PRAVEEN Vs. STATE OF KARNATAKA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The petitioners/Accused Nos. 4 and 10 have filed this petition under Sec. 438 of Cr.P.C. seeking to release them on anticipatory bail in Crime No.223/2022 of Halasurugate Police Station, Bengaluru City, registered for the offences punishable under Ss. 415, 468, 420, 120(B) read with Sec. 34 of IPC and Ss. 3 and 4 of the Karnataka Prohibition of Charging Exorbitant Interest Act, 2004 and also under Ss. 38 and 39 of Money Lenders Act 1961, pending on the file of I Additional ACMM at Bengaluru.

(2.) As per the case of the prosecution, the complainant is carrying out the wholesale silk saree and cloth business at J.M. Road, Bengaluru. For the purpose of improvement of his business, he used to borrow loan from Accused No.1 to 12 on interest at the rate of 5% to 10% p.a. As security the complainant used to issue post-dated cheques to accused persons either in their name or in the name of other persons as per their directions. It is also alleged that in spite of repayment of loan amount with exorbitant interest, the accused are demanding further amount from the complainant with compound interest and threatening him with dire legal consequences by retaining his signed cheques in their custody and they are threatening him with dire consequences with the aid of antisocial elements. As such, the complainant has lodged a private complaint before the learned I Addl. Chief Metropolitan Magistrate, Bengaluru.

(3.) The said private complaint came to be registered in PCR No.13866/2022 before the I-ACMM, Bengaluru. By order dtd. 1/9/2022, the learned I- ACMM has referred the matter to the Halasurugate Police under Sec. 156(3) of Cr.P.C for investigation.