CHANDRA SHEKHAR SINGH Vs. STATE OF HIMACHAL PRADESH

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Bail petitioner namely Chander Shekhar Singh, who is present in Court, apprehending his arrest in case FIR No. 03/18 dated 25.6.2018 under Sections 13(1)(e) and Section 13 (2) of Prevention of Corruption Act and Section 120B IPC, registered at Police Station SV and ACB, Kullu, Himachal Pradesh, has approached this Court in the instant proceedings filed under Section 438 CrPC, praying therein for pre-arrest bail.

(2.) Sequel to order dated 29.6.2018, whereby petitioner named herein above, was ordered to be enlarged on bail, in the event of his arrest in connection with aforesaid FIR, Mr. Kulbhushan Verma, Addl. SP, SV and ACB has come present with the record. Mr. Dinesh Thakur, learned Additional Advocate General has also placed on record status report, prepared on the basis of investigation carried out by the investigating agency. Record perused and returned.

(3.) Close scrutiny of record/status report suggests that complaint No. 10/17 dated 29.7.2017 was registered by SIU (Special Investigation Unit) against bail petitioner, who at the relevant time was Managing Director, HP State Forest Development Corporation Limited, Shimla, on the allegations that above named person collected disproportionate assets more than his known source of income from illegitimate sources and by way of hatching criminal conspiracy with the help of one Parma Nand son of Ramu, resident of Tihri, Tehsil and District Mandi. During the course of investigation, investigating agency after having procured search warrant from the court of Special Judge, Kullu, Himachal Pradesh, searched house of the bail petitioner and person namely Parma Nand, wherein allegedly certain incriminating documents from the house of the bail petitioner were found. As per investigating agency, bail petitioner who is a non- Himachali, fraudulently purchased property in Himachal Pradesh in the name of Parma Nand in the year 1997, whereafter a villa came to be constructed on the aforesaid land in the year 2014. During investigation, person namely Parma Nand denied sale/purchase, if any, of land in question, in his name and alleged/claimed that neither there are his signatures on the documents used by the petitioner for obtaining permission, if any, under Section 118 of the Himachal Pradesh Tenancy and Land Reforms Act nor he ever authorized bail petitioner to purchase property in his name.