SANDEEP SHAH Vs. STATE OF H.P.

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Petitioner, through his wife has approached this Court under Section 439 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (in short 'Cr.P.C.'), seeking bail in case FIR No.198 of 2020 dated 19.09.2020, registered in Police Station Boileauganj (Shimla West) under Sections 376, 506 and 417 of the Indian Penal Code (hereinafter referred to as 'IPC' in short).

(2.) As per status report, complainant had approached Police Chowki Fagu, Shimla, where her statement under Section 154 Cr.P.C. was recorded, wherein she has stated that she had been Whether reporters of the local papers may be allowed to see the judgment? serving as a Human Resource Manager in Limunesh Power Technology Private Limited Company at Baddi from 2010 to 2019 and w.e.f. 25.11.2019 to 03.06.2020, she had been serving in the same Company at Gurgaon. In August 2018 during her training sponsored by the Company at Indore (M.P.), she came in contact of petitioner-accused, who was serving as Area Manager in the same Company and he took her mobile number and started telephonic and whatsapp talks/chats with her and in April 2019 he proposed to marry complainant and the said proposal was communicated by her to her parents upon which her parents had decided to meet family of petitioner-accused, but petitioner-accused had stated that his father was not alive and mother had little knowledge of Hindi. As per complaint, from 14.06.2019 to 16.06.2019 petitioner and complainant had stayed in a Hotel Oyo Restful, Shoghi and there, for the first time, physical relations had developed and such relations continued till January 2020 as she was under impression that both of them were going to marry. According to complainant, as and when she had been visiting for training at Gurgaon, petitioner, who was posted at Gurgaon at that time, had been booking Hotel for her, but at the time of issuance of bill, on advise of the petitioner, she had been taking bill in the name of one person only whereas petitioner had been keeping bills having details of two persons with him and later on petitioner had made a complaint in the Company for claiming amount on the basis of wrong bills and petitioner had started to threaten her. Thereafter also, petitioner continued to exploit her physically as on refusal he had been threatening to kill her and to abduct through goons and to defame her by making her photographs alongwith petitioner viral in public on social media. As per complaint, complainant came to know about marital status of the petitioner from his neighbour in December 2019. Later on, in the month of March 2020, when complainant was at Chandigarh, she came to know that petitioner alongwith his wife Mousumi Chakraborty had visited Fagu and declared that complainant was having affair with petitioner and had alleged that she had taken a sum of Rs.2,00,000/- from the petitioner and thereafter petitioner had started to defame her and post photographs of both (complainant and petitioner) on social media like Facebook, Instagram and Linkedin and when she was at Chandigarh, petitioner, through someone had publicized prints of her photographs and documents in Fagu Bazaar.

(3.) On the basis of area of commission of offence, statement of the complainant was transferred to Police Station Boileauganj and on the basis of which FIR has been registered in Police Station Boileauganj. During investigation, in search of petitioner, police had visited Delhi, Gurgaon and Faridabad. His mother was served with notice under Section 160 Cr.P.C., directing the petitioner-accused to join investigation on 27.09.2020, but he did not turn up. Thereafter, w.e.f. 08.10.2020 to 14.10.2020, police team again went Delhi, Gurgaon etc. in search of the petitioner and petitioner was apprehended on 14.10.2020 and was arrested on 15.10.2020 from Gurgaon. During investigation, petitioner had disclosed that he and his mother are permanent resident of 2/21A, Pudranagar, Kolkata-68 and about nine years back he alongwith his mother has shifted to Gurgaon (Haryana) and he was married to Mousumi Chakraborty in the year 2016 and in the year 2018 he alongwith his mother had purchased a Flat No. G-1402, Florida Apartment, Sector 82, Nahar Par, Faridabad (Haryana) for consideration of Rs.22,00,000/- and he is paying installment of Rs.40,000/- per month for that.