KUL PARKASH BHARDWAJ Vs. STATE OF H.P.

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THE Petitioner has been arrested for offences under Sections 419, 420, 467, 468, 471, 120B and 489A Indian Penal Code. The Petitioner -Applicant states that he is a permanent resident of Dharamshala, District Kangra and prior to the present application, petition was filed before the learned Additional Sessions Judge, Fast Track Court, Una on 17.2.2011 and another application prior to that before the learned Chief Judicial Magistrate, Una. Both applications were dismissed. Before the learned Chief Judicial Magistrate, a prayer was made for the remand of the Petitioner to police custody alongwith other accused except accused Davinder Kumar Dhar for whom a prayer was made that he be kept in judicial custody. The bail application of this Petitioner was rejected and the prayer of the police that he be kept in police custody was also declined and he was ordered to be detained in judicial custody. Thereafter, the Petitioner approached the learned Additional Sessions Judge, who rejected the prayer of the Petitioner alongwith other co -accused.

(2.) THE allegations in a nutshell are that on 26.1.2011 around 3.35 P.M. one Scorpio bearing No. HP -36 -0444, which was coming from Nangal towards Una was stopped for checking by the police who were on routine duty. The driver disclosed his name as Sanyog Dutt son of Ravinder Nath, Resident of Village Pathiar, District Kangra and the second person as Ashutosh Sharma son of Ravinder Nath, Resident of the same village. They informed the police that they are employees of "Divya Himachal Newspaper". The vehicle was bearing two stickers with the words "Press" which were affixed on the front and the rear wind screen. The police became suspicious and searched the vehicle, when one certificate/document bearing No. OR/DKD/AMB/14/2011, dated 20.1.2011 issued by the Corporation Bank, Ambala City Branch and signed by the Petitioner was produced by the two occupants. This certificate stated that a sum of Rs. one crore has been sent by the Petitioner to be remitted to his savings account was being transported in vehicle No. HR -

(3.) BY order dated 5.2.2011 the learned Chief Judicial Magistrate, rejected the prayer made by the Petitioner and the other accused. The prayer of the investigating agency for remanding the Petitioner to police custody was rejected and the Petitioner was ordered to be detained in judicial custody. While considering the bail application, the Court inter alia noticed the prayer made on behalf of the prosecution that the Petitioner herein be remanded to police custody. The Court holds that the recovery of Rs. one crore stands established on the record and that the accused Sanyog Dutt and Ashutosh Sharma had produced one certificate/document issued by co - accused D.K. Dhar that the money being carried by them belonged to the Petitioner. Pursuant to the seizure, search of the Monastery of Karmappa at Sidhbari were carried out and recoveries of huge amount of cash in Indian and Foreign currencies was made. The Court holds that the record shows that the accused Kul Parkash was not having any Saving Bank Account with the Ambala Branch of the Corporation Bank. It was further averred that this money was handed over to Rabgey Chhoshang by some other persons whose names were Karma Kukekhampa and Rinzin Bagmo, who are also arrested and are in police custody. The Court then holds: 10. ...It is alleged by the investigating agency that accused persons are required for interrogation except accused D.K. Dhar against whom the police prayed for judicial custody. The main premise for which the police is prayed for by the investigating agency is an out come of document allegedly to have been received by the agency from their police headquarter on the pretext that land deal was struck at Rs. Five Crore and not of Rs. 2.5 Crore, which would be rather fallacious on the part of the investigation praying for police remand on a document coming on record from their own possession. 4 The Court then takes note of the fact that since the amount involved is huge, currency belonging to more than 25 countries has been recovered from the monastery at Sidhbari, the seizure was the stimulus for the recovery of currency of a number of countries from Karmapa Monastery, the amount involved is large, the Court concludes that these activities would undermine the economy of the country and it will be reasonable to presume that in case the accused are released on bail, they would interfere in the progress of investigation and tamper with the prosecution witnesses. The bail applications were rejected and the Petitioner was remanded to judicial custody.