The High Court
Case Details
CRM-M-46382-2024 IN THE HIGH COURT OF PUNJAB AND HARYANA AT CHANDIGARH CRM-M-46382-2024 Reserved on: 09.01.2025 Pronounced on: 29.01.2025 Mehak Bhai Jethi ...Pe(cid:13)(cid:13)oner Versus State of Haryana …Respondent CORAM: HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE ANOOP CHITKARA Present: Mr. Rajesh Duhan, Advocate, for the pe(cid:13)(cid:13)oner. Ms. Harpreet Kaur, AAG, Haryana.
Legal Reasoning
Mr. Mohit Kumar, Advocate, for the complainant. ANOOP CHITKARA, J. **** FIR No. Dated Police Sta2on Sec2ons 208 11.10.2023 Guhla, Kaithal 406, 420, 201 IPC and 24 of Immigra(cid:13)on Act 1. The pe(cid:13)(cid:13)oner incarcerated in the FIR cap(cid:13)oned above had come up before this Court under Sec(cid:13)on 483 of Bhara(cid:13)ya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023, [BNSS], seeking regular bail. 2. In paragraph 15 of the bail pe(cid:13)(cid:13)on, the accused declares that he has no criminal antecedents. 3. The facts and allega(cid:13)ons are being taken from the reply filed by the State, which reads as follows: “3. That the brief facts of the case is that a complaint numbered 1789, dated 21.09.2023, a(cid:30)er an inves ga ve report by the Economic Offenses Wing, Kaithal and Deputy Superintendent of Police, A.E.C., Kaithal, was received at the police sta on regarding ac on against Ashok Kumar (001- 4169169674) and Sumit (001-8122030225, (A/c No.0019000 -10xxxxxx Dhan Laxmi Bank Branch Janak Puri New Delhi) and Mahek Pravin Bhai Jaithi (A/c No. 008601xxxxxx, Mob. No. 97173xxxx, ICICI Bank Branch Bhuj Gujarat). The brief contents of the complaint is as under:- 1 JYOTI 2025.01.29 15:57 I attest to the accuracy and integrity of this order/judgment. CRM-M-46382-2024 "Sir, my name is Kamaljeet Singh Pelia, son of Amrik Singh, a permanent resident of Village Sultanpur Kartarpur, Tehsil Guhla, District Kaithal. I had interac ons with the accused Ashok Kumar through social media on the above WhatsApp number. Whenever Ashok Kumar communicated, he did so from this number, and he has a visa for Canada. He stated that he was currently in Canada and was arranging work visas in collabora on with companies there. He discussed arranging a work visa for me as well and said that I would need to pay 30 lakh rupees for this, with 20 lakh rupees to be paid upfront since he would arrange the work permit through a company and I would need to pay taxes to the company. He asked me to come to Chandigarh and then started demanding money saying I should transfer 25,000 rupees as Embassy fees so he could secure an Embassy date for me. He sent me the account number, and I deposited the money on February 17, 2023, into account number 001900010xxxxx at Dhan Laxmi Bank Branch Janakpuri New Delhi. He then said that my PPR leEer had arrived and asked me to deposit another 50,000 rupees into the same account so that he could send it to the company, which I did on February 27, 2023. A few days later, he said that he needed to pay the company owner so that my name could be included as a worker in the company, and asked me to bring 11 lakh rupees to the Amadiya Associa on in Delhi, showing a 20 rupee note he had sent on WhatsApp as a sign to iden fy the contact person. I went to the Amadiya Associa on in Delhi on March 2, 2023, showed them the note number, and they took 11 lakh rupees from me. He told me he needed to submit my PPR leEer and secure an Embassy date, for which I would need to advance 10/15 lakh rupees. He said he was in Canada and would send me the account number to transfer the 10/15 lakh rupees. When I expressed hesita on about transferring money without proper iden fica on, he showed me several work permits he had arranged under social media and showed his Canadian green card. He then sent me papers in my name from the company, and when I checked the company online, it seemed legi mate, which convinced me. I then transferred 6 lakh rupees on March 1, 2023, to Mahek Pravin Bhai Jaithi's account number 008601xxxx, and they gave me a VFS Chandigarh date. Two days later, Ashok called to say that my date had been canceled, which meant I had to send my passport to Delhi where our man would submit it, and he sent me the address in Delhi. I sent my passport to the address he provided, and on March 13,2023, he sent me the work visa and said that my work visa had been processed and asked me to send the 2 JYOTI 2025.01.29 15:57 I attest to the accuracy and integrity of this order/judgment. CRM-M-46382-2024 remaining amount, so I deposited 826,000 rupees into the account on March 14, 2023. He then said that since I had deposited cash in the account, a tax of 198,000 rupees had to be paid, which I would need to cover, and I deposited 198,000 rupees into the same account on March 15, 2023. A(cid:30)er paying all the money, I asked him to send me my passport with the visa, and he said that my passport would arrive at the post office, and I waited a few days, but the passport did not arrive, and then he said that his man had taken the passport and that he would deliver it to my home and that I should give him the remaining amount. I waited a few more days, but no one came to deliver the passport, and then he stopped answering my calls, and the visa he had sent to my phone, I messaged on its face file which a(cid:30)er reading the message 1 realized that he had commiEed fraud with many people and had taken money from them, and the accounts he had been asking to deposit money into were all being used to commit fraud. Therefore, sir, I request that the strictest ac on be taken against the accused". 4. The pe(cid:13)(cid:13)oner's counsel prays for bail by imposing any stringent condi(cid:13)ons and contends that further pre-trial incarcera(cid:13)on would cause an irreversible injus(cid:13)ce to the pe(cid:13)(cid:13)oner and his family. 5. 6. The State’s counsel opposes bail and refers to the reply. It would be appropriate to refer to the following por(cid:13)ons of the reply, which read as follows: “13. That regarding the role of the pe oner it is submiEed that he usurped the amount of Rs. 17,24,000/- in his account no. 0086015xxxxxx from the complainant in lieu of sending the vic m to Canada. During interroga on, he made his disclosure statement and in pursuance of his disclosure statement he got recovered Rs. 1,00,000/- from his house.” 7. There is sufficient primafacie evidence connec(cid:13)ng the pe(cid:13)(cid:13)oner with the alleged crime. However, pre-trial incarcera(cid:13)on should not be a replica of post-convic(cid:13)on sentencing. As per paragraph 4 of the bail pe(cid:13)(cid:13)on, the pe(cid:13)(cid:13)oner has been in custody since 13.05.2024. As per the custody cer(cid:13)ficate dated 08.01.2025, the pe(cid:13)(cid:13)oner’s total custody in this FIR is around 7½ months. Given the penal provisions invoked viz-a-viz pre- trial custody, coupled with the primafacie analysis of the nature of allega(cid:13)ons, and the other factors peculiar to this case, there would be no jus(cid:13)fiability further pre-trial incarcera(cid:13)on at this stage. JYOTI 2025.01.29 15:57 I attest to the accuracy and integrity of this order/judgment. 3 CRM-M-46382-2024 8. The pe(cid:13)(cid:13)oner's bail shall not be treated as a precedent for gran(cid:13)ng bail to the other co-accused with a higher role. 9. Without commen(cid:13)ng on the case's merits, in the facts and circumstances peculiar to this case, and for the reasons men(cid:13)oned above, the pe(cid:13)(cid:13)oner makes a case for bail. This order shall come into force from the (cid:13)me it is uploaded on this Court's official webpage. 10. Given above, provided the pe(cid:13)(cid:13)oner is not required in any other case, the pe(cid:13)(cid:13)oner shall be released on bail in the FIR cap(cid:13)oned above subject to furnishing bonds to the sa(cid:13)sfac(cid:13)on of the concerned Court and due to unavailability before any nearest Ilaqa Magistrate/duty Magistrate. Before accep(cid:13)ng the surety, the concerned Court must be sa(cid:13)sfied that if the accused fails to appear, such surety can produce the accused. 11. While furnishing a personal bond, the pe(cid:13)(cid:13)oner shall men(cid:13)on the following personal iden(cid:13)fica(cid:13)on details: 1. AADHAR number 2. Passport number (If available) and when the aHes(cid:13)ng officer/court considers it appropriate or considers the accused a flight risk. 3. Mobile number (If available) E-Mail id (If available) 4. 12. This order is subject to the pe(cid:13)(cid:13)oner’s complying with the following terms. 13. The pe(cid:13)(cid:13)oner shall abide by all statutory bond condi(cid:13)ons and appear before the concerned Court(s) on all dates. The pe(cid:13)(cid:13)oner shall not tamper with the evidence, influence, browbeat, pressurize, induce, threaten, or promise, directly or indirectly, any witnesses, Police officials, or any other person acquainted with the facts and circumstances of the case or dissuade them from disclosing such facts to the Police or the Court. 14. This bail is condi(cid:13)onal, and the founda(cid:13)onal condi(cid:13)on is that if the pe(cid:13)(cid:13)oner indulges in any non-bailable offense, the State shall file an applica(cid:13)on for cancella(cid:13)on of this bail before the Sessions Court, which shall be at liberty to cancel this bail. 15. Any observa(cid:13)on made hereinabove is neither an expression of opinion on the case's merits nor shall the trial Court advert to these comments. 16. A cer(cid:13)fied copy of this order would not be needed for furnishing bonds, and any Advocate for the Pe(cid:13)(cid:13)oner can download this order along with case status from the official web page of this Court and aHest it to be a true copy. If the aHes(cid:13)ng officer JYOTI 2025.01.29 15:57 I attest to the accuracy and integrity of this order/judgment. 4 CRM-M-46382-2024 wants to verify its authen(cid:13)city, such an officer can also verify its authen(cid:13)city and may download and use the downloaded copy for aHes(cid:13)ng bonds. 17. Pe22on allowed in terms men(cid:13)oned above. All pending applica(cid:13)ons, if any,
Decision
stand disposed of. 29.01.2025 Jyo(cid:13)-II Whether speaking/reasoned: Whether reportable: Yes No (ANOOP CHITKARA) JUDGE JYOTI 2025.01.29 15:57 I attest to the accuracy and integrity of this order/judgment. 5