IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT BOMBAY IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT BOMBAY IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT BOMBAY CRIMINAL APPELLATE JURISDICTION CRIMINAL APPELLATE JURISDICTION CRIMINAL APPELLATE JURISDICTION CRI.APPLICATION NO.1970 OF 2008 CRI.APPLICATION NO.1970 OF 2008 CRI.APPLICATION NO.1970 OF 2008 1.Anoop Vrajlal Mehta, 2.Devaunshi w/o Anoop V Mehta, 3.Mohit s/o Anoop Vrajlal Mehta, 4.Dia d/o Anoop Vrajlal Mehta, 5.Bharat Shantilal Shah, 6.Beena w/o Bharat Shantilal Shah, 7.Rashesh s/o Bharat Shantilal Shah, 8.Rajiv s/o Bharat Shantilal Shah, 9.Reshma R Mehta, .. Applicants Vs The State of Maharashtra, .. Respondent. Mr Amit Desai, Senior Counsel, with Mr.Vaibhav Krishna, for the applicants. Mr M.K.Dubey, for the complainant. Mrs P.P.Shinde, APP for the State. Mr Vilas Sanap, Investigating Officer. CORAM : D.B.BHOSALE,J. CORAM : D.B.BHOSALE,J. CORAM : D.B.BHOSALE,J. DATE : 07/10/2008 DATE : 07/10/2008 DATE : 07/10/2008 PC: PC: PC: 1. Heard Mr.Amit Desai, learned Senior Counsel for the applicants, Mrs.Shinde, learned APP, for the State and Mr.Dubey, learned counsel for the complainant. 2. The applicants are seeking anticipatory bail in MECR No.2 of 2008 of Aarey Police Station, Mumbai. The said crime has been registered against the applicants for having committed an offence punishable under sections 420,465,468 and 471 read with section 34 of IPC. It is on the allegations that the applicants have forged and fabricated the plan which is Exhibit "K" in the twenty suits filed and pending before this Court. 3. It appears that the applicants entered into the twenty separate agreements to purchase twenty plots with M/s Royal Palms (India) Private Ltd by paying consideration of Rs.7,50,000/-. They were handed over with I.O.D. and the plan initially in 1996. The plots were demarcated in the presence of the representatives of all the parties by Architects, M/s Rane Management Consultants. In view of some disputes arose between the parties, the applicants have filed twenty suits for specific performance of contract. In the said suits they took out Notice of Motions for various reliefs. All the pending Notice of Motions were disposed of by common order passed by this Court (S.J.Vazifdar, J.). This Court, while disposing of all the Motions in favour of the applicants, has clearly observed that "It is important to note that the defendants have admitted that the plan dated 10.6.2002 was prepared by their Architects M/s R.V.Jayakar and Surveyor. They also admit that the plan contains the demarcation of the plaintiffs’ plot. There is strong evidence, prima face at least, in support of the fact that the defendants had in fact demarcated the suit plots". The original complainant has filed 20 Appeals against the orders dated 30.10.2007 passed by the learned Single Judge of this Court in the aforementioned twenty Motions. All those appeals are pending for admission since March, 2008. In the meanwhile, the defendants in the said suits filed 20 private complaints in respect of the alleged false averments made in paragraph 5 of the suits filed by the applicants. The learned Magistrate issued process in all the complaints. Against the order of issuance of process the applicants have filed revisions, which are pending before the Sessions Court at Dindoshi. Thereafter, in April 2008 the original complainant filed fresh private complaint before the learned Magistrate, 20th Court at Borivali, in which an order under section 156(3) of Cr.P.C was passed and in pursuance thereof, the present offence has been registered against the applicants bearing MECR No.2 of 2008. The applicants apprehend their arrest and hence this application for pre-arrest bail. 4. I perused the order passed by the learned Single Judge in the Notice of Motions. It appears from the order of the learned Single Judge that the complainant/defendant admitted the plan dated 10.6.2002 prepared by their Architects, which they have now alleged as forged and fabricated by the applicants. The orders of the learned Single Judge in all the Motions are under challenge in the appeals. At this stage, it would be difficult, on the face of the observations made by the learned Single Judge as mentioned earlier, to accept the submissions/contentions of the complainant that the plans, submitted by the applicants, are forged and fabricated. The complainant has chosen not to take the appeals challenging the order of this Court in the Motions for admission since April, 2008. That apart, the prayer in this application has been challenged solely on the ground that the police want to recover the original plans. 5. Mrs Shinde, learned APP, submitted that the applicants have so far not produced the original plan, which the applicants have allegedly forged and fabricated and for which the present crime has been registered against them. Mr Amit Desai, learned senior counsel for the applicants, on instructions, submitted that they are prepared to hand over the original plan in the Court. He, however, submitted that if the original plan is misplaced the applicants will suffer irreparable loss. In view thereof, he submitted, let the concerned Investigating Officer, at the cost of the applicants, take out coloured zerox copies of the original plan for the time being and the applicants shall produce the original plan as and when necessary, to which the learned APP, on instructions, has instantly agreed. Keeping that in view and considering overall facts and circumstances of the case, I am satisfied that no custodial interrogation of the applicants would be necessary in this case. Hence, I pass the following order. 6. In the event of arrest, all the applicants to be enlarged on bail in the sum of Rs.25,000/- each, with one or two sureties in the like amount, subject to condition that applicant nos 1 and 5 shall report to the concerned police station every alternate day till 20.10.2008 between 10 am and 11 am and thereafter on every 1st and 3rd Saturdays between 10 and 11 am for a period of 90 days or till filing of the chargesheet, whichever is earlier. The applicants shall keep informed in writing to the police, every time they go out of India stating where and how long they would be staying away from this country. It is made clear that under any circumstances their foreign tours should not hamper the progress of this case. 7. The applicants to hand over the original plan to the investigating officer Vilas Sanar, who is present in the court. The investigating officer shall, at the cost of the applicants, take out coloured zerox copy of the original plan and return the same to the learned advocate for the applicants on record. The applicants shall, however, produce the original plan before the investigating officer as and when called for. . While passing this order I shall not be understood to have expressed any opinion on merits of the case and the trial Court shall deal with the case without being influenced by the observations made in this order. (D.B.BHOSALE, J.) (D.B.BHOSALE, J.) (D.B.BHOSALE, J.)