KISHAN PAL @ FAUZI Vs. STATE OF MADHYA PRADESH

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Heard on this first application for bail under section 439 of the Code of Criminal Procedure filed on behalf of petitioner Kishan Pal @ Fauzi in Crime No.17/2017 registered by P.S. Cyber & Hi Tech Crime Police Station, Bhopal (M.P.) for offence punishable under Sections 406 , 420 , 467 , 468 , 471 and 120-B read with Section 34 of the Indian Penal Code and Section 66-C of the Information Technology Act, 2000.

(2.) As per the prosecution case, co-accused persons Avinash Singh and Ankit Soniwal had opened a fictitious company in the name and style of Shine.com to cheat gullible, unemployed youth on the false promise of procuring well paying jobs for them and cheating them of money. They employed co-accused Vinay Singh in the venture. His job was to call the youth as per the list provided by Avinash Singh and Ankit Soniwal and make them speak to Avinash and Ankit making the youth believe that they were speaking to Vinay Singh's superiors because Avinash and Ankit were articulate in English. Co-accused person Vinay Singh procured the services of petitioner Kishan Pal in the company. Petitioner Kishan Pal forged an Aadhar Card in the name of one Prashant Gupta wherein photograph belonged to petitioner Kishan Pal and all remaining information was forged. On the basis of forged documents, he opened as many as six forged bank accounts in Bank of India and State Bank of India, Ghaziabad Branch in the name of Prashant Gupta. Co-accused persons Avinash and Ankit would induce the victims to deposit money in aforesaid forged accounts created by petitioner Kishan Pal in the name of Prashant Gupta, under the garb of registration fee etc.. ATM cards of aforesaid accounts were in possession of co-accused Vinay Singh. He used to withdraw money from aforesaid accounts and pay commission to Kishpanpal Singh. Vinay would also get commission on the money withdrawn from aforesaid accounts and the remaining amount would be paid to Avinash and Ankit. In aforesaid manner, the present petitioner Kishan Pal and co-accused persons conspired and cheated first informant Ghanshyam Maheshwari of Rs.8,00,000/- for getting him the job of Branch head of Religare Health Insurance Company at Bhopal.

(3.) Learned counsel for the petitioner submits that even if all allegations made against the petitioner are taken at their face value, only offence under Sections 464 and 465 of the Indian Penal Code would be made out against the present petitioner. At this stage, presumption of the petitioner having participated in a larger conspiracy cannot be made. At this stage, primacy should be given to presumption of innocence, which must outweigh the presumption that the petitioner would temper with the evidence. At this stage, the right of the petitioner to personal liberty must not be abridged on the basis of conjectures and surmises. The petitioner is an Ex-army man; therefore, it cannot be presumed that he would evade the course of justice simply because he is resident of a State other than Madhya Pradesh. The petitioner has been in custody since 12.07.2017. He has been released on bail by the Court of ACMM(E), Delhi by order dated 18.11.2017 in another case registered against him under Sections 406 , 420 , 467 , 468 , 471 and 120-B read with Section 34 of the Indian Penal Code. Therefore, inviting attention of the Court to the principles laid down in paragraph no.46 of the judgment rendered by Supreme Court in the case of Sanjay Chandra vs. Central Bureau of Investigation , (2012) 1 SCC 40, it has been prayed that the petitioner be released on bail. The charge sheet has been filed and all documents necessary for prosecution have been seized by the Investigating Agency; therefore, the petitioner should not be kept in custody by way of punishment.