Petitioners apprehend arrest by the Kollam West and Ezhukone Police and have filed the applications.
2. B.A.Nos. 3755 of 2014 and 3761 of 2014 are filed by the accused 1 and 4 in Crime No.381 of 2014 of the Ezhukone Police Station. B.A.Nos. 3754, 3756, 3757, 3758, 3759 and 3760 of 2014 arise from Crime No.406, 405, 408, 407, 409 and 380 of 2014 of the Kollam West Police Station. All these cases are registered for offences punishable under Sections 120B, 420, 465, 468, 471 r/w Section 34 of the Indian Penal Code.
3. Learned Public Prosecutor has submitted that the Police registered cases under the MMDR and those cases were compounded. For such composition chellan receipts for payment of Rs.25,000/- each in the treasury concerned were produced. Later, it was revealed that the amounts deposited in the treasury was only of Rs.500/- each and the chellan receipts produced were forged to make it appear that Rs.25,000/- each was remitted. According to the learned Public Prosecutor, the petitioners are involved actively in the forgery.
4. Learned counsel submitted that the allegations are not true. According to the learned counsel, petitioners are neither the owner or person in possession of the vehicle which was allegedly used for transporting red earth without authority.
5. I have gone through the C.D. file and find statement of Sajith Kumar who was driver of one of the lorries is involved. The said Sajith Kumar has stated that Preman (said to be the petitioner in these application other than B.A.No.3761 of 2014) had handed over the receipts (allegedly forged) to him and others for compounding the offence and that Preman used to take them on bail. Statement also indicate that the said Preman (the petitioner in the applications other than B.A.No.3761 of 2014) is actively behind the alleged transportation of red earth. Role of the petitioners is to be investigated. Grant of pre-arrest bail would affect such investigation. Hence the request cannot be allowed.
It is directed that in case the petitioners are arrested in any of the aforesaid crimes, they shall be produced before the jurisdictional magistrate as early as possible. On such production it is open to the petitioners to request for bail.
Sd/-
THOMAS P. JOSEPH, JUDGE.
AS /True Copy/ P.A. to Judge