IN THE HIGH COURT OF KARNATAKA AT BENGALURU DATED THIS THE 10TH DAY OF MAY, 2019 BEFORE THE HON’BLE MR.JUSTICE B.A.PATIL CRIMINAL PETITION NO.2785/2019 BETWEEN :
Abdul Karim Rehman Qureshi s/o. A.K.Awnar aged about 44 years r/at. No.104, Sale Building No.2, E Sugra Park, Sy.No.273 Rani Sei Marg, Pathan Wadi Malad East Blossom Developer Mumbai Maharashtra-400 097 … Petitioner (By Sri H.C.Shivaramu, Advocate) AND :
State of Karnataka By SHO, Ramanagara Rural Police Station Ramanagara/CID Police Bangalore Rep.by SPP High Court of Karnataka Bengaluru-560 001 … Respondent (By Sri H.S. Chandramouli, SPP for Smt.Namitha Mahesh B.G., HCGP) This Criminal Petition is filed under Section 439 of Cr.P.C praying to enlarge the petitioner on bail in Cr.No.510/2017 and CC.No.25/2018 (Additional charge sheet) for the offences punishable under Sections 120B, 364A, 365, 368, 342, 324, 370, 384, 385, 386, 387, 302, 201 r/w. Section 34 of IPC, registered by the respondent- police, Bangalore, now pending on the file of the Principal Civil Judge (Sr.Dn.) & CJM./Ramangara District and Sessions Judge, Ramanagara, in the interest of justice.
This Criminal Petition having been heard, reserved on 25.4.2019 and coming on for pronouncement of orders this day, the Court made the following:-
O R D E R The present petition is filed by accused No.6 under Section 439 of Cr.P.C. to enlarge him on bail in Crime No.510/2017 of Ramanagara Police Station for the offences punishable under Sections 120B, 364A, 365, 368, 342, 323, 324, 370, 384, 385, 386, 387, 302, 201 r/w. Section 34 of IPC.
2. I have heard Sri H.C.Shivaramu, learned counsel appearing for the petitioner-accused No.6 and Sri H.S.Chandramouli, learned SPP, assisted by Smt.Namitha Mahesh B.G., learned HCGP for the respondent-State.
3. The gist of the complaint is that on 6.12.2017 at about 5.30 p.m., complainant noticed a group of people gathered by the side of his village road and out of curiosity he went there and noticed a dead body thrown into bush. He realized that some miscreants have committed the murder. He went to the Police Station and filed the complaint. During the course of investigation, it revealed that the said dead body was that of one Surinderpal Singh of Punjab. The relatives of the deceased identified the dead body based on his photographs. It is the case of the prosecution that accused No.1 being a travel agent at Punjab used to pretend that he sends the persons to Canada by taking his commission. It is further revealed that on 4.12.2017 at about 9.30 p.m., CW.14 and the deceased were sent by accused No.1.
4. It is further revealed that as per the instructions of accused No.6, on 30.11.2017 accused No.1 told CW.15-Manpreeth Singh that he will be sent to Canada and sent him from Punjab to Mumbai. At Mumbai, accused No.13 received CW.15 and introduced himself as Dilip Tiwari and he took him in an autorickshaw to a hotel Domino’s Center, where accused No.6 introduced himself as Naresh Patel and told CW.15 that he will be sent to Canada and he will be given visa. He took Rs.2,00,000/- i.e., 3000 US dollors and sent CW.15 in the name of Sant Kripal Das to Bengaluru in Indigo Airlines. He also informed CW.15 that all arrangements have been made to travel from Bengaluru to Canada. It is further stated that accused Nos.15 and 16 helped to create the documents by using photo of CW.15 and fake address and instructed him that he has to travel in the said name as it is going to help him. Accused No.13 took CW.15 in an autorickshaw and accused No.6 went in a car bearing Regn.No.MH-02-DW-5624, by following the said autorickshaw. Accused No.6 also informed accused No.10 about the arrival of CW.15 and he instructed accused No.10 to take him to a room and confine and ill-treat and threaten him with dire consequences to extract the money to the extent of Rs.20 lakhs and the same has to be given to accused No.1. It is further stated that when CW.15 reached Airport in midnight on 1.12.2017, accused No.8 who is known to accused No.6 and accused No.10 met CW.15 and they told that the flight going to Canada will be in the midnight and he can take rest and they will provide relevant documents to travel and took him in a Toyota Etios Car bearing Regn.No.KA-03- AD3716 to the house which was taken on rent in the name of accused No.10 at Agrahara Layout, Kogilu, where CW.15 has been confined in a room and accused No.8 by showing pistol threatened him that he has to hear their say and make a call to his father. Accused No.10 has also assaulted with hockey stick on his back and other parts of the body; accused Nos.9 and 14 caught hold of CW.15 so that he should not move and make hue and cry. They also assaulted him with hands and threatened him with life. Because of fear and threat, CW.15 told that he will hear what they say. On the same day, i.e., on 1.12.2017 at about 3.00 a.m., accused No.8 made a call to the father of CW.15 and told that CW.15 has boarded the flight going to Frankfort and he will call back after reaching Canada. It is further stated that on 2.12.2017 at about 3.00 a.m., accused persons made CW.15 to call CW.17, the father of CW.15 falsely telling that he reached Canada and as per the instructions of accused Nos.6 and 11, accused Nos.8, 9 and 14 made CW.15 to call his father asking to give Rs.20 lakhs to accused No.1. After receiving the said amount of Rs.20 Lakhs without sending CW.15 to Canada, accused Nos.2, 3, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12 and 14 confined CW.15 and on 9.12.2017 they created a fake record in the name of Sant Kripal Das for CW.15 to send him through Bengaluru Airport to Amruthsir and accused Nos.8, 10 and 14 took him in a car bearing Regn.No..KA03-AD- 3716 and sent him by Indigo Airlines.
5. It is further case of the prosecution that on 3.12.2017, accused No.1 under the guise of sending the deceased Surinderpal Singh and CW.14 to Canada took them from Amruthsir and sent them to Mumbai Airport, where accused Nos.6 and 13 introduced themselves as Naresh Patel and Ajaykumar Sharma @ Dileep Tiwari respectively and took them in a car bearing Regn.No.MH- 47-A-4981 and took them to Airport Inn Hotel and made them to stay. Accused Nos.1 and 11 made arrangements by creating the documents for CW.14 and also promised that they will get job in Canada and they collected 3000 US dollors and gave the said amount to accused No.6. On the same day, accused No.6 told CW.14 and the deceased to go to Bengaluru on 4.12.2017 saying that all arrangements have been made to send them to Canada and handed over the tickets of Indigo Airlines prepared in the name of Sathinder Singh for CW.14 and in the name of Ravikumar for the deceased. The fake passports were created by accused No.6. The said fake passports were seized from the house of accused No.6. On the basis of investigation, preliminary report has been filed with a request to file additional final report.
6. It is the submission of the learned counsel Sri H.C.Shivaramu for the petitioner-accused No.6 that there is no incriminating material as against the petitioner- accused No.6. Accused No.6 is working as a travel agent and he has only facilitated for getting the tickets from Mumbai to Bengaluru. He further submitted that though it is alleged that several calls have been made, call details have not been collected. No amount has been collected by the petitioner-accused No.6. He further submitted that the real culprits are different, but accused No.6 has been falsely implicated in the case. He further submitted that the amount which has been recovered at the instance of the petitioner-accused No.6 is belonging to him. He further submitted that the provisions of Section 364A of IPC and other provisions are not attracted as neither the petitioner has kidnapped CW.14 and the deceased for any ransom nor he has confined them. No role has been played by the petitioner in any of the activities. He further submitted that the deceased was not having any passport and in order to facilitate him to get passport, accused No.6 has given the passport by creating the same. If that aspect is taken into consideration, the only offence which is attracted as against the petitioner-accused No.6 is Section 420 of IPC and nothing more than that. He further submitted that already the investigation has been completed and the charge sheet has been filed. Accused No.6 is a resident of Mumbai and he was not present when all other activities have been taken place in Bengaluru. He further submitted that the petitioner is ready to abide by the conditions imposed by this Court and ready to offer sureties. On these grounds, he prayed to allow the petition and to release the petitioner-accused No.6 on bail.
7. Per contra, the learned SPP vehemently argued and submitted that the petitioner-accused No.6 has been involved in 10 cases i.e, Crime Nos.12/2018, 92/2018, 62/2018, 11/2018, 76/2017, 194/2018, 73/2018, 271/2015, 178/18, 246/2018. They are all similar type of cases and those cases are at infant stage of investigation. It is his further submission that the petitioner-accused No.6 along with the other accused persons by creating fake documents by falsely telling that they will send the unemployed graduates to Canada, used to confine them in a room and they used to threaten them to make a call to their parents or their relatives to extract the money. He further submitted that during the course of investigation, 108 Indian passports, 10 fake passports, aadhar cards, pan cards and voter ID cards in different fake names, have been recovered from the possession of the petitioner-accused No.6. The Investigating Officer has sought for permission from the jurisdictional Court to further investigate in order to verify the passports which have been recovered from the petitioner-accused No.6. He further submitted that the photographs which were affixed on the said passports are not belonging to CWs.14, 15 and the deceased. He further submitted that the petitioner is a member of larger conspiracy and he is a member of syndicate, who has been involved in a heinous offence and has actively participated in the commission of the said offence. He further submitted that CWs.14 and 15 have identified the petitioner- accused No.6 and he is kingpin in mafia conspiracy. All the accused persons have been chargesheeted for the offence punishable under Section 120B of IPC and therefore the petitioner-accused No.6 is also equally liable to be punished for the said offence. He further submitted that an amount of Rs.18.5 Lakhs has been recovered from the possession of the petitioner-accused No.6 and if the entire material is unrebutted, then, there is every likelihood of he being found guilty. There is ample material to show that the petitioner-accused No.6 is involved in human trafficking and if he is enlarged on bail, he may fly abroad and may not co-operate with the investigating agency and he may also not available for trial. On these grounds, he prayed to dismiss the petition.
8. I have carefully and cautiously gone through the submissions made by the learned counsel for the parties and perused the records.
9. Before considering the submissions made by the learned counsel appearing for the parties, I want to place it on record as to what are the parameters which the Court has to keep in mind while considering the bail application, which have been elaborately discussed by the Hon’ble Apex Court in paragraph-112 of its decision in the case of Siddharam Satlingappa Mhetre Vs. State of Maharashtra and others, reported in (2011) 1 SCC 694, which read as under:-
“112. The following factors and parameters can be taken into consideration while dealing with the anticipatory bail:
(i) The nature and gravity of the accusation and the exact role of the accused must be properly comprehended before arrest is made;
(ii) The antecedents of the applicant including the fact as to whether the accused has previously undergone imprisonment on conviction by a court in respect of any cognizable offence;
(iii) The possibility of the applicant to flee from justice;
(iv) The possibility of the accused’s likelihood to repeat similar or other offences;
(v) Where the accusations have been made only with the object of injuring or humiliating the applicant by arresting him or her;
(vi) Impact of grant of anticipatory bail particularly in cases of large magnitude affecting a very large number of people;
(vii) The courts must evaluate the entire available material against the accused very carefully. The court must also clearly comprehend the exact role of the accused in the case. The cases in which the accused is implicated with the help of Sections 34 and 149 of the Penal Code, 1860 the court should consider with even greater care and caution because overimplication in the cases is a matter of common knowledge and concern;
(viii) While considering the prayer for grant of anticipatory bail, a balance has to be struck between two factors, namely, no prejudice should be caused to the free, fair and full investigation and there should be prevention of harassment, humiliation and unjustified detention of the accused;
(ix) The court to consider reasonable apprehension of tampering of the witness or apprehension of threat to the complainant;
(x) Frivolity in prosecution should always be considered and it is only the element of genuineness that shall have to be considered in the matter of grant of bail and in the event of there being some doubt as to the genuineness of the prosecution, in the normal course of events, the accused is entitled to an order of bail.”
10. On close reading of the aforesaid decision, it has been enumerated that the Court must evaluate the entire available material against the accused very carefully. The Court must also clearly comprehend the exact role of the accused in the case including the position of the accused under Sections 34 and 149 of IPC and thereafter the balance has to be struck between two factors, namely, no prejudice should be caused to the free, fair and full investigation and there should not be any harassment, humiliation and unjustified detention of the accused. Keeping in view the said aspect, let me consider the facts of the case on hand.
11. It is the specific contention of the learned counsel for the petitioner-accused No.6 that the petitioner is a travel agent. There is no incriminating material to show that he was present at the time when the death of the deceased Surinderpal Singh took place and no specific overt act is found as against the petitioner that he has also assaulted either CWs.14, 15 or the deceased. But, it is the specific contention of the learned SPP that the petitioner-accused No.6 being a travel agent and under the guise of sending unemployed graduates to Canada, he used to create fake documents and passports and used to send them to Bengaluru. Along with other accused persons, he also used to insist such persons to make calls to their parents, or relatives or friends and used to extract money telling that they have already been sent to Canada. In that background, if the charge sheet material is perused, it would indicate that as per the instructions of the petitioner-accused No.6, accused No.1 sent CW.14 under the guise of sending him to Canada and extracted 3000 US dollors and by booking air tickets through Indigo airlines in the fake name of Sathinder Singh, he was sent to Bengaluru, where accused Nos.15 and 16 took him and confined him in a house at Agraharalayout, Kogilu. Accused Nos.8 and 10 by showing pistol, threatened him to make a call to his father to give money. They also assaulted him with hockey stick. Accused Nos.9 and 14 also assaulted him with hands. It is available from the charge sheet material that on 3.12.2017, accused No.1 sent CW.14 and the deceased Surinderpal Singh from Amruthsar to Mumbai Airport, where accused Nos.6 and 13 met them and introduced themselves as Naresh Patel and Ajaykumar @ Dileep Tiwari and respectively and took them in a car bearing Regn.No.MH-47-A4981 to a hotel Airport Inn and made them to stay there. Thereafter accused Nos.1 and 11 took 3000 US dollors by assuring that they will be provided visa and job at Canada and paid the said amount to the petitioner-accused No.6. On the same day accused No.6 informed CW.14 and the deceased that all arrangements have been made to send them to Canada and they have to go to Bengaluru. They gave air tickets in the name of Sathinder Singh for CW.14 and in the name of Ravikumar for the deceased by telling that only to facilitate them to go to Canda, such fake names have been used. Even the charge sheet material shows that on 4.12.2017 accused Nos.6 and 13 took CW.14 and the deceased to Airport and by giving fake identity card and air tickets sent them to Bengaluru and called accused Nos.8 and 10 over the phone instructing them to take those two persons, confine them in a house, threaten them to make a call to their parents that they have reached Canada and to extract the money. All these materials of the charge sheet clearly go to show the active involvement of the petitioner-accused No.6 in the alleged crime. Even it is also noticed from the charge sheet material that when accused No.10 informed accused Nos.6 and 11 over phone that the deceased Surinderpal Singh has been resisting to make a call to his parents that he has reached Canada and to give money, they told accused No.10 that if the deceased is left free, he may file the police complaint and if he is not going to pay the amount, he may be dealt with dire consequences. Thereafter, it is accused Nos.2, 3, 8, 9, 10 and 14 who assaulted the deceased with iron rods and thereafter in order to screen the offence, accused persons thrown the body into the bush as per the instructions of accused Nos.6, 10 and 11. All these materials also clearly and prima facie show the involvement of the petitioner-accused No.6 in a heinous crime and about the conspiracy. When there is ample material to show that the petitioner-accused No.6 is a member of the said syndicate and he has also received the money from CW.14, then under such circumstances, I feel that at this juncture, it is sufficient to conclude that the petitioner-accused No.6 has been involved in a heinous offence of human trafficking and murder which is punishable with death or imprisonment for life. Even it is specific contention of the learned SPP that the petitioner- accused No.6 has been involved in many cases as mentioned supra which are also similar in nature. It reflects that the petitioner-accused No.6 is having bad criminal antecedents and if he is released on bail, he may again indulge in such type of criminal activities, he may abscond and may not be available for trial.
12. Even this Court while considering the bail applications filed by accused Nos.1 to 3 in Criminal Petition No.8618/2018 and connected matters, disposed of on 10.4.2019, has discussed in detail all these aspects and has come to the conclusion that there is ample material as against the accused-petitioners therein. Hence, I am of the considered opinion that the petitioner- accused No.6 has not made out any good grounds so as to release him on bail.
In that light, the petition is liable to be dismissed and accordingly, the same stands dismissed.
*ck/-
Sd/- JUDGE