MANISH LAL SHRIVASTAVA Vs. STATE OF HIMACHAL PRADESH

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The petitioner, a resident of Lucknow, is apprehending his imminent arrest on being arraigned as accused in an FIR on the allegations of conniving with a lady for opening a fictitious bank account, and receiving consideration for selling a fake marksheet, came up under Section 438 CrPC, seeking anticipatory bail.

(2.) Based on the complaint of Registrar of Arni University, Indora, District Kangra, HP, the police registered FIR No. 289 of 2018, dated 24.10.2018, under Sections 420, 468, 471, 201, 120B of Indian Penal Code, 1860, (IPC), in Police Station Indora, District Kangra, Himachal Pradesh, disclosing cognizable and nonbailable offences.

(3.) The allegations against the petitioner are that on 24th October 2018, Shri Sangram Singh Guleria, Registrar of Arni University, visited Police Station, Indora filed a complaint that on 23.8.2018, one Gaurav Sharma, resident of Muzaffarnagar UP, came to the University for taking his Migration and Degree and he produced his DMC. When they tallied the DMC with their records, the same was found to be forged. After that, they detained said Gaurav Sharma and on inquiry, he disclosed that he has got this DMC from one Amit Kumar son of Shri Rishipal, resident of District Muzaffarnagar, UP, for payment of Rs.80,000/- (eighty thousand only). Subsequently, Gaurav Sharma telephonically called his father, who came to Indora along with the person, who had given the degree of BBA and DMC to Gaurav. The University people also detained Amit and produced them before the Police. On these allegations, the police registered the FIR mentioned above. Accused Gaurav Sharma in his interrogation disclosed that he had obtained this forged marks-sheet through Amit Kumar for consideration of Rs. 80,000/-. Police arrested Gaurav Sharma and Amit Kumar. During the investigation, accused Amit Kumar disclosed that he has obtained the forged marks sheet from Kuldeep Kumar and Abhishek Pal for Rs. 80,000/- and told Gaurav Sharma that he could obtain his degree and migration from Arni University. Similarly, third accused Abhishek Pal was also interrogated and he disclosed that he has received the DMC of BBA of 1st Semester to 6th Semester from Arvind Kumar and gave the same to Kuldeep Kumar on payment of Rs. 80,000/-, and Police also arrested Arvind Kumar on 24.10.2018. During the investigation, accused Arvind Kumar disclosed that he had met a lady named Shivani Arora @ Aruna Arora, who told him that she was Registrar in Arni University and the said lady had given the marks-sheet of Arni University to him after packing the same in an envelope, and he further handed it over to Abhishek Pal @ Deepak. He has also disclosed that Shivani Arora, was previously residing at Meerut and now residing at Jawalapur, Haridwar and she had opened an account in the name of Arni University in Bank of India, Haridwar. After that, on 22.11.2018, the Investigator obtained the details of the account from the Bank of India, Haridwar. A perusal of the account details reveals that Shivani Arora and M. Lal have opened an account in the name of Arni University on 10.07.2018 and Arvind had deposited initially Rs.10/- and thereafter Rs.49,990/- in that account on 9.8.2018. During the investigation, the details of this account were verified from Arni University and it was found that no account was opened by the Arni University in the Bank of India, Haridwar, and Arni University did not have employees in the names of Shivani Arora and M. Lal on its roll. After obtaining anticipatory bail, accused Shivani Arora associated in the investigation on 3.2.2019 and disclosed that she was running a coaching Center at Haridwar, where she met with Dr. Manish Lal Srivastava, the petitioner herein, who told her that he has purchased Arni University. He also offered a job and also gave an appointment and authority letter to her. She further disclosed that Manish Lal Srivastava had opened an account in Bank of India, Haridwar, in the name of Arni University, in which, she was also put as a co-account holder and she has also put signatures on the documents of the Bank. She had also worked in the office, opened by M. Lal at Dehradun, who also took her to Arni University. Accused Shivani also produced her appointment and authority letter to the police.