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TMI Blog2024 (8) TMI 1518X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... :- 1 C.R. No. 26 of 2020 2 Date of registration of F.I.R. 08/01/2020 3 Name of Police Station Shivaji Nagar, District - Pune 4 Section/s invoked 406, 408, 409, 420, 468, 471, 109, 120B, 465, 467, 474 & 34 of the I.P.C., 1860; 3, 4 & 5 of the Maharashtra Protection of Interest of Depositors (In Financial Establishments) Act, 1999. 5 Date of arrest 25/02/2020 6 Date of filing Charge-sheet 11/05/2020 7 Details of Supplementary Charge-sheets Supplementary Charge-sheet No.1 (41/2021) 14/09/2021 Supplementary Charge-sheet No.2 (57/2021) 29/11/2021 Supplementary Charge-sheet No.3 (02/2022) 12/01/2022 Supplementary Charge-sheet No.4 (37/2022) 10/06/2022 3. The Respondent − State of Maharashtra has opposed this Bail Application by filing Affidavit dated 20th April 2023 of Mr. Anand Ganpatrao Ruikar, Assistant Police Inspector, Economic Offences Wing, Pune City, Pune. Thereafter, another Affidavit dated 10th June 2024 has been filed by Mr. Sanjay G. Chavan, Police Inspector, Economic Offences Wing, Pune City, Pune. The Respondent - State of Maharashtra has also filed Affidavits dated 24th July 2024 and 30th July 2024 4. The prosecution case is set ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... s on 31.03.2020, the financial condition of the aforesaid bank is as under :- Sr.No. Particulars Amt.(In Rs.) 1 Total Deposits 432,85,82,488/- 2 Total Number of Investors 93,128 3 Total Loan 401,31,00,506/- 4 Total Loan holders 719 5 N.P.A. Amt. 392,92,86,232/- 6 Total Accounts of N.P.A. 432 7 N.P.A. Percentage 97% 12. I say that after completion of investigation, the investigating agency submitted charge sheet on 21.05.2020 vide Charge Sheet No.32/2020 in Special Case No.317/2020. I further say that during further investigation, the investigating agency conducted investigation and submitted supplementary charge sheets before the Learned Competent Court, the description of which is as under :- Sr.No. Supplementary Charge Sheet No. & Date Supplementary Charge Sheet No. 1 Supplementary Charge Sheet No. 1 Dated 14.09.2021 41/2021 2 Supplementary Charge Sheet No. 2 Dated 29.11.2021 57/2021 3 Supplementary Charge Sheet No. 3 Dated 12.01.2022 02/2022 4 Supplementary Charge Sheet No. 4 Dated 10.06.2022 37/2022 13. I say that the present Applicant/Accused has past criminal antecedents, a list of which is as under :- Sr.No. Police Sta ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... Applicant has no objection if sale of the attached properties is made absolute. 14.05 Crore (approx.) @valuation reports 3. Government Valuation (as per IGR) of properties mortgaged and attached in lieu of loan in balance 31 NPA Accounts out of 44 NPA accounts. Recovery certificate u/s 101 of MCS Act of 29 NPA Accounts out of 44 NPA Accounts received. 41.00 Crore (approx.) @Bank chart TOTAL Rs. 98.26 Crore 4. SUMMARY: Sr. no Particulars Amount(In Crores) 1. Liability attributed 146.63 2. Actual realisation and amount to be received 151.60 " 6. In view of the above Chart, the learned Single Judge by Order dated 10th April 2023 directed the Respondent - State of Maharashtra to file the Additional Affidavit and in view thereof an Affidavit of Mr. Sanjay G. Chavan, Police Inspector, Economic Offences Wing, Pune City, Pune has been filed on 10th June 2024. In the said Affidavit, the role of the present Applicant is explained with respect to the said Chart submitted by Mr. Mundargi, learned Senior Counsel. The relevant portion of the said Affidavit dated 10th June 2024 is at Paragraph Nos.6 to 9, which reads as under: "6. I say that in the aforesaid matter, the com ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... lanation - 8.1 In pursuance of the aforesaid compilation submitted by the Applicant/Accused, it is submitted that the following are the details and particulars of the below-mentioned NPA Loan Accounts:- Sr. No. Particulars OTS Loan Amount 30% Amt. received against OTS by Applicant 1 WCTL-406 Kakade Palace Mangal Karyalaya 2,37,53,354/- 93,35,426/- 2 WCTL-408 Jons Holding Pvt. Ltd. 8,83,70,649/- 2,58,11,103/- 3 WCTL-409 Kakade Green Estate Pvt. Ltd. 8,87,53,205/- 2,56,80,954/- 4 WCTL-01 Pushpak Ply 7,49,36,336/- 2,22,68,104/- 5 WCTL-107 V.Y. Infra Structure Pvt. Ltd. 8,14,96,800/- 2,47,38,380/- Total 35,73,10,344/- 10,78,33,967/- I state that, in pursuance of above chart, OTS offer was proposed in 13 NPA Accounts out of 44 NPA Accounts out of which in above mentioned 5 loan accounts, One Time Settlement was done by Shivajirao Bhosale Co Op Bank, Pune, in which Applicant has paid 10.78 cr as on date 14/05/2024 and amount of 24.94 Cr is pending payment with monthly 11 installments fixed. Out of 13 NPA loan account 08 loan accounts is pending for sanction at the office of Commissioner of Co-operative, Pune for OTS. If the proposed OTS is approved ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... s done by Shivajirao Bhosale Co Op Bank, Pune, (30% amount) 10.78 Cr Total 64.05 Cr B) Amount will be recover from applicant in future Sr.NO Particulars Amount (in Crores) 1 Valuation of properties of Applicant attached by ED/EOW/Bank, 11.43 Cr 2 5 loan accounts, One Time Settlement was done by Shivajirao Bhosale Co Op Bank, Pune and pending payment with monthly 11 installments fixed. (70% amount) 24.94 Cr 3 Out of 13 NPA loan account 08 loan accounts is pending for sanction at the office of Commissioner of Co-operative, Pune for OTS. 17.40 Cr (Approx.) Total 53.77 Cr C) Valuation of mortgaged properties 30 NPA loan accounts Sr.NO Particulars Amount (in Crores) 1 Valuation of mortgaged properties of remaining 30 NPA loan accounts 27.14 Cr" 7. It is the submission of Mr. Mundargi, learned Senior Counsel for the Applicant that F.I.R. was registered on 8th January 2020 and the Applicant was arrested on 25th February 2020. He submitted that the Charge-sheet was filed on 11th May 2020 and thereafter 4 Supplementary Charge-sheets were filed on 14th September 2021, 29th November 2021, 12th January 2022 and 10th June 2022. On the basis of the sta ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... at the material on record clearly shows that the Applicant is involved in a very serious offence. She pointed out various Affidavits filed on behalf of the Respondent - State of Maharashtra. She submitted that the NPA Loan Accounts attributed to the Applicant are to the tune of Rs.113.14 Crores and the total amount with interest is more than Rs.156 Crores. She submitted that there is a recovery of only Rs.53.27 Crores. She submitted that except the said recovery of Rs.53.27 Crores, there are recoveries of Rs.10.78 Lakhs and Rs.10.78 Crores. She therefore submitted that the total amount recovered is Rs.64.05 Crores. She submitted that the huge amount of money is still outstanding. She submitted that this is a case where the Complainant who is the Statutory Auditor of Shivajirao Bhosale Co-operative Bank Ltd., Pune ("Auditor/Complainant") along with the Scrutiny Team of the Reserve Bank of India ("RBI") had verified the available cash amount and entries in the cash book. She submitted that there was deficit cash in hand of amount of Rs.71,78,87,723/-. She submitted that in view of said Audit Report, the District Special Auditor had directed the Complainant to lodge complaint in the P ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ailable cash amount and entries to the cash book and found that there was deficit cash in hand of amount of Rs.71,78,87,723/-. The Applicant has admitted the liability to the extent of Rs.430 Crores. He submitted that in fact the medical reports submitted by Sassoon Hospital, Pune, to the Trial Court were also found to be suspicious containing contradictory information. He submitted that the Trial Court and the Jail Authorities have also found the conduct of the Applicant was not proper and acceptable. He submitted that in fact the Applicant refused to take any treatment when offered and therefore the contention regarding the medical condition of the Applicant, is not acceptable. He submitted that the persons to whom the alleged loans were given have filed various Writ Petitions in this Court. He submitted that the case of the Applicant does not fall within the guidelines of the law laid down by the Supreme Court in the case of Manish Sisodia (supra) in view of the applicability of Section 409 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860 ("IPC"). He submitted that as the Applicant is the Kingpin of fraud in this case, parity cannot be claimed, as the roles of the Applicant and those who have bee ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... 375; सहकारी बँकेचा माजी अध्यक्ष असुन माझ्या कार्यकालात रू. ३१० कोटी कर्जवाटप होऊन प्रभावी कर्जवसुली न झालेने त्याचा परिणाम स्वरूप ३ मे २०१९ पासून रिझर्व्ह बँकने शिवाजीराव भोसले सहकारी बँकेवर निर्बंध लाद&# ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... 67;निधीत्व करणारी पुणेकर नागरीक कृती समिती जो निर्णय घेईल त्यास माझी मान्यता आहे. " (Emphasis added) 16. It is the submission of Mr. Desai, learned Counsel for the Intervenor that the Accused is a highly influential person and he was elected as a Member of the Legislative Council for two terms. The wife of the Applicant is a Corporator of Pune Municipal Corporation and therefore both of them are having influential status in the Society. It is submitted that said status of the Applicant was used as a catalyst to commit serious economic offences which have adversely affected the public at large and funds of public at large have been misappropriated and converted to their own use and to the use of persons close to the Accused. It is submitted that bare perusal of the F.I.R. and the documents annexed ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... on while deciding application for bail. The relevant discussion is found in Paragraph No.12 of the said decision, which reads as under:- "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." Thus, it is clear that on the touchstone of above parameters, if the prosecution case is examined then no case is made out for grant of bail. It is also required to be noted that the Applicant has used his influential position to commit the crime and also made efforts to ensure that Scrutiny Team of the RBI should not carry on scrutiny and thus crime should not be dete ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... e merely to secure the attendance of the prisoner at trial.""" (Emphasis added) Paragraph Nos.54 to 57 of the decision in the case of Manish Sisodia (supra) are also relevant, which read as under: "54.In the present case, in the ED matter as well as the CBI matter, 493 witnesses have been named. The case involves thousands of pages of documents and over a lakh pages of digitized documents. It is thus clear that there is not even the remotest possibility of the trial being concluded in the near future. In our view, keeping the appellant behind the bars for an unlimited period of time in the hope of speedy completion of trial would deprive his fundamental right to liberty under Article 21 of the Constitution. As observed time and again, the prolonged incarceration before being pronounced guilty of an offence should not be permitted to become punishment without trial. 55. As observed by this Court in the case of Gudikanti Narasimhulu (supra), the objective to keep a person in judicial custody pending trial or disposal of an appeal is to secure the attendance of the prisoner at trial. 56. In the present case, the appellant is having deep roots in the society. There is no possi ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... sses proposed to be examined by the prosecution. 21. Mr. Mundargi, learned Senior Counsel for the Applicant states that the volume of all the Charge-sheets while taken together is more than 15,000 Pages. Ms. Shinde, learned APP confirms the said position. 22. As noted herein above in the Affidavit dated 20th April 2023, it is stated that the scope of investigation is very wide and complicated and therefore the investigation of the present offence is going on under Section 173(8) of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (CrPC). The said statement is also to be found in the Affidavit dated 10th June 2024 of Mr. Sanjay G. Chavan, Police Inspector, Economic Offences Wing, Pune City, Pune. 23. Although, Mr. Mundargi, learned Senior Counsel for the Applicant also raised the contention regarding parity, prima facie with respect it is to be obseved that orders on the basis of which parity is sought, have not taken into consideration all the aspects of the matter and therefore prima facie the said orders will not be applicable as parity. However, as I am allowing this Bail Application on the ground of violation of the fundamental right of speedy trial of the Applicant, I am not considerin ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... y for an interactive, efficient and effective functioning of a parliamentary democracy. However, such confidence is difficult to expect when figures, as indicated in the above referred table, loom large in our polity. 15. In fact, there are no two views about the compelling need to take up and dispose of the subject cases expeditiously. We have no doubt in our mind that even the political representative, be it MP or an MLA, involved in the prosecution would also seek a quick disposal of these cases. However, the problem lies elsewhere. It seems systemic, perhaps institutional, and takes within its sweep many factors including the method of adversarial litigation that we have adopted. Yet, at every stage of the practice and procedure that we adopt, there is scope for reform. It is in this context that we have earnestly conducted and monitored this case for the last seven years." (Emphasis added) The Supreme Court has issued various directions in said decision in Paragraph No.21 for expeditious disposal of criminal cases against MP or MLA. The Supreme Court in the said decision has also made reference to the earlier Order dated 4th December 2018 where it is directed that crimina ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... accused be considered before grant of an order for bail. In exceptional cases such as where an allegation of misappropriation of public money by the accused is levelled and the accused while seeking indulgence of the court to have his liberty secured/restored volunteers to account for the whole or any part of the public money allegedly misappropriated by him, it would be open to the court concerned to consider whether in the larger public interest the money misappropriated should be allowed to be deposited before the application for anticipatory bail/bail is taken up for final consideration. After all, no court should be averse to putting public money back in the system if the situation is conducive therefor. We are minded to think that this approach would be in the larger interest of the community. However, such an approach would not be warranted in cases of private disputes where private parties complain of their money being involved in the offence of cheating." 28. Thus, it is clear that no such conditions can be imposed and the conditions to be imposed must not be onerous or unreasonable or excessive. In Paragraph No.26 of the said decision, the Supreme Court considered, the ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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