MANOJ KUMAR DAS Vs. CENTRAL BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Heard Mr. S. Borgohain, learned counsel for the petitioner Sri Manoj Kumar Das and Mr. M. Haloi learned Special Public Prosecutor for the respondents, CBI.

(2.) The petitioner has filed this application under Sec. 482 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (CrPC for short) seeking quashing of the proceedings of CR Case No. 4232/2018 arising out of CBI, ACB, Guwahati Case No. 10(A)/2016 registered under Ss. 120(B)/420/467/468/471 Indian Penal Code (IPC for short) and read with Sec. 13(2) and 13(1)(d) of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988 (PC Act for short) and pending in the Court of learned Special Judicial Magistrate, Kamrup(M) (Special Magistrate for short). The petitioner has prayed for quashing the impugned orders dtd. 11/1/2019 and 4/11/2022, passed by the learned Special Magistrate in the abovementioned case, taking cognizance against the petitioner for offences under Ss. 120(B)/420/423/467/468/471/511 of the IPC.

(3.) The FIR unfolds that some officials/officers of Northeastern Frontier Railways (NF Railways for short) in connivance with private persons were instrumental in drawing house building advance from the department by submitting forged and fabricated documents against the already constructed houses and flats. It is alleged that these houses and flats were non-existent and were purported to be constructed by Housing and Development Society, Bijni at various places in Palashbari and Rangia. Wrongful loss was caused to the Railways as house building advance was sanctioned to purchase flats which were nonexistent. 28 (Twenty Eight) applicants had applied to the department for purchasing such phantom houses and flats through their applications and submitted forged and fabricated documents to purchase flats purportedly sanctioned and issued by the Housing and Flat Development Society, Bijni. In furtherance of the said conspiracy, the verification officers, who were deputed by the department to verify the genuineness of the applications, in connivance with the applicants, submitted false verification reports, certifying the existence of flats, which were found to be non-existent. In all these 28 HBA Cases, the Housing and Flat Development Society, Bijini allegedly issued the forged documents to the applicants though they were non-existing and Sri Mukul Goswami, President of the Society conspired with the suspected NF Railway officials. 28 (Twenty Eight) accused are named in the FIR and the present petitioner is one of the accused named in the FIR. It is further alleged that the house building advance (HBA) to the applicants were sanctioned in accordance with the Flat Advance Rules subject to the fulfilment of certain terms and conditions and the terms and conditions were not complied with by the accused named in the FIR as the flats were non-existent. An amount of Rs.94,69,000.00 (Rupees Ninety Four Lakhs Sixty Nine Thousand) was sanctioned in all the 28 HBA cases, but as Sri Gokul Kumar Deka did not draw the house building advance, wrongful loss to the Railway authority to the tune of Rs.89,09,000.00 (Rupees Eighty Nine Lac Nine Thousand) was caused.