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TMI Blog2025 (2) TMI 958X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... es Wing, Chhattisgarh pertaining to predicate offence discovered during money laundering in investigation File No. ECIR/RPZO/09/2022 was done under Section 66(2) of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002 (for short "the PMLA"). Thereafter, an offence bearing FIR No. 03/2024 has been registered on 17.01.2024 at Police Station ACB/EOW Raipur (C.G.) against 35 accused persons namely Smt. Saumya Chaurasiya, Sameer Bisnoi, Smt. Ranu Sahu, Sandeep Kumar Nayak, Shivshankar Nag, Suryakant Tiwari, Manish Upadhyay, Roshan Kumar Singh, Nikhil Chandrakar, Rahul Singh, Parekh Kurre, Moinuddin Qureshi, Virendra Jaiswal, Rajnikant Tiwari, Hemant Jaiswal, Joginder Singh, Nawneet Tiwari, Deepesh Taunk, Devendra Dadsena, Rahul Mishra, Ramgopal Agrawal, Devendra Singh Yadav, Shishupal Sori, Rampratap Singh, Vinod Tiwari, Amarjeet Bhagat, Chandradeo Prasad Rai, Brashpat Singh, Idrish Gandhi, Gulab Kamro, Shri U.D. Minj, Sunil Kumar Agrawal, Jai (friend of the applicant), Chandraparakash Jaiswal, Laxmikant Tiwari & others. 3. Further case of the prosecution is that a syndicate comprised of private individuals and other State Government functionaries like Smt. Saumya Chaurasia, Director, Geology ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... Ranu Sahu, State Mining Officers etc. had received kickbacks from the applicant and acquired benami properties disproportionate to their source of income. It is also case of the prosecution that the applicant has purchased property in the name of his family members and other relatives from receipt of extorted money of coal. Therefore, the Enforcement Directorate requested the Anti-Corruption Bureau by filing complaint to identify all the assets acquired by the various government servants who are accused of participation in this extortion syndicate in various Districts. It is also case of the Enforcement Directorate that various mining officers are involved in this extortion. As such, it was requested by the Enforcement Directorate to register an FIR and investigate the matter. In pursuance of the complaint, the FIR was registered. It is also case of the ACB/EOW that Rs. 36 crores illegal extorted money has been collected which has been utilized for purchase of property in the name of applicant and other accused Saumya Chaurasia and Ranu Sahu through their relatives or friends. Thus, on the basis of the complaint, FIR has been registered against the applicant for commission of offe ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... illegal levy on coal transportation by the officials of the State Government in connivance and in conspiracy with the other accused persons. 6. Mr. Gagan Tiwari, learned counsel for the applicant would submit that the applicant is innocent and has been falsely implicated in the crime in question. He would further submit that the applicant is aged about 62 years and he has been diagnosed with diabetes and with Branch Retinal Vein Occlusion along with Cystoid Macular Edema in his right eye and Moderate Non-Proliferative Diabetic Retinopathy in his left eye, which in turn caused loss of vision, during a medical examination conducted by the Raipur Central Jail. Because of the said disease there is swelling in center of the retina which causes loss of vision. As a result of such ailments, the applicant is in constant need of treatment, medical care and attention. He would further submit that as per provision of law an accused who is sick and infirm may be granted bail. He would further submit that the registration of present case is an abuse of process of law, the motive of the non-applicant is only to leave the applicant behind the bar for indefinite period. He would further submit th ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... Shingara Singh Vs. State of Punjab [(2005) 7 SCC 387], Kashmira Singh Vs. State of Punjab [(1977) 4 SCC 291], Javed Gulam Nabi Shaikh Vs. State of Maharashtra [2024 SCC OnLine 1693], CBI Vs. V.C. Shukla [1998 (3) SCC 4]. 8. On the other hand, Dr. Saurabh Kumar Pande, Deputy Advocate General for the ACB/EOW opposing the submissions made by learned counsel for the applicant and referring to the FIR and the case diary would submit that the applicant is uncle of Suryakant Tiwari and he used to keep the money received from illegal coal levy by Suryakant Tiwari and syndicate at his residence as per the instructions of Suryakant Tiwari and also used to deliver the share of illegal levy to bureaucrats and political persons on instructions of Suryakant Tiwari. Suryakant Tiwari has invested crores of rupees in illegal immovable properties in applicant's name and his family members from the amount collected by illegal coal levy. After the raid conducted by the Income Tax Department, the immovable properties purchased by the applicant in his own name as well as his family members name were sold. In the raid conducted by the Income Tax Department at applicant's residence on 30.06.2022, approx ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... CC 364, it was held as under:- "5. ....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 view white collar crimes with a permissive eye unmindful of the damage done to the national economy and national interest....." 79. Observing that economic offences constitute a class apart and need to be visited with different approach in the matter of bail, in Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy v. CBI (2013) 7 SCC 439, the Supreme Court held as under:- "34. Economic offences constitute a class apart and need to be visited with a different approach in the matter of bail. The economic offences having deep-rooted conspiracies and involving huge loss of public funds n ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ously, cautiously and strictly in compliance with the basic principles laid down in a plethora of decisions of this Court on the point. It is well settled that, among other circumstances, the factors to be borne in mind while considering an application for bail are: (i) whether there is any prima facie or reasonable ground to believe that the accused had committed the offence; (ii) nature and gravity of the accusation; (iii) severity of the punishment in the event of conviction; (iv) danger of the accused absconding or fleeing, if released on bail; (v) character, behaviour, means, position and standing of the accused; (vi) likelihood of the offence being repeated; (vii) reasonable apprehension of the witnesses being influenced; and (viii) danger, of course, of justice being thwarted by grant of bail. "10. It is manifest that if the High Court does not advert to these relevant considerations and mechanically grants bail, the said order would suffer from the vice of non-application of mind, rendering it to be illegal..." 47. The considerations which must weigh with the Court in granting bail have been formulated in the decisions of this Court in Ram Govind Upadhy ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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