BHINDER SINGH Vs. STATE OF PUNJAB

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The petitioner seeks grant of anticipatory bail in respect of a case registered vide FIR No.08, dtd. 21/8/2020 at Police Station Vigilance Bureau, Phase-I, Punjab at Mohali, under Ss. 7, 7-A, 8 of Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988 as amended by PC (Amendment) Act 2018 and Ss. 420, 465, 467, 468, 471, 120-B of Indian Penal Code.

(2.) The allegations, in nutshell, as levelled in the FIR are to the effect that a secret information was received by Vigilance Bureau to the effect that one person by the name Vijay Kumar, who is dealing in the business of transport in Khanna and Ludhiana in connivance with the officials of Excise and Taxation Department, Punjab including Piyara Singh, ETO, Moga; Ravi Nandan, ETO, Fazilka; Varun Nagpal, ETO, Muktsar; Kalicharan, ETO (STO), Mobile Wing, Chandigarh-1 at Shambhu; Satpal Multani, ETO, Faridkot; Ved Parkash Jakhar, ETO, Fazilka; Simran Brar, DTC etc. as well as with some other transporters to bring articles from other States into the State of Punjab by way of illegal means and by evading payment of tax and other levies and also by way of fake bills and, as such, caused huge loss to the government. It is alleged therein that huge bribe is passed on by Vijay Kumar to the officials of the government.

(3.) Learned counsel for the petitioner submitted that the petitioner is nowhere named in the FIR and has been nominated as an accused on the basis of disclosure statement made by co-accused Rajinder Singh and that the same would not carry any evidentiary value particularly when there is no other clinching evidence to establish that the petitioner had passed on any amount to the officials of the government i.e. Excise officials etc. or had evaded any tax. Learned counsel for the petitioner submits that Gurmeet Suohann, Mangal Sain Goyal, Akash Batta, Rajiv Dutta, Kunal Verma, Charanjeet Singh Ghataute including the main accused Vijay Kumar Ghai have already been granted anticipatory bail by this Court vide orders dtd. 8/9/2021 passed in CRM-M-22793-2021; dtd. 8/9/2021 passed in CRM-M-25903-2021; dtd. 16/12/2021 passed in CRM-M-19595-2021; dtd. 15/12/2022 passed in CRM-M-43223-2022 and dtd. 16/12/2021 passed in CRM-M-19015-2021.