CENTRAL BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION Vs. STATE OF GUJARAT

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The present application is filed by Central Bureau of Investigation under Sec. 439(2) read with Sec. 482 of the Code of Criminal Procedure seeking quashment of the impugned order dtd. 12/5/2017 passed by learned Special CBI Court No.2, Judicial Complex, Ahmedabad (Rural) in Criminal Misc. Application No.161 of 2017 whereby respondent No.2 has been enlarged on regular bail.

(2.) By filing this application within a short span upon grant of bail, it has been asserted by the applicant that a criminal case vide RC No.3(A)/2015 was registered by CBI/AC-III/New Delhi on 22/9/2015 under Sec. 120-B of the Indian Penal Code read with Ss. 7 , 12 and 13(2) read with Sec. 13(1)(d) of Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988 against an accused Mr. Jitender Pratap Singh and others. As per the allegations levelled in the complaint, one Mr. J.P.Singh, JD/ED, Gujarat has been indulging in corrupt practices in Afroz Fatta Case and Cricket Betting Case. It was also alleged that Mr.J.P.Singh was being assisted by one Mr. Sanjay Kumar, Assistant Director, ED in his alleged corrupt practices. It has further been alleged in the complaint that Mr. J.P.Singh has taken huge amount of bribe as quid pro quo for acts of omission and commission during investigation of aforesaid ED cases and during the course of investigation, ED made available the excerpts of information received from a Central Agency to the effect that ED officers namely Mr. J.P.Singh and Mr. Sanjay Kumar were indulging into corrupt practices and were taking money directly but the concerned victims were asked to get the money delivered to the cutouts in Delhi and this modus operandi shared above prima facie has been established during investigation as per the applicant. It has further been alleged that Mr. J.P.Singh, the then Joint Director, ED collected bribes through his conduits in ECIR No.03/AMZO/2015 under PMLA 2002, which pertained to IPL Betting Matter. Mr. Bimal Agrawal and Mr. Sonu Y. Jalan of Mumbai were acting as conduits for Mr. J.P.Singh during the relevant period and were collecting huge amount of money from bookies and punters in IPL matter. They both visited Delhi time and again during April, 2015 to September, 2015 and with the help and assistance of one another accused Mr. J.K. Arora, Dehli based bookie contacted various bookies/punters whose names were already figured in the ECIR/Case investigated by ED under PMLA, 2002 in Cricket Betting Matter to collect money for protecting them from ED through accused Mr. J.P.Singh.

(3.) It has been submitted that after the order being passed in the month of May, 2017 the applicant has immediately moved the Court by filing present application in the very next month i.e. June, 2017 and after the notice being issued the matter being adjourned from time to time, it has now come up for consideration before this Court. Since both the sides have submitted their respective pleadings, the matter is taken up for hearing upon their requests.