1 SNS IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT MUMBAI APPELLATE CRIMINAL JURISDICTION ANTICIPATORY BAIL APPLICATION NO.715 OF 2011 Suresh Sidramappa Hasapure ...Applicant. v/s The State of Maharashtra ...Respondent. Mr. V.V.Purwant ,adv. For the Applicant. Smt.P.P.Shinde, APP For the Respondent/State. CORAM : J.H. BHATIA,J. DATED : AUGUST 18,2011. P.C. 1 Applicant seeks anticipatory bail in crime no.258 of 2009 registered with Sadar Bazar Police Station Solapur City for the offences punishable under Sections 191, 199, 200 and 420 of the I.P.C. 2 Heard the learned counsel for the applicant and the learned APP. Perused the F.I.R. and the other relevant papers. 3 Prosecution case in brief is that in the year 2005, elections for Board of Directors of Solapur District Central Co-operative Bank were held. The applicant submitted nomination papers as candidate for the post reserved for economically weaker sections. He filed affidavit and produced documents to show that his income was less than 2 prescribed for that purpose. Relying upon his affidavit, his nomination papers were accepted. He contested election and was also elected. Later on, one Basavraj Bagale made a complaint that his affidavit is false. After the enquiry, his election was set aside on the ground that he had filed false affidavit about the income. His writ petition before the High Court as well as his SLP before the Supreme Court against the setting aside of his election were dismissed. Special Executive Magistrate cum Tehsildar, Solapur, who was returning officers lodged a report on 23.11.2009 at the Sadar Bazar Police Station, Solapur alleging that the accused had committed the offences punishable under Sections 191, 199, 200 and 420 of the I.P.C. by filing false affidavit about his income and had cheated the public servants. On the basis of that report, the offence came to be registered for the above said sections. Section 191 only defines the offence of giving false evidence and the punishment for the offence is provided in Section 193. In fact, it is 3 not the case of giving false evidence but it is the case of making false declaration on affidavit, which is covered by the provisions of Section 199 and 200 of the I.P.C. Offences punishable under sections 193, 199 and 200 are bailable. As per the F.I.R., accused/applicant had cheated the officers by making false declaration with his nomination papers. With these allegations, offence under Section 417 is made out. That offence is also bailable. There was neither any allegation in the F.I.R. nor it is the prosecution case that by cheating, the accused/applicant had induced somebody to deliver any property or any valuable security, etc. Therefore, case under Section 420 of the I.P.C. is not made out. It appears that neither the SEM, who lodge the F.I.R. nor the concerned police officer bothered to see the provisions of Section 420 before lodging report or before registration of the offence under Section 420. Offence under Section 420 is non-bailable. If section 420 would not have been invoked, all the offence being bailable, application for anticipatory bail would not be tenable under 4 Section 438 of the Cr.P.C. but by invoking section 420 of the I.P.C., which is non-bailable, it appears that the police machinery intended that the accused /applicant should not be granted bail. In view of the facts and these circumstances, it will be necessary to grant anticipatory bail to the applicant because he is likely to be arrested for non-bailable offence, which is not committed even as per the F.I.R. 4 Therefore, in the event of arrest in crime no.258 of 2009 for the offences punishable under sections 191, 199, 200 and 420 of the I.P.C. registered at Sadar Bazar police station,Solapur. applicant be released on PR bond of Rs.15,000/- with a surety in the like amount with condition that he shall make himself available before the police as and when called for the interrogation and investigation and shall not tamper with the prosecution evidence. (J.H. BHATIA,J.)