Deepak And Others vs State Of M.P

Virender Singh, J

Crime No.

Under Section

Police Station

362/2020

407, 420, 109, 120-B IPC

Badnawar

Both these petitions have arisen out of the same crime number of the same police station, therefore, they have been heard together and are being disposed off by this common order.

As declared by the petitioners, these are the first applications filed under section 439 of the Cr.P.C.

The prosecution case, in brief, is that the wonder cement company has a mother plant in Nimbaheda, Rajsthan where they prepare clinkers (processed raw material for making cement) and used to send it to its plant in Distt. Badnawar, MP for making cement. On 29/07/2020 they loaded clinker worth Rs.90,000/- in a truck bearing registration No. RJ.09-GA-5342. Manoj was the driver of this truck. When the truck reached to Badnawar plant, it was found that clinkers were substituted by metal (crushed stone or Gitti). Manoj was taken into custody and interrogated. He revealed that in connivance with the owner of the truck Niyamat Ali (petitioner), Rafiq, Mujib Rahman, Lakhan, and Inder Singh had sold the clinkers to Yogendra @ Bapu of Nimbaheda, therefore, the police arrested them.

The act attributed to the all accused persons is as follows:-

i. Manoj was the driver of the Truck No. RJ 09 GA 5432 in which the clinkers were loaded from the Mother plant of the Wonder Cement situated at Nimbaheda, (Rajsthan). He emptied the clinkers in the Neelu Agro Warehouse under the direction of the owner of the truck Niyamat Ali.

ii. Niyamat Ali is the owner of the truck No. RJ 09 GA 5432, who accepted the offer of Rafiq to substitute the clinkers by gitti for a lucrative deal. Call logs of Niyamat Ali and Rafiq show their interaction at the relevant point of time.

iii. Rajesh Astoliya was the owner of the transport to which the truck was attached.

iv. Mujib Rehman cracked a deal @ Rs. 2000/- per truck with the Trippler Operator Deepak Mastana (co-accused) of Wonder Cement to clear the material to be unloaded by the co-perpetrators. Call logs to show their connectivity and CCTV footage to show his presence at the time of exchanging the material of the truck at Neelu Agro Warehouse have been collected during the investigation.

v. Rafiq Khan contacted truck owner Niyamat and instigated him to commit the said offence. He also instigated Mujib to find out links in the factory to pass the substituted material. He also took the help of Inder and Lakhan to find a buyer for the Clinkers.

vi. Inder and Lakhan: They took Neelu Agro Warehouse on rent to use the same to transfer the clinkers from one truck to another truck No GJ-20 V2345 which is yet to be recovered. They sold the clinker to Yogendra who is absconding.

vii. Yogendra bought the clinker from the above-accused persons, which is yet to be recovered. According to the prosecution, he is the mastermind of the crime.

viii. Deepak Mastana was the Trippler Operator of the Wonder Cement, whose duty was to pass the material coming to the plant.

Learned counsels for the petitioners submitted that the petitioners have been falsely implicated in the case. Co-accused persons Mujib, Rafiq, and Lakhan Singh have been granted bail by this Court vide order dated 23.09.2020 passed in M.Cr.C No.29516/2020, 30240/2020, 30576/2020 and the petitioners have complete parity with them. There is no legal evidence to connect them with the crime. No incriminating evidence is available against them. Their custodial interrogation is not required. Nothing has to be recovered from their possession. There is no possibility of their absconding. They will co-operate with the trial and shall abide by the conditions to be imposed by the Court. They are in jail since 08.08.2020. The conclusion of the trial is likely to take time. Therefore, they be granted bail.

Besides, the learned counsels representing their respective petitioners made a proposal that they are ready to deposit a reasonable sum under protest, which can be used to compensate the complainant in case they are found to be at fault.

The bail is opposed by the objector as well as by the learned panel lawyer stating that the petitioners are clearly visible in CCTV footage at the time of substituting the clinker by Gitti and transferring them in another truck. Mixing of Gitti in the process of making cement reduces the quality of the end product and taints credibility of the company. The loss caused by the petitioners is unaccountable. All the petitioners were actively involved in the crime. Therefore, they be not granted bail.

Counsels are heard at length and the record is perused.

Having regard to the nature of the crime, allegations against the petitioners, act attributed to them, the loss caused to the complainant, the proposal made by the petitioners, and other facts and circumstances of the case, I deem it proper to allow the petitions. Therefore, without commenting on the merits of the case, all the applications are allowed.

It is directed that the petitioners (1) Deepak S/o Sadarsingh Mastana and (2) Niyamat @ Chhotu S/o Mardan Ali be released from custody on their depositing Rs.25,000/- each and on their furnishing a personal bond in the sum of Rs. 30,000/- each (Rs. Thirty Thousand) with one local solvent surety each of the like amount to the satisfaction of the Trial Court for their appearance before it as and when required and further subject to the following conditions:

(i) The petitioners shall co-operate with the trial and shall not seek unnecessary adjournments on frivolous grounds to protract the trial;

(ii) The petitioners shall not directly or indirectly allure or make any inducement, threat or promise to the prosecution witnesses, so as to dissuade them from disclosing truth before the Court;

(iii) The petitioners shall not commit any offence or involve in any criminal activity;

(iv) In case of their involvement in any other criminal activity or breach of any other aforesaid conditions, the bail granted in this case may also be cancelled

The Trial Court shall fix deposit the amount deposited by the petitioner with any Nationalized Bank for the period which can fetch maximum interest with the further auto-renew option, if available or it be further renewed as and when required. Disbursement of the amount so deposited shall be subject to the order of the Court.

The amount so deposited may be used by the trial Court to compensate the complainant, who has suffered any loss or injury due to the alleged crime as prescribed under section 357(3) of the Cr.P.C or any other law for the time being in force and the balance, if any, be refunded back to the depositors.