VIRENDER AGGARWAL Vs. STATE OF HARYANA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This order shall dispose of aforementioned three petitions praying for grant of anticipatory bail to petitioners Virender Aggarwal in CRM-M-43517-2019, Mahendra Gupta in CRM-M-21843-2019 and Radhey Shyam Sherewala in CRM-M-22554-2019, in FIR No.131 dated 27.02.2019 under Sections 66(E), 67 and 67(A) of the Information Technology Act, 2000 (for short 'I.T. Act') and Sections 120-B and 294 of the Indian Penal Code (for short 'IPC'), registered at Police Station City Narnaul, District Mahendergarh.

(2.) Brief facts of the case, as per allegations in the FIR, registered at the instance of complainant Gopal Sharan Garg, are that he is elected President of Akhil Bhartiya Aggarwal Sammellan and Sanatan Dharam Education Board, Narnaul. He was also President of Trader Welfare Board constituted by Govt. of Haryana and is a respected businessman. It is further stated that some of his political opponents created a false CD of a lady with a man having resemblance with his face, showing vulgar and intimate relationship in order to blackmail his family and his cousin Het Ram Garg, by levelling allegations of character assassination. It is further stated that when he refused to bow to the pressure of accused persons, the said false CD was forwarded to thousands of persons through social media and it was propagated in a bad manner. The cousin of the complainant, Het Ram Garg registered a complaint and thereafter, FIR No.525 dated 07.10.2018 was registered at Police Station Narnaul and the district police of Palwal, by constituting an SIT, investigated the case and accused persons namely Raj Kumar Yadav, Sandeep Sharma, Kishan Chaudhary, Surender @ Pammi Chaudhary and Keshav Sanghi, Advocate were arrested, who were later on granted the concession of regular bail, as the challan in the said FIR was presented on completion of the investigation. It is also stated in the FIR that taking undue benefit of the situation, Radhey Shyam Sherewala, claiming himself to be National Convener of Aggar Chetna Sadbhavna Yatra Sangathan, being Organizing Secretary, from his mobile No.82196-75573, forwarded vulgar and obscene picture of a lady on mobile No.94160-65937 on 04.12.2018 through Whatsapp, in criminal conspiracy with Virender Aggarwal, resident of New Delhi, who obtained the report from a Forensic Lab regarding false and fabricated CD and sent the report along with vulgar and nude picture to Radhey Shyam Sherewala, Mahendra Gupta and hundreds of persons by way of Whatsapp and thus, the accused persons have committed the offence, by mentally harassing the complainant and socially amputating his respect by character assassination. The police, thereafter, registered the aforesaid FIR No.131 dated 27.02.2019 under Sections 66(E), 67 and 67(A) I.T. Act and Sections 120-B and 294 IPC.

(3.) Learned senior counsel for petitioner Virender Aggarwal has argued that the incident relates to the year 2018, when cousin brother of the complainant got an earlier FIR No.525 registered against four persons, who were arrested and later on, granted the concession of regular bail. On similar set of allegations, present FIR No.131 is registered regarding preparation of a false and obscene video and circulating the same. It is further argued that when the case was investigated by the SIT and the challan was presented against the accused persons in FIR No.525, nothing has come in the investigation against the petitioner and therefore, by levelling new allegations, present FIR No.131 has been registered against the petitioner and two other persons.