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2018 DIGILAW 115 (HP)

Joginder Singh v. State of Himachal Pradesh

2018-01-10

CHANDER BHUSAN BAROWALIA

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JUDGMENT : Chander Bhusan Barowalia, J. 1. The present bail application has been moved by the petitioner under Section 438 of the Code of Criminal Procedure for releasing him on bail, in the event of his arrest, in case FIR No. 05 of 2017, dated 16.11.2017, under Sections 420, 465, 467, 468, 471 and 120B IPC and Sections 13(2) and 15 of PC Act, 1988, Police Station State Vigilance & Anti Corruption Bureau, Mandi, District Mandi, H.P. 2. As per the learned counsel for the petitioner, the petitioner is innocent and has been falsely implicated in the present case. He is neither in a position to tamper with the prosecution evidence nor in a position to flee from justice, thus he may be released on bail. 3. Police reports stand filed. As per the police report filed on 01.01.2018, the police has exhaustively portrayed the sequence of events. Precisely, the allegations against the petitioner are that one Professor Madhav P. Desai, in his letter, misrepresented Powai Lab as integral part of IIT Bombay and Reapan Tikko, Director Powai Lab Technical Private Limited purported to act on behalf of IIT Mumbai and a MOA was drawn. So, Powai Lab has misused the Logo of IIT Bombay only to cheat and mislead the authorities. Shri S.S. Guleria, the then Director-cum-Special Secretary Technical Education Sundernagar misused his official position and without the subject of electronics and Commerce without any requirement from the J.N. Government Engineering College Sundernagar by setting aside the opinion given by Deputy Director Technical Education without consulting/constituting any technical committee for the requirement/specification of the lab without observing any codal formalities as per financial rules, had himself decided to establish VLSI Lab at J.N. Government Engineering College Sundernagar with the connivance of Lal Singh Thakur, Deputy Controller (F&A), the petitioner, the then Principal, Shri Ansul Bhatnagar, the then Senior Assistant, also misused their official position for the establishment of IMAGE VLSI and Embedded Lab-20 at J.N. engineering College Sundernagar, only to cause wrongful gain to Reapan Tikoo, Director Powai Lab. Thus, a case was registered against the petitioner and other accused. As per the prosecution, the investigation in the case in hand is in nascent stage and the original record is yet to be obtained from various offices and only then the exact role of the petitioner and other accused will be ascertained. Thus, a case was registered against the petitioner and other accused. As per the prosecution, the investigation in the case in hand is in nascent stage and the original record is yet to be obtained from various offices and only then the exact role of the petitioner and other accused will be ascertained. Lastly, the prosecution has prayed that the bail application of the petitioner may be dismissed. 4. I have heard the learned Counsel for the petitioner, learned Deputy Advocate General for the State and gone through the record, including the police reports, carefully. 5. The learned Counsel for the petitioner has argued that the petitioner is joining and co-operating in the investigation and his custodial interrogation is not at all required. He has also argued that by keeping the petitioner behind the bars no fruitful purpose will be served. The petitioner is neither in a position to tamper with the prosecution evidence nor in a position to flee from justice, so he may be released on bail. Conversely, the learned Deputy Advocate General has argued that in case the petitioner is released on bail, he may tamper with the prosecution evidence and may also flee from justice. The petitioner has committed a serious offence, thus it has been prayed that the bail applications of the petitioners may be dismissed. 6. At this moment, taking into consideration the fact that the petitioner is joining and co-operating in the investigation and neither in a position to tamper with the prosecution evidence nor in a position to flee from justice and also considering the alleged role of the petitioner in the offence, material, which has come on record and also other ancillary circumstances, the present is a fit case where the judicial discretion to admit the petitioner on bail, in the event of his arrest, is required to be exercised in his favour. Under these circumstances, it is ordered that the petitioner be released on bail, in the event of arrest, in case FIR No. 05 of 2017, dated 420, 465, 467, 468, 471 and 120B IPC and Sections 13(2) and 15 of PC Act, registered at Police Station State Vigilance & Anti Corruption Bureau Mandi, District Mandi, H.P., on his furnishing personal bond to the tune of Rs. 20,000/- (rupees twenty thousand only) with one surety in the like amount to the satisfaction of the Investigating Officer. 20,000/- (rupees twenty thousand only) with one surety in the like amount to the satisfaction of the Investigating Officer. The bail is granted subject to the following conditions: (i) That the petitioner will join investigation of the case as and when called for by the Investigating Officer in accordance with law. (ii) That the petitioner will not leave India without prior permission of the Court. (iii) That the petitioner will not directly or indirectly make any inducement, threat or promise to any person acquainted with the facts of the case so as to dissuade him/her from disclosing such facts to the Investigating Officer or Court. 7. In view of the above, the petition is disposed of.