1. The applicants have been arrested in connection with Cr.No.I-34 of 2012 registered with Anjar police station for the offences punishable under Sections 307, 120-B and 114 of the Indian Penal Code.
2. It is the case of the prosecution that the applicant and the complainant have been friends for the past 5 years from the date of incident. They were in habit of borrowing and lending money. The complainant lent Rs.2 lakhs to the applicants herein. It is alleged that complainant time and again asked to return his money back, but, in vain.
On 8.1.2002, the applicants requested the complainant to meet them at the temple near Savasar Natha field. At or around 7:45 p.m, complainant met them at the scheduled place and time and applicants had offered a glass of juice to the complainant. On drinking one or two Sips, the complainant sensed feelings of uneasiness and, therefore, he chose to call upon his wife and his friend and drove the car to Chitrakut circle where his wife had reached by then. He was admitted to Anjar Government Hospital initially from where he was transferred to the hospital at Bhuj and finally to Sterling Hospital, Ahmedabad from where he was eventually discharged on 29.1.2012. It is alleged by the prosecution that the applicants attempted to kill the complainant to avoid the payment of money advanced to them.
3. This application for bail under Section 439 of Code of Criminal Procedure is preferred after the filing of chargesheet. Learned Senior Counsel Mr. P.M.Thakkar appearing with learned advocate Ashish Dagali for the applicants has forcefully submitted that the applicants have no role to play in the entire case. He also urged that the complainant himself had chosen to consume poison as he had borrowed loan from uncle of the present applicants. He is working as a peon, with Swami Vivekanand School at Anjar, however, his extravagance and luxurious lifestyle put him into difficulties. It is also contended that he possessed Zylo Car and drove the said vehicle bearing registration No. GJ-12-1034 on the date of incident. Again, he was organizing Navratri on a larger scale and therefore he was under a pressure of huge amount and debt and he falsely involved these applicants when in fact he was putting up a drama to avoid making payments. Moreover, there has been a delay of 23 days, which remains unexplained. Learned Senior Counsel further urged that though his wife and friend were in know of such facts, they never filed complaint while the complainant was allegedly unconscious. Police also did not register complaint, too. He also questioned as to how the medical practitioner would know about the OP poisoning on the day on which he was admitted to the hospital unless he had consumed the same and revealed such details. It is urged that to avoid the repayment of money, he has come out with this gimmick. He also pointed out from the memo of the application that it is very unlikely that he would be in a position to lend any amount. He again urged this Court that since the victim complainant is now discharged and normally has returned in his life, regular bail should be granted to both the applicants.
4. Learned Additional Public Prosecutor appearing for the State has strongly objected to the grant of this application on the ground that for the treatment given to the present application at different hospitals, he had very little chances of survival. He further contended that under Section 307 of Indian Penal Code the Court shall not consider the injury, but, the intention will be a very so important consideration and even if no injury is caused, once the intention gets clearly established, the Court may not exercise its jurisdiction of grant of regular bail.
5. Learned advocate Mr.Umesh Trivedi appearing for the complainant has strenuously argued that the present applicants have been changing their versions time and again. The cheque given to the uncle of the present applicants by the complainant has been misused. He further urged that the applicants and the victim complainant were bosom friends, not even once these persons had bothered to visit him at the hospital. He urged that this also is indicative of the guilty mind of the applicants. Moreover, the victim himself, at the time of his admission to the Government Hospital, had given history of homicidal poisoning and OP poisoning, as mentioned by the Doctor, according to him, is also indicative that the Doctor could know about the poisoning because that is the most common kind of poison causing death of the people. He urged that all through out from the time complaint was administered poison, he was seriously ill and therefore was unable to lodge a complaint. His wife was busy to save the life of the husband and if the police after his brief detail has not lodged a complaint that hardly can raise any question against the present applicant.
6. He also urged this Court that even after the protracted period, the victim has been severely affected and he still requires to take the treatment as his Vertebra is affected.
7. Having heard learned advocates for both the sides and on careful examination of the material on record, the Court is disinclined to grant regular bail to the present applicants for the reasons to be followed hereinafter:-
7.1 As can be noted from the case of the prosecution as culminated into the chargesheet, allegations against the present applicants is of administering poison in the juice of the complainant victim. The applicants had borrowed money from the complainant and they were to return that amount to the complainant. On repeated request the same was not repaid. On the date of incident, at the instance of both these applicants, the complainant had gone to the place where he was invited. It is further the case of the prosecution that by administering poison in the juice he was asked to drink the same and they had left him thereafter. But, having sensed the same, the complainant called his wife and his friend and asked them to immediately meet him midway so that he can be taken to the hospital.
When he was admitted to Anjar hospital, he gave history of homicidal poisoning at about 7:45 p.m. on the very same day. The patient was conscious at the relevant time. The medical case papers are indicative that the Doctor by a sign of Delta (∆) diagnosed OP poisoning and he also mentioned that pupils of the patient were pin-pointed, and he was advised further treatment. From 8.1.2012 he continued to be in Anjar Hospital and then, he was transferred to Bhuj and thereafter to Sterling Hospital. He was discharged on 28.1.2012 and was back to Anjar on 29.1.2012 and thereafter, he lodged this complaint on 1.2.2012.
8. It is a fact that the patient when was admitted on 8.1.2012 was conscious. However, he was found to be unconscious thereafter all through out. He was needed to be shifted to Bhuj hospital then to Sterling hospital at Ahmedabad. His dying declaration was recorded when he was brought to Sterling Hospital where it was diagnosed that his Right S1 segment was affected.
9. As can be noted from the authentic material on the subject that Organophosphate poisoning results from exposure to organophosphates (Ops), which causes the inhibition of acetylcholinesterase (AchE), leading to the accumulation of acetylcholine (Ach) in the body. Organophosphate poisoning most commonly results from exposure to insecticides. Ops are one of the most common causes of poisoning worldwide, and are frequently intentionally used in suicides in Agrarian areas. There are around 1 million OP poisonings per year with several hundred thousands resulting in fatalities annually.
10. Orthophosphates inhibit enzyme AchE, causing OP poisoning by phosphorylating the serine hydroxyl residue on AchE, which inactivates AchE. AchE is critical for nerve function, so the irreversible blockage of this enzyme, causes acetylcholine accumulation which results in muscle overstimulation. This causes disturbances across the cholinergic synapses and can only be reactivated very slowly, if at all.
11. One of the symptoms of OP poisoning is the pin-pointed pupils so also a specific odor, which may lead the Doctors to suspect OP poisoning.
12. OP poisoning is also prevalent in India. As India is an agriculture based society, OP contents are easily available at shop. They are the commonest class of pesticides, which are found to have been used in the cases of poisoning.
13. Thus from these details it can be made out that the Doctor, who had treated him on the first day and in the initial hours suspected OP poisoning presumably on the basis of condition of his pupils and the odor from his mouth. Therefore, the history of homicidal poisoning is specific in the words of the doctors, from the beginning, the case of the prosecution is of administering of poison. His continuous stay from 8.1.2012 to 19.1.2012 at the hospitals and also during his stay at Sterling Hospital from 19.1.2012 to 28.1.2012 he remained unconscious and thereafter his discharge from the Sterling Hospital was on 28.1.2012. From the diary of ASI, Kasambhai Arab clearly indicates that the person was not conscious upto 26.1.2012. Resultantly, it can be said that there is no delay in filing of the complaint and even if there has been delay that can not furnish a ground for grant of bail as it was not on account of any alleged maneuvering by the complainant, but, on account of his status due to alleged homicidal poisoning as narrated to the Doctor at the first instance itself.
Again ASI Kasambhai Arab followed up complainant's stay from 8.1.2012 to 26.1.2012 at various hospitals and his weekly diary also indicates his state of unconscious name of complainant victim. All through out if the police chose not to register the crime that hardly can be the ground of disbelieving the version of the complaint, when not only there are prima facie clear and apparent indications of his having been seriously affected by effect of poison, at the relevant time, but, till the date his treatment continues as his nervous system is damaged.
This appears to be a case of intention of killing of the person which did not happen. Applicants owed to the complaint huge amount and Applicants questioned seriously means of the present complainant, who worked as a peon and was also organizing Navratri in Kachchh district. These hardly are the questions to be considered at this stage. Whether he was living outside his means, and whether he was evading rigors of tax laws are the deficiencies at this stage would pale into insignificance in wake of these above-mentioned glaring facts.
14. It would be necessary to make a mention at this stage of Section 307 of the Indian Penal Code, excerpts of which are taken from the case of Hajuben Osamanbhai Kureshi and others vs. State of Gujarat in Criminal Miscellaneous Application No. 12872 of 2012 passed by this Court on 14.9.2012:-
“ The Court is of the opinion that though the chargesheet is filed, the manner in which this incident has taken place without any cause having been provided by the complainant, with a prima facie clear intention of killing the complainant, it is a fit case where no discretion is required to be exercised. Section 307 of the Indian Penal Code punishes a person for a term with maximum imprisonment of 7 years or for term which may extend to 10 years.
This Section deals with offences of attempt to murder, the act attempted should be such which if not prevented or intercepted would have been sufficient to cause death of the victim. Again, for constituting the offence under this provision even no injury requires to be caused to the victim as is well settled, however, if during the course of attempt, the bodily injury is caused, the act would be liable to enhance punishment. What is requirement for sustaining conviction is the intention to kill, which should be eloquent enough from the circumstances as is apparent in the instant case from the attack on the vital parts of the body of the complainant and all the three assailants having performed their parts of roles and having set the complainant on fire. It is also to be remembered that the intention is not to be gathered only from the seriousness of the resultant injury, the complainant herself was very specific right from the beginning and but for the interception of her daughter at the right time, she would have not survived. Such being the clear case prima facie with apparent mens rea, this Court is of the opinion that no discretion is required to be exercised in favour of these applicants by enlarging them on regular bail.”
15. Insistence on the part of the applicants is of grant of regular bail because the complainant is discharged from the hospital. Ordinarily, the Courts allow the regular bail once victim has attained normalcy and is discharged from hospital. However in each case that alone cannot be the sole criteria, the Court shall have to record nature of crime, mens rea, character of the person concerned, charges attributed to them, quantum and punishment the offence would entail. However, one of the important aspects would be also capability of tampering and fleeing away from justice.
Cumulatively, looking at these things, the Court is disinclined to grant the regular bail to the present applicants, whose modus itself is indicative that they cannot be trusted for not hampering or tampering with the evidence. Resultantly, this application is rejected.
sudhir (Ms.Sonia Gokani, J.)