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TMI Blog2015 (3) TMI 1440X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... in the alleged Chit-Fund Scam prima facie appears to be not correct as the materials on record indicate that the petitioner was frequently visiting Bhubaneswar to attend the meetings of the Directors of AT Group of Companies - The contentions that the amount transferred from the accounts of AT Group of Companies to the account of the petitioner were utilized by Prism Heights Company for the payment of artists, directors, cameraman, staff etc. in the production of tele serials is not borne out of the charge sheet and there is also no documentary evidence in support of such contentions. The materials on record further indicate that there was deep-rooted criminal conspiracy between the petitioner and some co-accused persons including accused Pradeep Kumar Sethy with the patronage of some politicians, police officers, executives and other influential persons as a result of which innocent depositors were allured to invest their hard earned money with AT Group of Companies and the petitioner being a motivator has played crucial role in cheating the public and misappropriating more than a crore of rupees. Considering the nature of accusations, the punishment prescribed for the offences u ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... B/Kol. dated 5.6.2014 was registered treating the First Information Reports of eight cases as original FIR of the case pursuant to the direction of the Hon'ble Supreme Court dated 9.5.2014 passed in Writ Petition (Civil) No. 401 of 2013 filed by Sri Subrata Chattoraj and Writ Petition (Civil) No. 413 of 2013 filed by Sri Alok Jena. Those eight cases are Badambadi P.S. Case No. 5 of 2013 dated 5.1.2013, Kharvel Nagar P.S. Case No. 44(4) of 2013 dated 7.2.2013, Bhanjanagar P.S. Case No. 95 of 2013 dated 2.5.2013, Angul P.S. Case No. 282 of 2013 dated 3.5.2013, Bargarh Town P.S. Case No. 149 of 2013 dated 8.5.2013, Paralakhemundi P.S. Case No. 93 of 2013 dated 25.6.2013, Kujanga P.S. Case No. 262 of 2013 date 19.8.2013 and Cantonment Road P.S. Case No. 76 of 2013 dated 24.9.2013. The informants in those cases alleged that they along with other depositors paid huge amounts to Artha Tatwa (AT) Group of Companies for getting higher returns in terms of interests and incentives under various schemes floated by AT Group of Companies and cheap flats/plots under various projects undertaken by the AT Group of Companies represented by its Chief Managing Director Pradeep Kumar Sethy. The com ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... st public at large having wide ramification over the society. The innocent depositors, being allured by the accused persons, invested their money with the AT Group and ultimately lost their hard earned life time savings due to the aforesaid acts of the accused persons. The charge sheet further revealed that from the materials emerged during investigation and from the circumstances of the case, it was prima facie established that the petitioner along with the co-accused persons entered into criminal conspiracy with each other and in pursuance thereof they formed different companies, collected money from the public with dishonest and fraudulent intention by alluring them of higher returns and thereafter they cheated public by depriving them of their eligible returns and also misappropriated the collected amount. The investigation was kept open as per the provisions of section 173(8) Cr.P.C. as a lot of aspects of the case including the money trail as desired by the Hon'ble Supreme Court, the role of other accused persons/Directors, office bearers involved in Artha Tatwa Group of Companies/Society was being looked into and additional evidence/documents that might emerge during cou ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... o CBI officer but with malafide intention those documents were neither taken note of nor were cited as documents in the charge sheet. It is further contended that the petitioner was neither the Director of AT Group of companies nor an agent nor a promoter/motivator nor she had played any role with regard to collection of any amount from the public by any of the AT Group of Companies. The learned counsel for the petitioner further contended that the petitioner is in custody since 10.10.2014 and in the meantime co-accused persons namely Ranjan Kumar Das and Pravat Kumar Tripathy who were also charge sheeted by the CBI have been released on bail by this Court in applications under section 439 Cr.P.C. Similarly another co-accused i.e., ex-Advocate General Sri Ashok Mohanty has also been released on bail under section 439 Cr.P.C. by the learned Sessions Judge, Khurda at Bhubaneswar. He further contended that that the petitioner is a lady and her father is aged about 75 years who is suffering from heart and other related diseases and is also bed ridden and her mother is also a patient and there is no male member in the family of the petitioner to maintain and look after them. It is furth ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... cifically asked to produce the books of accounts relating to the expenditure made for the production of two TV serials but she has failed to produce the same. It is further contended that the money was transferred by the main accused Pradeep Kumar Sethy to the personal account of the petitioner out of which she had given Rs. 20 lakhs to her sister. It is further contended that no agreement between the petitioner and the main accused for production of the two TV serials was produced before the CBI authorities even though specifically asked for to the petitioner. The learned Special Public Prosecutor further contended that such agreement was ordinarily expected had the investment been made by the main accused for producing TV serials and therefore the plea taken by the petitioner that the amount was transferred for producing tele serials was nothing but an afterthought story and from the inconsistent stand taken by the petitioner, it is clearly established that the amount was not spent for production of the tele serials as alleged but for her personal benefits. The learned counsel for the CBI further submitted that one of the co-accused namely Madhusudan Mohanty who approached this C ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... held as follows:- 5. In view of the aforesaid decisions and looking to the provisions of Section 439 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, it is an option given to the petitioners, whether they want to approach the Sessions Court or to the High Court. Both the Courts have concurrent jurisdiction. When previously bail application is rejected by both the Courts i.e. by the Sessions Court as well as by this Court and if successive bail application is to be preferred second time or subsequent and if they approach directly the High Court, it cannot be held that such type of application is not tenable at law. On the contrary, it is tenable at law and it is in accordance with Section 439 of the Code of Criminal Procedure. When the petitioners approach this Court, petitioners are losing a chance to approach the trial court otherwise the petitioners will have two chances, first to approach the Sessions Court and then to approach the High Court, but, if the petitioners are not choosing their option to approach the trial court, looking to their own case and looking to their previously rejected bail applications by the Hon'ble High Court, such a choice is vested in the petitioners to approac ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... n of India. If a person in custody approaching the High Court for bail against the rejection order of the Court of Session during course of investigation is denied of his valuable right of adjudication of the bail on merit only on the ground of submission of charge sheet at the time of consideration of the bail application and is asked to approach the Court of Session again then certainly it would be a travesty of justice. There cannot be any rationale to show the door of Court of Session again to the applicant. Therefore, I am of the view that this bail application is maintainable. 6. Law is well settled that detailed examination of evidence and elaborate discussion on merits of the case need not be undertaken for grant of bail. The Court has to indicate in the bail order, reasons for prima facie conclusion why bail was being granted, particularly, when the accused is charged of having committed a serious offence. In the case of Kalyan Chandra Sarkar -v- Rajesh Ranjan alias Pappu Yadav and Anr. 2004 Supreme Court Cases (Criminal) 1977, it is held as follows: 11....The Court granting bail should exercise its discretion in a judicious manner and not as a matter of course. Though at ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ests of the public or state and similar other considerations . In the case of Sanjay Chandra -V- CBI AIR 2012 SC 830, it is held as follows:- 25.........It is, no doubt, true that the nature of the charge may be relevant, but at the same time, the punishment to which the party may be liable, if convicted, also bears upon the issue. Therefore, in determining whether to grant bail, both the seriousness of the charge and the severity of the punishment should be taken into consideration. The grant or refusal to grant bail lies within the discretion of the Court. The grant or denial is regulated, to a large extent, by the facts and circumstances of each particular case. But at the same time, right to bail is not to be denied merely because of the sentiments of the community against the accused. The primary purposes of bail in a criminal case are to relieve the accused of imprisonment, to relieve the State of the burden of keeping him, pending the trial, and at the same time, to keep the accused constructively in the custody of the Court, whether before or after conviction, to assure that he will submit to the jurisdiction of the Court and be in attendance thereon whenever his presence i ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... s not a mechanical act. Merely because some of the co-accused, whom similar role has been ascribed, has been released on bail earlier and State has not moved the higher Court against the order in question for cancellation, the power of the Court cannot be fettered to act against conscience. In the case of Chandigarh Administration -v- Jagjit Singh [1995] 1 SCR 126, it is held as follows: 8...If the order in favour of the other person is found to be contrary to law or not warranted in the facts and circumstances of his case, it is obvious that such illegal or unwarranted order cannot be made the basis of issuing a writ compelling the respondent-authority to repeat the illegality or to pass another unwarranted order.... The illegal/unwarranted action must be corrected, if it can be done according to law-indeed, wherever it is possible, the Court should direct the appropriate authority to correct such wrong orders in accordance with law-but even if it cannot be corrected, it is difficult to see how it can be made a basis for its repetition... Giving effect to such pleas would be prejudicial to the interests of law and will do incalculable mischief to public interest. It will be a nega ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... n support thereof, it was found to be a fit case for admitting the petitioner to bail subject to certain conditions. Pravata Kumar Tripathy was a member of Legislative Assembly of Odisha from Banki Constituency and he stated to have used his influence during registration of Artha Tatwa Multi-Purpose Cooperative Society Ltd. and received money to the tune of Rs. 42 lakhs for patronizing the main accused Pradeep Kumar Sethy to run the illegal business. The learned counsel for the CBI on the other hand produced the order copy dated 23.12.2014 passed in BLAPL No. 21677 of 2014 wherein while considering the bail of co-accused Madhusudan Mohanty after submission of charge sheet, this Court has been pleased to observe in paragraph-13 that the involvement of the said co-accused in the commission of the crime is prima facie made out and if he is released on bail then there is every possibility of gaining over the witnesses. Considering the greater and larger interest of the State and society, this Court rejected the application for bail. Madhusudan Mohanty was the Managing Director of M/s Tilakraj Publications Pvt. Ltd. to whose accounts a sum of Rs. 60,42,500/- was illegally diverted from ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... kground of the facts of that case. A little difference in facts or additional facts may make a lot of difference in the precedential value of a decision. In Padmasundara Rao -v- State of Tamilnadu AIR 2002 SC 1334, the Supreme Court had held as under: 8A. There is always a peril in treating the words of judgment as though they are words in a legislative enactment and it is to be remembered that judicial utterances are made in setting of the facts of a particular case. Circumstantial flexibility, one additional or different fact may make a world of difference between conclusions in two cases . After going through the allegations as leveled in the charge sheet against the co-accused persons who have been released on bail vis-a-vis allegations against the petitioner, I find that the petitioner stands in a different footing and therefore the principle of parity for grant of bail would not be applicable to the petitioner. 8. The learned counsel for the CBI placed the statement of C.W.5 Reetish Nandan Padhy who was the Branch Operations Manager, HDFC Bank, Bhubaneswar and he has stated as to on which dates right from 2009 till 2012, amount have been transferred to the account of the peti ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ials has been denied by the learned counsel for the CBI. When it is the stand of the petitioner that on each date of interrogation she was accompanied by her Advocate Sri A.K. Singh to the CBI office at Bhubaneswar, it is not understood as to how she failed to obtain any receipt from the CBI authorities in token of the receipt of such valuable documents. There is no seizure list of any such documents. The charge sheet also does not indicate about the production of any such document by the petitioner before the CBI authorities. Therefore, it prima facie appears that it is an afterthought plea which cannot be accepted. The learned counsel for the petitioner submitted Xerox copies of the statement of accounts of Prism Heights and copy of the statement of account of the petitioner by way of a list of documents on 9.3.2015 and served the copy of such documents on the very day on the learned Special Public Prosecutor, CBI. The learned counsel for the CBI submitted that the matter is still under investigation and the Investigating Officer would certainly look into the relevancy of such copies of documents in the context of the case. The learned counsel for the CBI further urged that the i ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... tified....... Larger conspiracy angle is according to the affidavit being examined in three cases. These are: xx xx xx (ii) Case No. 44 dated 7.2.2013 under the same provisions registered in Kharvelnagar Police Station (Bhubaneswar Urban Police District) against M/s. Artha Tatwa Group of Companies and xx xx xx 30. The factual narrative given in the foregoing paragraphs clearly establish the following:- 1. The financial scam nicknamed chit-fund scam that has hit the States of West Bengal, Tripura, Assam and Odisha involves collection of nearly 10,000 crores (approx.) from the general public especially the weaker sections of the society which have fallen prey to the temptations of handsome returns on such deposits extended by the companies involved in the scam. xx xx xx 5. That investigation so far conducted reveals involvement of several political and other influential personalities wielding considerable clout and influence. xx xx xx 31. The question is whether the above feature call for transfer of the ongoing investigation from the State Police to the CBI. Our answer is in the affirmative. xx xx xx Investigation by the State Police in a scam that involves thousands of crores colle ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... f the country. 16. While granting bail, the Court has to keep in mind the nature of accusations, the nature of evidence in support thereof, the severity of the punishment which conviction will entail, the character of the accused, circumstances which are peculiar to the accused, reasonable possibility of securing the presence of the accused at the trial, reasonable apprehension of the witnesses being tampered with, the larger interests of public/State and other similar considerations. In case of State of Gujarat -v- Mohan Lal Jitamalji Porwal AIR 1987 SC 1321, it is held as follows:- 5. xx xx xx The entire community is aggrieved if the economic offenders who ruin the economy of the State are not brought to book. A murder may be committed in the heat of moment upon passions being aroused. An economic offence is committed with cool calculation and deliberate design with an eye on personal profit regardless of the consequence to the Community. A disregard for the interest of the community can be manifested only at the cost of forfeiting the trust and faith of the Community in the system to administer justice in an even handed manner without fear of criticism from the quarters which vi ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... nd the witnesses and likelihood of the accused fleeing from justice and tampering with witnesses etc. Bail is a matter of procedural privilege and not an accrued right until it is granted. The law is the sentinel of rights of the Society and of the individual. The cause of public justice and interest of society have to be zealously guarded compared to the rights of an applicant. If the offence is of such a nature which affects the vital interest of the society and has adverse effect on the social and family life, in such matters the issue is to be considered with reference to them and one of the consideration which has to be weighed for granting or refusing bail is the nature of the offence and its heinousness. Though the beneficial provision relating to release of an accused under the age of sixteen years or on the ground of being a woman or sick or infirm has to be kept in mind while considering his/her bail in spite of his/her involvement in an offence punishable with death or imprisonment for life but at the same time the Court should also give due weight to the other aspects like nature and gravity of the offence etc. and also the adverse impact of the offence committed on the ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... -v- State of U.P. 2014 (14) SCALE 59, it is held as follows:- 16.......We are not oblivious of the fact that liberty is a priceless treasure for a human being. It is founded on the bedrock of constitutional right and accentuated further on human rights principle. It is basically a natural right. In fact, some regard it as the grammar of life. No one would like to lose his liberty or barter it for all the wealth of the world. People from centuries have fought for liberty, for absence of liberty causes sense of emptiness. The sanctity of liberty is the fulcrum of any civilized society. It is a cardinal value on which the civilization rests. It cannot be allowed to be paralysed and immobilized. Deprivation of liberty of a person has enormous impact on his mind as well as body. A democratic body polity which is wedded to rule of law, anxiously guards liberty. But, a pregnant and significant one, the liberty of an individual is not absolute. The society by its collective wisdom through process of law can withdraw the liberty that it has sanctioned to one individual when an individual becomes a danger to the collective and to the societal order. Accent on individual liberty cannot be py ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... pect of Rs. 1,17,83,000/- along with bank statements were furnished to the CBI officials is also not borne out of the record. No agreement between Pradeep Kumar Sethy and the petitioner for production of the two tele serials through Prism Heights Company or any books of accounts indicating production expenses of such serials were produced by the petitioner before the CBI. The materials on record further indicate that there was deep-rooted criminal conspiracy between the petitioner and some co-accused persons including accused Pradeep Kumar Sethy with the patronage of some politicians, police officers, executives and other influential persons as a result of which innocent depositors were allured to invest their hard earned money with AT Group of Companies and the petitioner being a motivator has played crucial role in cheating the public and misappropriating more than a crore of rupees. After bestowing my anxious consideration to weigh and analyse the materials available on record with utmost care and caution, the nature of accusations, the punishment prescribed for the offences under which charge sheet has been submitted, prima facie availability of supporting materials to establis ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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