IMRAN AHMED Vs. NATIONAL INVESTIGATING AGENCY

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This appeal by the accused seeks to lay a challenge to the order dtd. 19/11/2022 (Annexure-A) rendered by the learned XIX Addl. City Civil & Session Judge (Special Court for NIA cases) at Bangalore, whereby his regular bail petition filed u/s 439 of Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (hereafter 1973 Code) in Spl.C.C.No.141/2021, has been negatived, for the second time.

(2.) After service of notice, the respondent-National Investigating Agency (hereafter NIA) has entered appearance through its Senior Special Public Prosecutor, who vociferously opposed the appeal making submission in justification of the impugned order and the reasons on which it has been constructed.

(3.) BRIEF FACTS OF THE CASE: (i) On the eventful night of 11/8/2020, riots broke out in the K.G.Halli area of Bangalore City; the miscreants had attacked the local police station and had set it on fire; there was extensive damage to the private & public property; the government & private vehicles were ransacked; members of the public were terrorized; police officials who could have run for saving their lives & limbs, held the ground despite being attacked with stones, iron rods, wooden sticks, 'improvised petrol bombs' and such other weapons. Ultimately, the police had to resort to lathi charge, and firing too to dispel the organized offenders. The incident with enormous infamy, came to be known as 'K.G.Halli Riots'. (ii) Several criminal cases came to be registered against the miscreants huge in number, for the offences punishable under Sec. 143, 147, 148, 353, 332, 333, 436, 427 and 149 of Indian Penal Code, 1860 and under Sec. 4 of the Prevention of Damage to Public Property Act, 1984 (hereafter '1984 Act'). Of these cases, Crime Nos.227 of 2020, 228 of 2020 & 229 of 2020 are prominent. On 17/8/2020, after obtaining approval of the competent authority and permission from the learned XI ACMM, Mayo Halli, Bangalore City, other charging provisions namely Sec. 15, 16, 18 & 20 of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967 (hereafter '1967 Act') were added in Crime No.229 of 2020. As many as 181 persons were accused and of them, 141 including a juvenile came to be arrested; 12 were cited as absconding and one had died during police firing. (iii) Regard being had to the enormity of violence, the gruesome way things were accomplished by the organized offenders and extensive damage caused to the private & public property, the Central Government through its Ministry of Home Affairs, New Delhi, vide order dtd. 21/9/2020, issued under Sec. 6(4) read with Sec. 8 of National Investigating Agency Act, 2008, directed the respondent-NIA to take up the investigation of the case in Crime No.229 of 2020. Accordingly, the NIA re-registered the said crime as R.C.No.35/2020/NIA/DLI on 21/9/2020. The re-registered FIR was submitted to the NIA Special Court on 22/9/2020. The case was endorsed to NIA Branch Office, Hyderabad. The State Police/CCB handed over the records to the NIA on 23/9/2020. The NIA having investigated into the offences, has filed the charge sheet which inter alia stated about the involvement and role of the appellant herein as accused No.22 in the incident; he was part of the terrorist gang, which had a common intention & object, in perpetrating the offences alleged. The greater details of the incident avail in the charge sheet and gist of that has been furnished in the NIA Statement of Objections filed resisting the bail petitions. (iv) Appellant's earlier bail petition in Spl.C.C.No.141/2021 came to be rejected by the learned Spl. Judge of the Court below vide order dtd. 19/11/2022 and the same came to be affirmed in his earlier appeal in Crl.A.No.585/2021 a/w Crl.A.Nos.576/2021, 582/2021 & 745/2021 by a Coordinate Bench of this Court on 15/9/2021. Again, one more bail petition was presented in Spl.C.C.No.152/2021 and that too having been negatived, he, in this appeal, is grieving against the same. Learned SPP has filed his Statement of Objections and resisted the appeal by making submission in justification of the impugned order. Both the sides have relied upon certain decisions in support of their respective versions.