LAXMIKANT TIWARI Vs. DIRECTORATE OF ENFORCEMENT

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This is first bail application filed under Sec. 439 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 for grant of regular bail to the applicant, who has been arrested on 13/10/2022 in connection with Crime No. ECIR/RPZO/09/2022 dtd. 29/9/2022 registered at Police Station- Directorate of Enforcement, Zonal Office, Raipur (C.G.) for the offence punishable under Sec. 3 and 4 of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002 (for short "the PMLA, 2002").

(2.) The case of the prosecution is that during a search and seizure action under Sec. 132 of the Income Tax Act conducted on 30/6/2022 one Mr. Suryakant Tiwari at a hotel room of Hotel Shereton Grand, Bengaluru, certain incriminating materials are said to have been found, based upon which a complaint was lodged by the Income Tax Department at the Kadugodi, Police Station Bengaluru alleging offences under Ss. 186, 204 and 353 read with Section120B of the IPC which led to the registration of the FIR. Based up on the further investigation the Enforcement Directorate registered ECIR No. RPZO/09/2022 and further investigation was conducted. In the course of the investigation the present applicant was summoned and finally the applicant was arrested on 13/10/2022.

(3.) It is case of the prosecution that the prosecution has recovered diaries from the possession of Smt. Soumya Chourasiya and the main accused- Suryakant Tiwari, which would reveal transaction of cash money between Smt. Soumya Chourasiya and the main accused- Suryakant Tiwari. It is also case of the prosecution that object of Suryakant Tiwari to tamper and destroy the important documents as well as electronic gadgets and Suryakant Tiwari along with his brother, Rajnikant Tiwari and his associates Hemant Jaiswal, Jogendra Singh, Moinuddin Quaraishi, Nikhil Chandrakar, Roshan Singh and others were involved a criminal conspiracy to run a parallel system of collecting illegal levy on coal and were doing illegal and unaccounted cash movement as per instructions of Suryakant Tiwari. All the above mentioned associates of Suryakant Tiwari had admitted in their statements recorded before the Income Tax officials that they were doing the illegal levy collection on the instructions of Suryakant Tiwari. The proceeds received from the above referred to action were being used for taking undue advantage and to influence public servants by corrupt and illegal means and by exercise of personal influence.