precedents men oned above in the facts and circumstances peculiar to this case, the pe oner fails to make a case for an cipatory bail.
27. Any observa on made hereinabove is neither an expression of opinion on the case's merits, neither the court taking up regular bail nor the trial Court shall advert to these comments.
Pe00on dismissed. Interim orders stand vacated. All pending applica ons, if any, also stand disposed.
(ANOOP CHITKARA)
JUDGE
23.02.2024
Jyo -II
Whether speaking/reasoned: Yes
Whether reportable: YES
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Neutral Citation No:=2024:PHHC:025444
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