Gujarat High Court
Ranchchodji Halaji Thakor vs State Of Gujarat on 11 August, 2023
NEUTRAL CITATION
R/CR.MA/5678/2023 ORDER DATED: 11/08/2023
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IN THE HIGH COURT OF GUJARAT AT AHMEDABAD
R/CRIMINAL MISC.APPLICATION NO. 5678 of 2023
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RANCHCHODJI HALAJI THAKOR
Versus
STATE OF GUJARAT
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Appearance:
MR NK MAJMUDAR ADVOCATE WITH MR JIGAR B ACHARYA(10758) for
the Applicant(s) No. 1
MR ABDUL H CHHORIYA(2284) for the Applicant(s) No. 1
MR JK SHAH APP for the Respondent(s) No. 1
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CORAM:HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE NIRAL R. MEHTA
Date : 11/08/2023
ORAL ORDER
[1] By way of this successive bail application under Section 439 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (for short, "the Cr.P.C."), the applicant - original accused No.4 seeks regular bail in connection with an F.I.R. being C.R. No.11195016210493 of 2021 registered with Deesa North Police Station, District : Banaskantha on 17th August 2021 for the offence punishable under Sections 465, 467, 468, 471, 193, 196, 419, 420, 423, 120B and 114 of the Indian Penal Code and Sections 82(a) and 82(c) of the Registration Act.
[2] Fair translation of the impugned F.I.R. is as under: Page 1 of 21 Downloaded on : Sun Sep 17 01:07:45 IST 2023
NEUTRAL CITATION R/CR.MA/5678/2023 ORDER DATED: 11/08/2023 undefined "My name is Motibhai Jorabhai, Caste- Desai (Vatma), aged-42 years, Occupation-agriculture, residing at Rasana Mota Rabarivas, Ta.-Disa, Mo. No.9104292000. I dictate fact of my complaint being present in person at police station that I have been residing at the address mentioned above with my family and have been doing agriculture and maintain livelihood of my family. I have a son and a daughter wherein daughter is elder her name is Mansviben and son is younger his name is Siddhraj. We are two, brother and sister wherein I am elder and younger to me is Joshnaben. My father's name is Jorabhai Nathubhai Desai (Vatma) and mother's name is Rukhiben. My mother-father are residing with me. I have been residing with my motherfather and family at Rasana (Mota) and another person Jorabhai Nathabhai Bhumbhaniya (Desai) also was living in my village bearing same name as of my father's name who died on 31/03/2014 and at present his heirs are living in our village. This Jorabhai Nathabhai Bhumbhaniya of our village who was holding the land bearing R.S.No.94 Paiki 1 and R.S.No. 21+30 Paiki 3 and R.S.No.21+30 Paiki 4 at Disa in the past. He had sold out the said land to the different persons at the relevant time. As muchas about 100 properties are also situated in the said land as on till date. Its owners are different and at present this Jorabhai Nathabhai Desai is not holding any of the aforesaid property and however, he died on 31/03/2014, someone unknown person had hold my father's name falsely, misused my father's name and address thereby prepared false Adhar Card in name of my father Jorabhai Nathabhai Vatma. Its Adhar number is 952458596180, total 04 Page 2 of 21 Downloaded on : Sun Sep 17 01:07:45 IST 2023 NEUTRAL CITATION R/CR.MA/5678/2023 ORDER DATED: 11/08/2023 undefined Adhar Cards were prepared bearing the same number from 16/06/2013 having different photos. That the different Adhar Cards were received my home. Out of that first Adhar card was received by me on 02/2019 and original Adhar card in father's name has been issued from 10//01/2014. its Adhar number is 805508833920 and original Election Card bearing number GJ/14/98/411867 is in my father's name and my father's original PAN card whose number is CTHPD0697Q. It was obtained by my father. But some unknown persons have made four different Adhar cards in my father's name out of my father's knowledge. Wherein there were my father's name and address whereas photos were of another different persons which the four Adhar cards bearing the same numbers were received through mail at my home and an account in AXIS Bank at Disa is running in father's name its A/c number. Is 916010055619803. The said account was opened on 20/9/2016 and as a cheque book was required to my father's account number in year 2019, an application was made for a cheque book. And I have received two cheque books through courier on 06/04/2019 wherein one cheque book was bearing account number of my father wherein the other cheque book had my father's name and address but A/c No 918010107947166 was written and Mobile number 74908 06788 was found on its cover. Therefore, as it created doubt in me, I contacted Disa AXIS Bank. So, the manager of AXIS Bank informed me that account has been opened by holding your father's name falsely and producing false documents. And on inquiring about the aforesaid account by the manager, a bank employee has opened this account after visiting personally Rasana Mota and cheque book has been sent through Page 3 of 21 Downloaded on : Sun Sep 17 01:07:45 IST 2023 NEUTRAL CITATION R/CR.MA/5678/2023 ORDER DATED: 11/08/2023 undefined courier. Therefore as I came to know that false account has been opened in my father's name, I submitted application to the bank manager and closed the account bearing number 918010107947166 and on receiving a post from Central Bank of India Patan, I reached there Central Bank of India Patan and inquired, I came to know that Patan Central Bank of India whose branch code is (280470). The bank account with number 39692623969 was opened in the name of my father and after creating a fake PAN card in the name of my father with number AYFPV1918B, it was produced in the bank. Further, the number of my father's old voter ID card was GJ/14/098/411867 in the voters' list of Rasana Mota, Taluka - Disa. The government made changes in the Vidhan Sabha and new numbers were issued, in which the new number of my father's voter ID card is WEE2060598. When I got the copy of the said new voter ID card, it has the name of my father but the photograph in it is of an unknown person, whom we do not know. Further, in 02/2021, I received a phone call of Lalabhai Soni from the mobile number 9825268838, who has a shop in the Soni Bazaar of Disa. As he called me to meet him, I went to meet him at his shop in the Soni Bazaar at Disa. At that time, the said Lalabhai told me that your father has got executed false sale deed. Therefore, when I asked my father in this regard, he told me that I have not executed any sale deed. Therefore, when I went to the Disa Sub-registrar office and made verification in records, I came to know that there was a person with a similar name of my father in our village. His name was Jorabhai Nathabhai Desai and he died on 31/03/2014. In past, he had the land at Disa with Revenue Survey No - 94 paiki 1 Page 4 of 21 Downloaded on : Sun Sep 17 01:07:45 IST 2023 NEUTRAL CITATION R/CR.MA/5678/2023 ORDER DATED: 11/08/2023 undefined and R.S. No - 21+30 paiki 3 and R.S. No - 21+30 paiki 4, which he had sold to different owners at the respective time. But the registered agreement for sale of Rs. 2,00,00,000/- (Two Crore) was executed for the said land to Mahendrakumar Pasottambhai Patel, Residing at - Patelwaas Dabhadi, Taluka - District - Patan through the Disa Sub-registrar Office, Sale Deed Serial No - 35 dated 05/01/2017 by some unknown persons after holding the name of my father. It was found that the identity of the unknown person as Jorabhai Nathabhai Desai was given by (1) Damarabhai Purabhai Patel, residing at - Talegadh, Taluka - Disa District - Banaskantha and (2) Jitendrakumar Hemrajbhai Chaudhary, residing at - Sangthal, Taluka - Kheralu, District - Mehsana. Further, after holding the name of father, the unknown person executed the general power of attorney on 30/09/2016 in favour of Amratbhai Ramjibhai Desai, residing at - 561, Harsiddh Nagar, Bodakdev, Ahmedabad, Aadhar Card No - 919145239349, for the lands of Disa Revenue Survey No - 94 paiki 1 and R.S. No - 21+30 paiki 3 and R.S. No - 21+30 paiki 4 at Ahmedabad through Book No - 4 of the Notary Register No - 7280/2016 of Notary Shri Bhavana G. Patel on the basis of the fabricated documents in the name of my father. The identity of Jorabhai Nathabhai Desai was given in the said power of attorney document and Thakor Ranchhodji Halaji, residing at - Thakorwaas, Ganeshpura Jamanpur, Taluka - Harij, District - Patan, is the witness for the same. Further, one advocate has given his identity. Further, on 04/02/2019, the unknown person executed an affidavit before the Notary Mr. Bansilal P. Yadav of Disa on the basis of the false documents prepared with the similar Page 5 of 21 Downloaded on : Sun Sep 17 01:07:45 IST 2023 NEUTRAL CITATION R/CR.MA/5678/2023 ORDER DATED: 11/08/2023 undefined name of my father stating that the name in the bank, Aadhar Card and PAN card is Vatma Jorabhai Nathubhai, but my name is Desai Jorabhai Nathabhai in the abstract of village form no - 7x12, 8-A and Rabari Jorabhai Nathabhai in the order passed by the Collector, the person having all the said surnames and names is one and the same. Also on the basis of the fake Power of Attorney given by the impersonated (fake) Jorabhai Nathabhai - (the unknown person), Amratbhai Ramjibhai Desai has executed the Deed of the property of Rev. Sr. no. 94 paiki 1 and R.S. no. 21+30 paiki 3 in his favor by the new number of Sale Deed - no. 30 Dtd. 01/01/2021 in the Office of the Sub-Registrar, at Deesa.
In the execution of this document, there are the names and signatures of the witness (1) Ranchhodji Halaji Thakor, Resi. at- Thakor vass, Ganeshpura, Jamanpur, Tal. Dist. Patan and (2) Lakhaji Gandaji Thakor, Resi. At - Thakor vaas, Khariya, Tal. Kankrej, Dist. Banaskantha. Also on the basis of this Power of Attorney, Amrat Ramji Desai has executed the new number- 31, dtd. 01/01/2021 of the Sale Deed in his favour in the property of Rev. Sur. no. 21+30 paiki 4 from the Office of Sub-Registrar, at - Deesa vide. In this deed the names and signatures of following witnesses; (1) Thakor Ranchhodji Halaji - and - (2) Vinuji Ambaramji Thakor - Both - residing at - Thakor Vaas, Ganeshpura, Jamanpur, Tal. Harij, Dist. Patan. In this way, the accused persons of this case have committed an offence by misusing the name and address of my father, by fabricating the fake voter id card, Aadhar Card and PAN card of my father, by producing the false and fabricated documents in the Axis Bank - Deesa and in the Central Bank - Patan, by opening the (fake) Page 6 of 21 Downloaded on : Sun Sep 17 01:07:45 IST 2023 NEUTRAL CITATION R/CR.MA/5678/2023 ORDER DATED: 11/08/2023 undefined account in the name of my father, by drafting false Power of Attorney, executed the false documents (Sale Deeds) of the lands of Rev. Survey nos. 94 paiki 1, R.S. no. 21 + 30 paiki 3 and of R.S. no. 21+30 paiki 4 at - Deesa. We have submitted an application (complaint) in the Rural Police Station at - Deesa on 21/04/2021, the P.S.I. - Mr. Jadav of the said Po. Stn. had carreid out the investigation and have identified the accused persons of this offence. In which it was found that the false Aadhar Card, Election Card and PAN card of my father were made and the accounts were opened in the Asix Bank - Deesa and in the Central Bank - Patan, also they have produced an unknown person by impersonating him as my father, have executed the Power of Attorney of the aforementioned all three land properties, have initiated the Deed nos. 35/2017 - dtd. 05/01/2017 in the Office of Sub-Registrar at - Deesa. The above mentioned all three Power of Attorneys have been drafted by - Popat Gagaji Hemasiya (Thakor), Resi - Udarna, Tal, Tharad, Dist. Banaskantha, in which they have given the identification of an unknown person and have produced him as my father - Jorabhai Natha Desai. In this Power of Attorney, Ranchhodji Halaji Thakor, Resi. - Thakorvaas, Ganeshpura, Jamanpur, Tal. Haarij, Dist. Patan has put his signature in P.o.A. and Popat Gagaji Hemasiya (Thakor) - Resi. At
- Udarna, Tal. Tharad, Dist. Banaskantha has impersonated himself as my father. While executing the Deed - no. 35/2017 at the office of Sub-Registrat at Deesa, the (false) identification of my father Jora Nathu Desai (Vaatma) was given by Damra Pura Patel, Resi. At - Talegadh, Tal. Deesa and by Jitendra Hemraj Chaudhri - Resi. At Sangthala, Tal. Kheralu, Dist. Mehsana. Page 7 of 21 Downloaded on : Sun Sep 17 01:07:45 IST 2023
NEUTRAL CITATION R/CR.MA/5678/2023 ORDER DATED: 11/08/2023 undefined Hence, they have fabricated the false documents of the name of my father have produced the same as true although on being knowing that those are fake documents and have produced before the Government Officers as an evidence in the official - legal procedures. Hence, they have fabricated a criminal conspiracy in collusion with one another, committed cheating. As my father is aged and he remains sick, so I have came today to lodge the complaint. Hence it is my complaint to carry out the investigation against the accused persons of this case and against all who are found guilty during the course of investigation. Such is my complaint, which is true and proper as dictated by me." [3] Pursuant to the aforesaid F.I.R., the applicant came to be arrested on 16th December 2021. Therefore, the applicant had preferred an application for regular bail before the learned Sessions Judge, Banaskantha. However, the said application was rejected. Being aggrieved by the said order, the applicant had approached this Court by way of Criminal Miscellaneous Application No.956 of 2022. The said application was dismissed as withdrawn vide order dated 23rd February 2022. Thereafter, the Investigating Agency has filed chargesheet on 8th March 2022. Thus, the applicant again approached the learned Sessions Judge, Banaskantha by way of Criminal Miscellaneous Application No.166 of 2022. However, the said application came to be rejected by the learned Sessions Judge Page 8 of 21 Downloaded on : Sun Sep 17 01:07:45 IST 2023 NEUTRAL CITATION R/CR.MA/5678/2023 ORDER DATED: 11/08/2023 undefined on 25th March 2022. Being aggrieved and dissatisfied by the aforesaid, the applicant had again approached this Court by way of Criminal Miscellaneous Application No.6869 of 2022 and the said application was rejected by this Court vide order dated 16 th September 2022.
[4] As the other two accused persons have been released on bail by the Coordinate Bench of this Court vide order dated 23 rd January 2023 passed in Criminal Miscellaneous Application No.716 of 2023 and order dated 8 th February 2023 passed in Criminal Miscellaneous Application No.23425 of 2022, the present applicant has approached this Court by way of this Criminal Miscellaneous Application on the ground of parity being change of circumstances. [5] I have heard learned advocate Mr. N. K. Majmudar for the applicant and learned A.P.P. Mr. J. K. Shah for the respondent - State of Gujarat.
[6] Learned advocate Mr. N. K. Majmudar for the applicant, while praying for regular bail, has made only one submission as under:
Page 9 of 21 Downloaded on : Sun Sep 17 01:07:45 IST 2023
NEUTRAL CITATION R/CR.MA/5678/2023 ORDER DATED: 11/08/2023 undefined [6.1] Learned advocate Mr. Majmudar for the applicant submitted that the other co-accused persons having more or less the same role as that of the present applicant have been released by the Coordinate Bench of this Court and thereby, on the ground of parity and the same being subsequent development can be said to be material change in circumstances, and therefore, the present applicant deserves to be enlarged on bail.
[7] By making above submissions, learned advocate Mr. Majmudar has prayed this Court to release the applicant on bail.
[8] Per contra, learned A.P.P. Mr. J. K. Shah for the respondent -
State of Gujarat, while opposing the present successive bail application, has made the following submissions:
[8.1] Learned A.P.P. Mr. J. K. Shah has vehemently opposed the present application contending, inter alia, that the application being successive in nature does not require to be entertained as no material change, on fact or law, occurred, and thereby, the present application deserves to be rejected.Page 10 of 21 Downloaded on : Sun Sep 17 01:07:45 IST 2023
NEUTRAL CITATION R/CR.MA/5678/2023 ORDER DATED: 11/08/2023 undefined [8.2] Learned A.P.P. Mr. Shah further submitted that the orders dated 23rd January 2023 and 8th February 2023 passed in Criminal Miscellaneous Applications Nos.716 of 2023 and 23425 of 2022 respectively by the Coordinate Bench of this Court, if perused, no role whatsoever of any of the accused has been discussed and/or no reasons have been assigned indicating what weighed with the Coordinate Bench of this Court, and thereby, the parity, as claimed by the present applicant, cannot be extended.
[8.3] Learned A.P.P. Mr. Shah further submitted that earlier, this Court has rejected bail application of the present applicant vide order dated 16th September 2022. Thus, the other two orders dated 23rd January 2023 and 8th February 2023, which are referred to by the present applicant, are admittedly subsequent to the order dated 16th September 2022 passed by this Court in the case of the present applicant. However, in the subsequent two orders passed by the Coordinate Bench of this Court, no reference appears to have been made of the order dated 16th September 2022 passed by this Court in the case of the present applicant.
[8.4] Over and above the aforesaid, according to learned A.P.P. Mr. Page 11 of 21 Downloaded on : Sun Sep 17 01:07:45 IST 2023 NEUTRAL CITATION R/CR.MA/5678/2023 ORDER DATED: 11/08/2023 undefined Shah, the applicant herein is the main accused who created a design, wherein he persuaded accused No.1 - Popatbhai Gangaji Hemasiya (Thakore) to impersonate as Jora Natha, and in turn, got executed one power of attorney in favour of Amratbhai Ramjibhai Desai. By virtue of the said power of attorney, accused No.1 -
Popatbhai Gangaji Hemasiya (Thakore) impersonated himself as Jora Natha and given power of attorney to Amratbhai Ramjibhai Desai in connection with the properties owned by real Jora Natha.
Mr. Shah further submitted that in the entire process, the name of the complainant's father which is Jora Nathu is quite similar, thereby his name came to be used, and for which, many documents such as Aadhar Car, PAN Card, Election Card came to be forged.
[8.5] To substantiate the aforesaid contentions, learned A.P.P. Mr. Shah has heavily relied upon the following statements of the witnesses:
[i] Vinuji Ambaji Thakore, statement dated 21st January 2022 [ii] Anil Mehram, statement dated 27th January 2022 [iii] Pankajbhai Pravinbhai, statement dated 27th January 2022 Page 12 of 21 Downloaded on : Sun Sep 17 01:07:45 IST 2023 NEUTRAL CITATION R/CR.MA/5678/2023 ORDER DATED: 11/08/2023 undefined [iv] Amratbhai Ramjibhai Desai, statement dated 7th January 2022.
[8.6] Learned A.P.P. Mr. Shah, by relying upon the aforesaid statements, emphatically submitted that the role of the applicant herein is not only as that of signing as a witness, but it emerges as that of a main accused, and thereby, learned A.P.P. Mr. Shah has strongly urged this Court not to grant bail to the applicant herein.
[8.7] Learned A.P.P. Mr. Shah also submitted that the applicant herein is a habitual offender and having antecedents of similar in nature. He submitted that the applicant herein is having habit of committing the offence, more particularly, by way of land dealing.
Learned A.P.P. Mr. Shah submitted that the applicant herein is involved in another F.I.R. being I-C.R. No.85 of 2015 registered on 22nd September 2015 registered with Harij Police Station, District :
Patan for the offence punishable under Sections 406, 420, 306 and 114 of the Indian Penal Code, wherein, in all, six accused persons have been named in the said F.I.R. including the applicant herein.
It is alleged in the said F.I.R. that all the accused along with applicant herein have executed some agreements in connection Page 13 of 21 Downloaded on : Sun Sep 17 01:07:45 IST 2023 NEUTRAL CITATION R/CR.MA/5678/2023 ORDER DATED: 11/08/2023 undefined with the land which was not owned by them and appropriated a sum of Rs.35 to Rs.40 Lakh and thereby, three persons had committed suicide and the said case, at present, is going on before the competent Trial Court. Therefore, learned A.P.P. Mr. Shah has vehemently opposed the present application and urged this Court not to exercise discretion in favour of the applicant herein. [8.8] Learned A.P.P. Mr. Shah further submitted that as such the advertisement of title of the land, which was published in a newspaper in the name of one advocate Kiranben Patel, also appears to be bogus one. According to learned A.P.P. Mr. Shah, as per the statement of Kiranben Patel dated 19 th February 2022, she had never given any title with regard to said land in the newspaper and as such, she stated that the address shown in the title advertisement is the office which was closed by her before two years. Therefore, learned A.P.P. Mr. Shah submitted that the applicant herein has committed one another forgery by misusing the name and letter pad of a lawyer and published the title certificate in the newspaper.
[9] By making above submissions, learned A.P.P. Mr. Shah for Page 14 of 21 Downloaded on : Sun Sep 17 01:07:45 IST 2023 NEUTRAL CITATION R/CR.MA/5678/2023 ORDER DATED: 11/08/2023 undefined the respondent - State of Gujarat has requested this Court to dismiss the present application.
[10] I have heard the learned advocates appearing for the respective parties and have gone through the material produced on record in details. No other and further submissions have been canvassed by the learned advocates appearing for the respective parties except what are stated hereinabove. [11] Considering the submissions of learned advocates appearing for the respective parties, a short question that falls for consideration of this Court is whether the present applicant is entitled to be released on bail in successive bail application? [12] So as to decide the aforesaid question, it would be apt to take note of certain facts as under:
[12.1] The present applicant is a habitual offender and committed the alleged offence while he was on bail in connection with earlier offence of the similar nature. In the earlier offence, the applicant received amount by executing agreement with regard to property which was not owned by him and consequently, the Page 15 of 21 Downloaded on : Sun Sep 17 01:07:45 IST 2023 NEUTRAL CITATION R/CR.MA/5678/2023 ORDER DATED: 11/08/2023 undefined person who paid the amount was duped, and therefore, the entire family committed suicide.
[12.2] In the earlier bail application, this Court has rejected application with reasoned order and the said reasons and observations and/or order was not subjected to any challenge.
[12.3] The role of the present applicant, prima facie, is emerging as that of main accused, who has introduced accused No.1 - Popatbhai Gangaji Hemasiya to Sureshbhai Girdharbhai Patel and Amratbhai Desai impersonating him as Jora Natha knowing fully well that Jora Natha died long back. Therefore, false power of attorney came to be prepared, by which accused No.1 -
Popatbhai Gangaji Hemasiya has given power to Amratbhai Desai impersonating himself as Jora Natha. In the said power of attorney, the present applicant has singed as a witness. In the said process, PAN Card, Election Card, AADHAR Card were also forged.
[13] Considering the case of parity, if the orders dated 23rd January 2023 and 8th February 2023 passed in Criminal Miscellaneous Applications Nos.716 of 2023 and 23425 of 2022 Page 16 of 21 Downloaded on : Sun Sep 17 01:07:45 IST 2023 NEUTRAL CITATION R/CR.MA/5678/2023 ORDER DATED: 11/08/2023 undefined respectively by the Coordinate Bench of this Court are perused, in the said orders, nowhere it has been discussed the role about the accused therein nor appears to have assigned any reason indicating what had weighed with the Coordinate Bench of this Court while granting bail to the other two accused persons, and thereby, in my considered opinion, merely because the other two accused persons have been enlarged on bail by the Coordinate Bench of this Court, the said orders would not be automatically entitled to the other accused to claim parity, and that too, in a successive bail application.
[14] The present application being successive in nature, has a very limited scope. So as to appreciate the ambit and scope of the successive bail application, it would be apt to take note of the decision of the Hon'ble Apex Court in case of Kalyan Chandra Sarkar vs. Rajesh Ranjan @ Pappu Yadav reported in 2005(2) GLR 921, wherein the Hon'ble Apex Court has held in paras 17, 18 and 19 as under :
"17. It is trite law that personal liberty cannot be taken away except in accordance with the procedure established by law.Page 17 of 21 Downloaded on : Sun Sep 17 01:07:45 IST 2023
NEUTRAL CITATION R/CR.MA/5678/2023 ORDER DATED: 11/08/2023 undefined Personal liberty is a constitutional guarantee. However, Article 21 which guarantees the above right also contemplates deprivation of personal liberty by procedure established by law. Under the criminal laws of this country, a person accused of offences which are non bailable is liable to be detained in custody during the pendency of trial unless he is enlarged on bail in accordance with law. Such detention cannot be questioned as being violative of Article 21 since the same is authorised by law. But even persons accused of non bailable offences are entitled for bail if the court concerned comes to the conclusion that the prosecution has failed to establish a prima facie case against him and/or if the court is satisfied for reasons to be recorded that in spite of the existence of prima facie case there is a need to release such persons on bail where fact situations require it to do so.
18. In that process a person whose application for enlargement on bail is once rejected is not precluded from filing a subsequent application for grant of bail if there is a change in the fact situation. In such cases if the circumstances then prevailing requires that such persons to be released on bail, in spite of his earlier applications being rejected, the courts can do so. The principles of res judicata and such analogous principles although are not applicable in a criminal proceeding, but the courts are bound by the doctrine of judicial discipline having regard to the hierarchical system prevailing in our country. The findings of a higher court or a coordinate bench must receive serious consideration at the hands of the court entertaining a bail application at a later stage when the same had been rejected Page 18 of 21 Downloaded on : Sun Sep 17 01:07:45 IST 2023 NEUTRAL CITATION R/CR.MA/5678/2023 ORDER DATED: 11/08/2023 undefined earlier. In such an event, the courts must give due weight to the grounds which weighed with the former or higher court in rejecting the bail application. Ordinarily, the issues which had been canvassed earlier would not be permitted to be re- agitated on the same grounds, as the same it would lead to a speculation and uncertainty in the administration of justice and may lead to forum hunting.
19. The decisions given by a superior forum, undoubtedly, is binding on the subordinate fora on the same issue even in bail matters unless of course, there is a material change in the fact situation calling for a different view being taken. Therefore, even though there is room for filing a subsequent bail application in cases where earlier applications have been rejected, the same can be done if there is a change in the fact situation or in law which requires the earlier view being interfered with or where the earlier finding has become obsolete. This is the limited area in which an accused who has been denied bail earlier, can move a subsequent application. Therefore, we are not in agreement with the argument of learned counsel for the accused that in view the guaranty conferred on a person under Article 21 of the Constitution of India, it is open to the aggrieved person to make successive bail applications even on a ground already rejected by courts earlier including the Apex Court of the country."
[15] The Hon'ble Apex Court has, in the case of Pratibha Manchanda and another vs. State of Haryana and another rendered Page 19 of 21 Downloaded on : Sun Sep 17 01:07:45 IST 2023 NEUTRAL CITATION R/CR.MA/5678/2023 ORDER DATED: 11/08/2023 undefined in Criminal Appeal No.1793 of 2023, decided on 7th July 2023, while considering the anticipatory bail, observed that while deciding the issue touching the personal liberty of a person, it is equally incumbent to analyze the seriousness of the offence and the impact on the society. Considering the aforesaid recent judgement of the Hon'ble Supreme Court, while granting bail, the Court has to strike balance between the personal liberty of the accused and the impact of the enlargement of the accused on the society by considering the seriousness of offence. In the instant case, the present applicant has, in the past, criminal antecedents, and in the said offence, three family members made to commit suicide and the present offence has been committed during the bail in connection with the earlier offence, thus, if the present applicant is enlarged on bail, in my view, the impact on the society would be negative in nature. Thus, on that ground also, the present applicant does not require any consideration.
[16] In view of the aforesaid discussion and keeping in mind the scope and ambit of successive bail, if the only contention of the present applicant with regard to parity is tested, the same deserves Page 20 of 21 Downloaded on : Sun Sep 17 01:07:45 IST 2023 NEUTRAL CITATION R/CR.MA/5678/2023 ORDER DATED: 11/08/2023 undefined no consideration being no material change in circumstances. [17] Over and above, as has been discussed hereinabove, the present applicant appears to be the main accused and not only that, he is also a habitual offender, in that event, no sympathy can be extended. The scope of successive bail, as discussed, is very narrow, and thereby, this Court would not like to exercise its discretionary power under Section 439 of the Cr.P.C. in favour of the present applicant.
I answer the question accordingly.
[18] Resultantly, present application is rejected.
(NIRAL R. MEHTA,J) CHANDRESH Page 21 of 21 Downloaded on : Sun Sep 17 01:07:45 IST 2023