GAGANDEEP GOYAL Vs. STATE OF PUNJAB

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This order shall dispose of the above mentioned two petitions wherein petitioners Gagandeep Goyal and Pradeep Kumar, seek grant of anticipatory bail in a case registered vide FIR No.09, dtd. 28/7/2022, Police Station Economic Offences Wing Vigilance Bureau, Ludhiana, under Ss. 7, 7-A, 8, 12, 13(2) of Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988 (as amended in the year 2018), Ss. 409, 420, 467, 468, 471, 120-B IPC (Ss. 65, 66, 66-C, 66-D of the Information and Technology Act, 2000 added later on).

(2.) Since, the present case i.e. FIR No.9, dtd. 28/7/2022, came to be registered during the course of investigation of another FIR i.e. FIR No.8, dtd. 14/7/2022, Police Station Vigilance Bureau, Economic Offences Wing Punjab, Ludhiana, under Ss. 7, 7-A of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988 as amended by the Amendment Act, 2018, Sec. 120-B IPC, it is apposite to briefly refer to the facts of the said FIR i.e. FIR No.8. The aforesaid FIR No.8, was registered with the specific allegation that Harmeet Singh posted as Junior Assistant in Ludhiana Improvement Trust, was demanding bribe for himself as well as on behalf of Parveen Kumar, Sales Clerk and Kuljeet Kaur, Executive Officer, Ludhiana Improvement Trust, for extending undue benefit to private persons in the matter of allotment of plots etc. A trap was laid and Harmeet Singh was caught red-handed while accepting an amount of Rs.10,000.00 as illegal gratification which also led to arrest of Parveen Kumar, Sales Clerk and Kuljeet Kaur, Executive Officer.

(3.) During the course of investigation of aforesaid FIR No.8, Kuljeet Kaur, Executive Officer, disclosed that she as well as other officials of Ludhiana Improvement Trust, had committed various embezzlements, manipulations, frauds etc. for the purpose of allotment of plots to various individuals, in return for illegal gratification. She also disclosed the modus operandi adopted by the officials of Ludhiana Improvement Trust. Consequently, the instant FIR No. 9, dtd. 28/7/2022, came to be lodged against 15 accused namely Raman Bala Subramanium, Ex-Chairman, Kuljit Kaur, Executive Officer, Parveen Kumar, Sale Clerk, Ankit Narang, SDO, Gagandeep Goel, Clerk, Sandeep Sharma, PA to Chairman, Manjit Singh Sethi (purchaser of plot after manipulation), Sanjeev Jain @ Sanjay Jain (private property dealer), Manjit Singh (private purchaser of one plot after manipulation), Pardeep Kumar (private IT expert), Buta Ram, XEN, Engineering Branch, Jagdev Singh, XEN, Engineering Branch, Inderjeet Singh, JE Engineering Branch, Mandeep Singh, J.E. (O&M Cell), Municipal Corporation, Ludhiana, Kamaldeep Singh (owner of plot No.1544-D).