KONERU RAJENDRA PRASAD Vs. STATE

JUDGEMENT

(1.) "This Criminal miscellaneous petition has been filed under sections 439 & 482 Cr.P.C. seeking to relax the condition of surrendering the passport of the petitioner before the Court below as ordered by this Court in Crl. P. No. 5966 of 2012 on 02.08.2012 and further to permit him to retain the passport to enable him to travel to Indonesia for a period of four weeks. The petitioner is A-6 in C.C. No. 6 of 2012 along with 14 other accused. It is alleged that the petitioner is the perpetrator of the crime and he, in conspiracy with other accused persons, misappropriated an amount of Rs. 96 crores collected from the Villa plot buyers and thereby cheated the Government of Andhra Pradesh and thereby committed offences punishable under Sections 120-15 r/w 409, 420 & 477-A IPC. The petitioner was granted bail by this Court in Criminal Petition No. 5966 of 2012 on 02.08.2012 subject to his executing a personal bond for Rs. 5,00,000/- together with two sureties for the said amount each and on further conditions that the petitioner should surrender his Indian Passport before the lower Court and to stay in the state of Andhra Pradesh only. Subsequently, by order dated 18.09.2012 in Criminal M.P. No. 6634 of 2012, this Court modified the condition to the effect that the petitioner shall remain in the state of Tamilnadu until further orders except on the date of attending the Court at Hyderabad.

(2.) Subsequently, the petitioner filed Criminal M.P. No. 154 of 2013 seeking to relax the condition imposed on him to stay in Tamilnadu only and further sought permission to go to Dubai for a period of four weeks. Subsequently, he has not pressed the second relief, i.e., with regard to travel to Dubai for the time being. The said petition was allowed relaxing the condition imposed on him with regard to the stay in Tamilnadu. Then the petitioner filed Criminal M.P. No. 3987 of 2013 and sought further relaxation of condition to go to Dubai for a period of four weeks. He had also sought permission to go to Indonesia. However, he has not pressed the request to permit him to go over to Indonesia. This Court allowed the petition and permitted the petitioner to go to Dubai, but however, imposed a specific condition that the petitioner shall surrender his passport to the lower Court within two days after his return to India.

(3.) It is the case of the petitioner that he had been to Dubai on 02.07.2013, but returned to India on 09.07.2013 as he was unable to fix up meetings with the concerned local banks in Dubai due to onset of the month of Ramadan. The further case of the petitioner is that his family owns a business concern in the name and style of M/s. Trimex Sands Private Limited (for short, 'the Trimex') and the said company had entered into Memorandum of Understanding with the Government of Indonesia for setting up a Titanium Industrial Complex. It is also his case that as he was summoned by the CBI and had been appearing before the CBI offices, the present work undertaken by his family was unable to take off. It is also his case that the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industries, Jakarta, Indonesia communicated to him by letter dated 12.06.2013 asking him to confirm the progress of the project under the MOU and for a meeting with him in the month of July/August, 2013, as they have to submit the reports to the Government of Indonesia on the said project. It is also his case that he received another letter on 19.07.2013 form Indonesia that there is urgency in the matter and that he should go there and finalise the project. It is also his case that it is a purely business trip and that the project undertaken by Trimex is a prestigious project and that the said project was based on the talks and discussions between the petitioner and his business group with the President of Indonesia. It is also his case that he has heavy business interest in India and his entire family stays in India and that his family has got residence at Chennai as well as at Hyderabad and that he will return to India after his business work is over and there is no chance of his absconding or evading the process of law. The petitioner had also specifically averred that he assures the Court that he would come back to India within the said period and report before the Court below and surrender his passport before the lower Court as per the directions of this Court.