IN THE HIGH COURT OF KARNATAKA AT BENGALURU DATED THIS THE 28th DAY OF NOVEMBER 2019 BEFORE THE HON’BLE MR. JUSTICE K.N.PHANEENDRA CRIMINAL PETITION NO.8061 OF 2019 BETWEEN:
WASIM PASHA S/O RIYAZ PASHA, 35 YEARS C/O TASVIR JIYALA BLOCK 1ST CROSS, NEAR NOBAL SCHOOL RAMANAGARA TOWN RAMANAGARA DISTRICT-562108.
(BY SRI. D.R. SUNDARESHA, ADV.) AND:
STATE OF KARNATAKA BY CHIKKAJALA POLICE STATION CID POLICE BANGALORE (REPRESENTED THROUGH PUBLIC PROSECUTOR HIGH COURT OF KARNATAKA, BANGALORE) (BY SRI. ROHITH B.J. HCGP) - - -
… PETITIONER … RESPONDENT This Criminal Petition is filed under Section 439 of Cr.P.C., praying to enlarge the petitioner on bail in Cr.No.178/2018 of Chikkajala Police Station, Bengaluru for the offence P/U/S. 323, 324, 327, 341, 344, 347, 364-A, 365, 370, 386, 387, 395, 406, 420 R/W Sec.120-B, 34 and 37 of IPC This Petition coming on for Orders this day, the Court made the following:-
ORDER Heard the learned counsel for the petitioner, the learned High Court Government Pleader for the respondent – State and perused the records.
2. The petitioner is arraigned as accuse No.11. The respondent police have laid the charge sheet against the petitioner and others in C.C.No.742/2019 for the offence under Sections 323, 324, 327, 341, 344, 347, 364(A), 365, 370, 386, 387, 395, 406, 420 read with 120(B), 34 and 37 of IPC, now pending on the file of the 5th Addl. District and Sessions Judge, Bengaluru Rural District, Devanahalli.
3. The materials available on record shows that the police inspector Mr.M.Naga Reddy who was disabled for the purpose of assisting the investigation in Crime No.510/2017 came to know that some of the accused persons in this case are in Prince Hotel. He has taken custody of Ashfaq Khan, Rahul Mehara, Sunil Kejriwal and enquired them by recording their statements and it revealed from the said investigation that those persons were indulged in securing the presence of the persons who are aspirants to go to foreign countries in search of jobs and also keeping them in their custody for the purpose of extracting money from them. The police also came to know that some persons were in custody of the said accused persons by name Mohammed Kabir Hussain and others. Those persons were also examined by the police and inturn they disclosed that the above named accused persons Daddu, Pandit, Ashfaq and Jafar confined them in a house situated in Bengaluru and 5-6 persons used to watch these victims and in fact those 5-6 persons used to assault the victims and threatened them with dire consequences of killing them in order to extract the money. On the basis of the above said allegations, the petitioners and other accused persons were arrested and presently, the petitioner is in judicial custody.
4. I have carefully perused the entire charge sheet and Section 164(5) of Cr.P.C. statements of the victims. It did not reveal that after arrest of these persons whether any test identification parade was conducted or the petitioner was shown to the said victims in order to ascertain whether this petitioner was also present at any point of time with the above said accused persons, in order to watch the victims and also ill-treated and threatened the victims at any point of time.
5. Learned HCGP, with all fairness, submitted before this Court that neither in the 161 Cr.P.C. statements of the victims nor in the 164(5) Cr.P.C. statements, it revealed that after arrest of this petitioner, he was shown to the victims for identification and also the police have not conducted the test identification parade. Apart from the above, the learned counsel for the petitioner has drawn the attention to the orders passed by this Court in Crl.P.No.6969/2019 wherein this Court has enlarged accused No.3 Sunil Kejriwal on bail.
6. This Court has observed in the said case that accused No.1 Abdul Karim Rehman Khureshi was already released on bail by the 5th Addl. District and Sessions Judge, Bengaluru and also considering the nature of allegation and the facts of the case, the accused No.3 against whom the main allegations are made that he was also one of the conspirators in convening the victims for the purpose of extracting the money, he was released on bail. In my opinion, the petitioner who stands on a better footing than the above said accused persons, is entitled to be enlarged on bail on certain conditions. Hence, the following:
ORDER The Petition is allowed. Consequently, the petitioner shall be released on bail in connection with S.C.No.15028/2019 pending on the file of 5th Addl. District and Sessions Judge, Bengaluru Rural at Devanahalli, registered for the offence punishable under Sections 323, 324, 327, 341, 344, 347, 364(A), 365, 370, 386, 387, 395, 406, 420 read with 120(B), 34 and 37 of IPC subject to the following conditions:
(i) The petitioner shall execute his personal bond for a sum of Rs.1,00,000/- (Rupees One lakh only) with two sureties for the like-sum to the satisfaction of the jurisdictional court.
(ii) The petitioner shall not indulge in tampering the prosecution witnesses.
(iii) The petitioner shall appear before the jurisdictional court on all the future hearing dates unless exempted by the Court for any genuine cause.
(iv) The petitioner shall not leave the jurisdiction of the Trial Court without prior permission of the Court till the case registered against him is disposed of.
Sd/- JUDGE RV