SUBHASH GUPTA Vs. STATE

JUDGEMENT

(1.) BY this petition the petitioner, a M.C.D. contractor, who is one of the accused in Sessions Case No. 75/97, FIR No. 340/96, P.S. Okhla Industrial Area, under sections 364/302/201/216/411/120B/34 Indian Penal Code seeks bail. The accusation against the petitioner is that he along with his associates, namely, Kamal Singh @ Shaily, Vibhor Singh @ Lovi, Vijay Mohan Sharma @ Minto, Dr.Hemant Kalra, Viney Kumar @ Vinu, Ravi Prakash @ Ravi Shard Gupta Agarwal, Kamal Kumar @ Pinki and Jaindender KumaR Tyagi @ JK, were involved in the macabre crime in which three persons were murdered. The victims were Dr.Sunil Kaul, proprietor of Personal Point, and his two employees Sujata Saha and Deepa Sharma. The petitioner had known accused Ravi Prakash as he happens to be the brother-in-law of one Vijay Prakash who was posted as an Executive Engineer in the M.C.D. from January 1994 to October 1995. Ravi Prakash stayed in the flat of the petitioner at Greater Kailash, Part II from March 1995 till June 1995. as per information gathered during the investigation, several criminal cases are pending against him. Prosecution has also brought to the fore the accusation of alleged ill will between Vijay Prakash and one Zile Singh contractor. There was a murderous attack on him or which case F.I.R. No. 298/95 was registered. The involvement of Ravi Prakash and petitioner Subhash Gupta was suspected in the incident. Subhash Gupta in the year 1995 joined Personal Point and was allegedly attracted towards Sujata Saha. Sujata Saha spurned the advances of Subhash Gupta. Subhash Gupta suspected Sujata Saha to be involved with Dr. Kaul and this, according to the counsel for respondent, led to the sowing of the seeds of conspiracy resulting in the murders. In the evening of June 6, 1996, Dr. Sunil Kaul, Sujata Saha and Deepa Sharma visited the office of accused Subhash Gupta located at M.C.D. Office, Okhla, as Dr. Kaul wanted to expend his business and for this purpose was expecting loan from him. It is from this place that three of them were kidnapped by the accused and before doing that they were drugged which is indicated by the recovery of empty ampoules of calmpose injections from the office of the petitioner and the statement of one Madan Lal recorded under section 161 of Code of Criminal Procedure according to which three of them while coming out of the office of the petitioner and walking towards the cars were being supported by the accused. While Sujata Saha and Deepa Sharma were made to sit in the BMW Car of the petitioner which was standing outside the M.C.D. Office, Dr.Kaul was put in his own Maruti 1000. There was a third car, Maruti 800, which had a U.P. number. In the BMW car driven by Subhash Gupta, besides him and the abovesaid two ladies accused Vijay Mohan Sharma @ Minto and Kamal Kumar @ Pinki were also seated. Maruti 1000 was driven by accused No.2 Kamal Singh @ Shaily, and besides him and Dr.Kaul, accused Ravi Prakash and accused Dr. Hemant Kalra were also seated. Maruti 800 was driven by accused Vibhor Singh @ Lovi. All the three cars left the office of the petitioner one after the other. On the night intervening 6th and 7th June 1996, Nitin Gupta, son of the petitioner Subhash Gupta, lodged an F.I.R. No.340 of 1996 under section 365 Indian Penal Code at P.S. Okhla as the latter had not returned home. He along with the F.I.R. produced a driving licence of Dr. Kaul which was found by him in the office of Subhash Gupta. The police registered the FIR and visited the office of Subhash Gupta where torn cheques of Rs.6 lacs each were seized along with the broken ampoules of calmpose and torn pieces of ransom note in the handwriting of Subhash Gupta were found. The ransom note was pieced together which conveyed that the petitioner had been kidnapped and the kidnappers were demanding a ransom of Rs.50 lacs. On 7th June 1996 the car of Dr. Kaul was found abandoned at Hodal. On the same day at about 3.30 p.m. dead body of Dr. Kaul was found in a field at Hodal. The body bore two bullet injuries. On 9th June 1996 dead bodies of Sujata Saha and Deepa Sharma were recovered in a highly decomposed state at Bhind, Murena, M.P. On 10th June 1996 a call was received at the house of Subhash Gupta that he was in Bombay in Hotel Leela. On receipt of this information, a police party under the charge of Inspector Balwinder Singh was sent to Bombay. The petitioner and his BMW car were found by the police party at the above said hotel. The BMW car of the petitioner was inspected at Bombay. As per the report of the CFSL expert at Bombay, blood stains on the mat of the car were found. The expert opined that the stains found in the car were of human blood. From the dicky of the car, fibres were recovered and as per the report of the CFSL at Bombay the fibres were from the bed sheet in which Sujata Saha's body was wrapped.

(2.) The investigation mounted by the Investigating Agency culminated in the filing of the charge sheet against the petitioner and nine others accused, namely, Kamal Singh @ Shaily, Vibhor SIngh @ Lovi, Vijay Mohan Sharma @ Minto, Dr. Hemant Kalra, Viney Kumar @ Vinu, Ravi Prakash @ Ravi @ Shard Gupta/Agarwal, Kamal Kumar @ Pinki and Jaindender Kumar Tyagi @ JK. All the accused are standing their trial before the learned Additional Sessions Judge. Petitioner moved a bail application before the trial court which was rejected on 11th August, 1997. It may be pointed out that this application was filed on the ground that he was suffering from depression and his condition warranted his release from jail. Having failed to secure the bail from the trial court the petitioner has moved the instant petition seeking bail.

(3.) Learned counsel for the petitioner in support of his bail application argued that the petitioner himself was victim of kidnapping by Ravi Prakash and his associates and was not in any manner involved in the murders. It was pointed out that pieces of ransom note and two torn cheques of Rs.6 lacs each were found from the office of Subhash Gupta by the police. He further submitted that the kidnapping of the petitioner along with the three deceased is also proved from the fact that when he was examined on 11th June 1996 at Bombay he was having the following injuries :- 1. Radish Blue bruise with swelling measuring 8 cm x 3 cm on the back of chest situated on centre. 2. Radish blue bruises with swelling and pain measuring 8 cm x 3 cm on the back of the right chest present vertically. 3. Injection prick mark present over both elbows.