DARSHAN LAL Vs. STATE OF PUNJAB

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Petitioner seeks concession of pre-arrest bail in case FIR No.4 dated 17.1.2016, under Sections 377, 384, 120-B of the Indian Penal Code and 66E, 67, 67A of Information Technology Act, 2000, registered at Police Station Narot Jaimal Singh, District Pathankot.

(2.) Learned counsel for the petitioner would submit that it is a case of false implication. It is contended that the complaint had been lodged in the first instance by the petitioner himself against Amit Kumar, Sunny Mahajan, Anil Kumar and Pardeep Sharma as regards the petitioner being forced into acts of unnatural sex and the same having been recorded in a laptop and the petitioner being harassed and blackmailed to pay money on the threat that the recording of the unnatural acts would be circulated on social media. It is argued that even though the petitioner himself is a victim, but he has been nominated and projected as an accused by the police. Learned counsel contends that the petitioner has been serving at the particular Shrine (Dargah) for a period of almost 40 years and there has been no complaint from any devotee/visitor to the Shrine. It is further argued that it was one Ashwani Kumar @ Ashu who has also been nominated as an accused during the course of investigation and whose house is situated in front of the Shrine (Dargah) and who had inimical relations with the present petitioner over an issue of parking of vehicles near his house and in order to settle such grudge, Ashwani Kumar in connivance with Amit Kumar, Sunny Mahajan, Anil Kumar and Pardeep Sharma have hatched a conspiracy to tarnish the image of the petitioner and on 8.10.2015 entered the private residence of the petitioner and under threat and coercion forced him into unnatural acts and prepared proof/evidence so as to blackmail him. Learned counsel further contends that the offence under Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code could not be made out as no medical examination has been conducted.

(3.) From the perusal of pleadings on record and upon hearing learned counsel for the parties, it transpires that the present petitioner, namely, Darshan Lal is the Manager and looking after Dargah Peer Baba Nishan Shah Wali. Petitioner, initially, lodged a complaint with regard to an alleged occurrence that took place on 8.10.2015 and the allegations are that Amit Kumar, Sunny Mahajan, Anil Kumar and Pardeep Sharma entered the residential premises of the petitioner and under the threat of weapons clicked nude photographs of the petitioner and also forced him into acts of unnatural sex. The video recording was also done on a laptop. Thereafter, a sum of Rs. 25 lacs was demanded for deleting the video. An envelope containing a sum of Rs. 1,50,000/- was taken away by the four afore-noticed persons. After a few days, yet another demand was raised and a sum of Rs. 50,000/- was taken under threat. Petitioner asserted in his complaint that finally he came to terms with the situation and has lodged the complaint.