PREDHIMAN KRISHAN KOUL Vs. UNION TERRITORY OF J&K

JUDGEMENT

(1.) By this common order, I would disposed of two bail applications, one filed by A o, Jammu for commission of offences U/s 7 of Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988 r/w 120-B IPC.

(2.) A-1, Predhiman Krishan Koul has claimed bail on the grounds, that he is posted as Technical Officer (T.O) to Superintendent Engineer (S.E) PW (R&B) Circle Udhampur-Reasi; the complainant was allotted some work for construction of Medical Sub-Centre in District Reasi in the year 2017-2018 whereas he was posted to his present place of posting only in 2020; he has nothing to do with the said allotment of work as he is working as Technical Officer to Superintendent Engineer Udhampur and he had absolutely no role to play in respect to any verification of bills relating to work executed by the complainant; complainant came with a bill which was far exceeding the amount which had been sanctioned for the work allotted to the complainant; he was arrested on 2/12/2021 by the respondent-CBI and now he is presently lodged in judicial custody; he had filed bail application before the CBI Court Jammu which was declined by the said Court vide its order dtd. 9/12/2021; his liberty is of paramount consideration as guaranteed under the Constitution and it would be contrary to the concept of personal liberty if any person is punished in respect of any alleged matter for which he has not been found guilty or convicted thereof; grant of bail is a rule and its refusal is an exception; he is an innocent and has not committed any offence muchless the offence whereas the CBI has charged him taking recourse to Sec. 7 of Prevention of Corruption Act 1988 r/w 120-B IPC; the allegations made against him would not constitute any offence yet the Court below has only on one singular ground declined his request for bail; the judgments which were relied on relating to fairness of investigation and right to life and liberty have not even been considered by the trial court; the accused from whom alleged bribe money has been recovered has been admitted to bail by the trial court; his incarceration would result in violation of his right to life guaranteed to him under the Constitution of India; it is true that the society has a vital interest in grant or refusal of bail because every criminal offence is the offence against the State, but it is equally true that the order granting or refusing the bail must reflect perfect balance between the conflicting interests namely sanctity of individual liberty and the interest of the society; the fundamental principle of criminal jurisprudence is that the presumption of innocence always lies in favour of accused until he is found guilty; the seriousness of the charge is no doubt one of the considerations while considering bail applications but that is not the only test or the factor in the bail applications; generally the object of bail is to secure the presence of the accused person at the trial by reasonable amount of bail, the object of bail is neither punitive nor preventative however the deprivation of liberty must be considered a punishment, the court owe more than verbal respect to the principle that punishment begins after conviction and that every man is deemed to be innocent until duly tried and found guilty; he undertakes to abide by all the conditions imposed by the court if granted bail.

(3.) A-2, Hilal Ahmed Sheikh has claimed bail on the grounds, that he is a permanent resident/domicile of the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir and is a law abiding citizen of India and came to be posted as Superintending Engineer PWD (R&B) Circle Udhampur Reasi and joined on 1/10/2021; on 1/12/2021 a complaint was lodged by one Mohd. Adim Parihar wherein the complainant alleged that he (A-2) has demanded bribe of Rs.3.00 lacs from him for grant of technical sanction for construction of Medical Sub-Centre in District Reasi in the year 2017-2018 and accordingly the above mentioned FIR was registered on 1/12/2021 for commission of offence u/s 7 of Prevention of Corruption Act 1988 against him and two other accused namely Sanjay Koul, JE, PWD( R&B) Sub Division Lander and A-1 Predhiman Krishan Koul, Technical Officer to Superintendent Engineer PWD (R&B) Circle Udhampur-Reasi; On the basis of said complaint the CBI laid trap at PWD Guest House at Udhampur on 1/12/2021 and recovered the alleged graft amount of Rs.40,000.00 in cash and cheque of Rs.1,10,000.00 lying in an envelope from Sanjay Koul JE and thereafter CBI arrested him and other aforesaid two officials on 2/12/2021; he on 3/12/2021 applied for bail before the Court of learned Special Judge CBI Anti Corruption Cases Jammu, who vide its order dtd. 9/12/2021 dismissed the bail application; he has been implicated in a frivolous case at the behest of the contractor-complainant as on 29/11/2021 he refused to entertain the bill of the complainant amounting to Rs.80.00 lacs for the reasons that on spot the work was done only for an amount of Rs.60.00 lacs approximately and finding disparity in the work done, the bill presented by the complainant was returned to the concerned Executive Engineer and perhaps this infuriated the complainant whereby he filed frivolous complaint against him on 1/12/2021; he has neither accepted any bribe money from the complainant nor any amount has been recovered from him during the said raid conducted by the CBI as the recovery of alleged bribe amount was made by CBI from one Sanjay Koul JE who has been enlarged on bail by the court below on 4/12/2021; the CBI has already seized the alleged incriminating material and his custodial interrogation is not required; he is presently lodged in judicial custody and has been suspended from services on 4/12/2021 and cannot have any approach to any evidence; the fundamental principle of criminal jurisprudence is that the presumption of innocence always lies in favour of the accused until he is found guilty, and by keeping him in judicial custody would amount to incarceration; there are no special provisions providing severe/stringent punishment in the cases under the Prevention of Corruption Act if a person is found guilty, and the general principles govern the grant or refusal of bail and provisions of Sec. 437 CrPC are required to be kept in mind while considering the bail applications in non-bailable offences; the bail is rule and the jail is exception would always be a guiding factor for the court to consider the bail applications; he is also suffering from severe neuro ailment and often gets seizure and fits and not only this his daughter is also suffering from similar disorder and besides this he is having old aged mother of 90 years and his wife, and he being the only male caretaker for the family and on this account also a humane approach may kindly be resorted to in consideration of his bail application.