1 1-crn.3159-09 IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT BOMBAY CRIMINAL APPELLATE JURISDICTION CRIMINAL APPLICATION NO.3159 OF 2009 Manohar Krishna Madhavi. ..Applicant. -Versus- The State of Maharashtra. ..Respondent. .... Mr.A.P. Mundargi, Senior Counsel a/w. Mr.S.B. Borkar, Advocate a/w. Mr.R.D. Suryawanshi, Advocate for the Applicant. Mr.J.P. Yagnik, APP, for the Respondent – State. ... CORAM : A.P. DESHPANDE,J. DATED : 3RD AUGUST, 2009. P.C. :- 1. Heard. 2. The present Criminal Application is filed in view of an apprehension of arrest in connection with C.R. No.I-73 of 2009 registered with CBD Police Station for the offence punishable under Sections 420, 465, 467, 468, 471 read with Section 34 of the IPC, on a complaint lodged by the Assistant Commissioner, Zone-I, Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation. 3. According to the applicant, he is an active worker of a political party and he is a Corporator of Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation. According to the applicant he is a builder by profession and runs his business in the name and style of M/s. M.K. Construction since the 2 1-crn.3159-09 year, 1984. It is also claimed that the applicant deals in supply of building material. It is then stated that out of political rivalry, a false case has been registered against the applicant and the applicant is innocent. It is also submitted that the applicant did not obtain any contract from the Corporation as he could not have, in view of the fact that the applicant was an elected Corporator. It is a matter of common knowledge that a Corporator would stand disqualified in the event if he enters into any contract with the Corporation. It is submitted that there is no chance of the applicant fleeing from justice as he is a sitting Corporator and has his roots in Mumbai where he permanently resides and carries on business. 4. Per contra, according to the prosecution, contract appears to have been obtained in the name of one Mr.Bhise by the present applicant. The contract was for providing machineries, vehicles, labourers etc. for the purpose of removal of encroachments and demolition of unauthorized structures and removal of the debris. Mr.Bhise has been operating the contract for a period of about last six years and in the process had submitted various bills accompanied by challen and received various amounts from the Corporation towards the charges for the work done. According to the prosecution, various inflated bills and tampered challens with overwriting thereon were submitted and consequent thereupon much more money than what was due was 3 1-crn.3159-09 illegally received from the Corporation. The forged and fabricated documents are used for siphoning out huge amount from the Corporation and thus a thorough investigation is needed to be done. The total amount, according to the prosecution which has been illegally misappropriated is to the extent of about Rs.1,92,00,000/- which has been by now revealed in the Audit. The learned APP has submitted that the prosecution is in possession of various bank accounts of Mr.Bhise, so also the present applicant and that of D.A. Transport and Aditya Construction. The account extracts of the applicant’s company, by name M/s.M.K. Construction, and the corresponding account extract of Mr.Bhise’s account are reproduced in the affidavit filed by one Mr.Ramesh Bhimrao Mohite, Inspector of Police, presently attached to CBD-Belapur police station. Perusal of the amounts deposited in the account of Mr.Bhise and the corresponding transfer of the amount in the account of M/s.M.K. Construction of the applicant, prima facie, indicates that almost all the amount deposited in the account of Mr.Bhise came to be transferred to the account of applicant’s company. The said account extracts prima facie reveal that the applicant is connected with the crime and as the offence involved is an offence relating to public money, thorough investigation is called for. I have perused the statements recorded by the police in the course of investigation. However, according to the 4 1-crn.3159-09 applicant he had entered into an agreement with Mr.Bhise and thereunder supplied the material to him and has received the amounts from Mr.Bhise. 5. In the affidavit-in-reply the criminal antecedents of the applicant are highlighted by pointing out that as many as 12 cases have been registered against the present applicant and some of those cases are in relation to serious offences. It will also not be out of place to mention that the applicant was detained under the provisions of Prevention of Dangerous Activities of Slumlords, Bootleggers, Drug Offenders and Dangers Persons Act, 1981 for the period of one year by Rabale police station in the year, 1998. Learned APP has submitted that having regard to the criminal antecedents of the applicant over a period of time, it can be safely said that if the applicant is granted anticipatory bail as prayed for, the applicant would be in a position to pressurize the witnesses and tamper with the evidence. By so contending, the application is vehemently opposed. 6. Having regard to the material on record, I am of the view that this is not a fit case for grant of anticipatory bail. If anticipatory bail is granted, investigation would suffer immensely. In the result, the application is rejected. [A.P.DESHPANDE,J.]