RAMESH TAURANI Vs. STATE OF MAHARASHTRA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THIS application is filed by one Ramesh Taurani dealing in business of cassettes in the name and style of TIPS Industries Pvt. Ltd. having his office located at plot No.A-18, Opp. Laxmi Industrial Estate, Off. New Link Road, Andheri (W), Mumbai-400 058. According to the applicant the Company is a reputed Company and he is a reputed man in the business and has a successful business career and his turnover has considerably increased in the last few years. He also deals in business of export of cassettes.

(2.) THE applicant has been arrested on 4.10.97 in connection with murder of a well-known producer dealing in business of cassettes named Gulshan Kumar who was allegedly shot down on 12.8.1997 at the hands of some persons belonging to a particular gang and at the instance of some other person, who is said to be one Nadeem Saifi a music director. According to the prosecution the conspiracy to eliminate Gulshan Kumar was hatched in Dubai sometime in the month of January, 1997 and even according to the prosecution the present applicant was not present in the meeting wherein the said conspiracy is alleged to have been hatched. The applicant was arrested and was remanded to police custody from time to time and after initial period of police custody for a period of 14 days was remanded to judicial custody for the aforesaid crime which is registered as CR No.71/97 for the offence punishable under sections 302, 307 etc. read with section 120B and sections 3 and 5 of the Arms Act by DCB CID, Mumbai.

(3.) THE remand of the present applicant was prayed for the first time by Remand Application dated 5.10.1997. Thereafter during the period of police custody he has been thoroughly interrogated and even according to the prosecution the only evidence against him is that he handed over an amount of Rs.25 lakhs to the contract killers. The custody of the present applicant was claimed for seizure of pager, car Tata Sierra and other articles. The car admittedly belongs to the present applicant and it is stated that the applicant carried the cash of Rs.25 lakhs in two boxes in the said car on the instructions of one of the gangster named Abu Salem. It is also the case of the prosecution that when this cash was kept in the said car the present applicant had told his driver that so much amount is in the car and he should keep watch which appears to be abnormal as nobody carrying such a large amount for such a clandestine purpose which must obviously be black money would tell the driver that he has kept it in a particular place and take the risk of the same being robbed or stolen away by the said driver. Inspite of the fact that even the remand application did not make out any case against the present applicant, the learned Magistrate granted remand to police custody and thereafter to judicial custody in order to enable the prosecution to collect evidence as it was throughout impressed in the various remand applications that it is sensational case. But inspite of all the interrogation so far the prosecution has not been able to collect any evidence against the present applicant regarding his involvement and a mere statement that he carried an amount of Rs.25 lakhs in the car on a particular day and he had some conversation with the main conspirator Nadeem Saifi and had visited the Ice Cream Parlour in his company at that time, the evidence is not of much nature which necessitates that the applicant be detained any further in custody. No question of any further custodial interrogation is now involved and it is not even contended that the applicant is not likely to be available for trial.