Allahabad High Court rejects bail application under Section 439 of Code of Criminal Procedure

The Allahabad High Court has rejected the bail to Azad Singh, brother of Sanjay Kumar the Senior Engineer of Power Grid Corporation, Saharanpur.

A Single Bench of Justice Samit Gopal passed this order while hearing a Criminal Misc Bail Application filed by Azad Singh.

The second bail application under Section 439 of Code of Criminal Procedure has been filed by the applicant Azad Singh, seeking enlargement on bail during trial in connection for offences under Section 120-B IPC read with Sections 409, 420, 468, 471, 477-A IPC and Section 13(2) read with 13(1)(a) of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988 (as amended 2018), registered at Police Station CBI, ACB, Ghaziabad, District Ghaziabad by Ajay Kumar Meena, Sub Inspector, CBI, ACB, Ghaziabad against Sanjay Kumar, Azad, Ankit Kumar, Anuj Kumar, Sushil, Suresh, Sudhir and other unknown persons with the allegation that a preliminary enquiry was registered on 28.03.2018 on the basis of a written complaint dated 27.03.2018 of the Chief Vigilance Officer, Power Grid of India Limited wherein it was alleged that in the construction of 400 KV D/C Roorkee- Saharanpur Transmission Line during the period from 2014 to 2016, Sanjay Kumar the then Senior Engineer of Power Grid Corporation, Saharanpur released excess amounts of compensation to various farmers, and thereafter, the money was transferred into the accounts of various relatives of Sanjay Kumar.

The preliminary enquiry disclosed that during the period from 2014-16 Power Grid Corporation constructed 400 KV D/C Roorkee Transmission Line by engaging M/s KEC International Limited. The compensation was to be paid to the land owners for damage of their trees or crops in construction of aforesaid power transmission line. Sanjay Kumar in collusion with some farmers and other unknown persons and the officials of the department released excess amount of compensation to various farmers and received kickback amount in the bank accounts of his relatives.

Azad Singh the brother of Sanjay Kumar actively participated on behalf of Sanjay Kumar for receiving kickback from bank accounts of the said farmers. The total amount of Rs 92,38,670/- was released as compensation to five persons who are named therein. Out of the said amount Rs 55,65,000/- was received as kickback directly or indirectly in the bank accounts of the relatives and known persons of Sanjay Kumar who are Azad Singh (brother of Sanjay Kumar), Smt Shalini (wife of Sanjay Kumar), Smt Soniya (wife of Azad Singh), Smt Paramjeet (sister of Sanjay Kumar) and Rajnish (partner of Azad Singh and known persons of Sanjay Kumar). The Power Grid thus suffered a wrongful loss of Rs 92,38,000/- by false entries of number of trees in the names of farmers and thus there was corresponding wrongful gain to the accused persons.

Counsel for the applicant argued as follows:-

(i) The applicant is a private person and brother of Sanjay Kumar (the Senior Engineer Power Grid Corporation, Saharanpur).

(ii) No direct payment has been received by the applicant from the Power Grid Department.

(iii) The applicant is a businessman doing business of real estate and as such many farmers after receiving compensation from the Power Grid Department wanted to invest their money in property and as such had given money to the applicant for their investment.

(iv) Some FIRs were lodged by the concerned farmers against the applicant and his family members but the said matter has ended in a compromise between them in which an agreement has been entered into between respective farmers and the accused persons.

(v) No specific role has been assigned to the applicant.

(vi) Co-accused Rajnish was granted bail by the trial court but he has died during the pendency of trial.

(vii) The applicant has no criminal history.

(viii) The applicant has been in jail since 06.04.2022.

Per contra, counsel for the CBI vehemently opposed the prayer for bail and argued as follows:-

(i) The applicant is the brother of co-accused Sanjay Kumar (the Senior Engineer Power Grid Corporation). He acted independently and also on behalf of his brother and was instrumental in managing the payment of excess money to the farmers as compensation and then taking kickbacks from them in his account and in the accounts of other family members.

(ii) The wife of Sanjay Kumar and the wife of the applicant are also an accused as they have received money in their bank accounts as kickbacks for the transaction.

(iii) The applicant has returned some of the money to some farmers, the details of which have come during investigation which would go to show that he had initially received the kickbacks and after objections by the farmers, the same were returned.

(iv) The applicant had started a partner firm with Rajnish Kumar for carrying out tower foundations with KEC International and had executed a partnership deed on 15.04.2015. The said firm worked as a sub-contractor of M/s KEC International in the construction work of Roorkee, Saharanpur Transmission Line and received of payment of Rs 42,34,291/- despite the fact that grant of contract was subject to the condition that there should have been no engagement of relatives with the execution company.

(v) Various cheques were taken and filled by the applicant of the farmers and were presented in the bank accounts of the accused persons which were the kickbacks.

(vi) The applicant also received money in his bank accounts which is not disputed by the applicant himself in the bail application whereas he states that the same was given to him by the farmers for purchase of land.

(x) Co-accused Sanjay Kumar applied for bail before this Court through Criminal Misc. Bail Application No. 18624 of 2023 (Sanjay Kumar Vs. CBI) which has been rejected by a coordinate Bench of this Court vide order dated 24.07.2023.

(xi) The bail application deserves to be rejected since he is also one of the beneficiaries of the kickbacks received from the farmers.

“After having heard counsels for the parties and perusing the records, it is evident that the case is of excess payment of compensation to farmers for which they were not entitled by Sanjay Kumar the Senior Engineer in Power Grid, Saharanpur. The applicant although is a private person but is brother of Sanjay Kumar who as per investigation in the matter had interacted with the farmers and was instrumental in getting them excess compensation illegally and in turn kickbacks were received in his account and also in the bank account of his wife, the wife of Sanjay Kumar and one other accused from the farmers. There is no denial on behalf of the applicant regarding money being received from the farmers but it has been stated that the applicant is a businessman dealing in real estate and had received money from the farmers which they had got as compensation for being used in land purchase. The investigation does not give even an iota of evidence regarding the applicant working as a businessman in real estate but to the contrary has come out that the applicant with another co-accused had a partnership firm and was a contractor and worked in the same department where his brother was posted as Senior Engineer and had extended the work order.

The matter relates to economic offence. Time and again it has been observed by the Apex Court and other Courts that matters of economic offences have to be dealt with strictly. The applicant has been beneficiary of money from the bank accounts of the farmers apart from his in above participation in other manner in the case.

Considering the totality of the case in particular, nature of evidence available on record, the nature of matter, applicant being a beneficiary of kickback from the farmers and the dictum of the Apex Court, I am not inclined to release the applicant on bail”, the Court observed while rejecting the bail application.

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