( 1 ) IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE OF BOMBAY BENCH AT AURANGABAD CRIMINAL APPLICATION NO. 3623 OF 2010 Sheela Prakash Agrawal APPLICANT VERSUS The State of Maharashtra & another RESPONDENTS .... Mr. B.R. Loya, advocate for the applicant. Mr. B.J. Sonawane, APP for the respondent/State. .... WITH CRIMINAL APPLICATION NO. 3392 OF 2010 Suresh Bankatlal Bhatwal APPLICANT VERSUS The State of Maharashtra RESPONDENT .... Mr. P.M. Shah, Senior Counsel, instructed by Mr. S.P. Shah, advocate for the applicant. Mr. B.J. Sonawane, APP for the respondent/State. .... WITH CRIMINAL APPLICATION NO. 3393 OF 2010 1. Suresh Hiralal Agrawal 2. Sharad Shedumal Agrawal APPLICANTS VERSUS The State of Maharashtra RESPONDENT .... Mr. P.M. Shah, Senior Counsel, instructed by Mr. S.P. Shah, advocate for the applicant. Mr. B.J. Sonawane, APP for the respondent/State. .... WITH CRIMINAL APPLICATION NO. 3400 OF 2010 ( 2 ) 1. Omprakash Onkarmal Agrawal 2. Deelip Champalal Agrawal 3. Santosh Subhashchandra Agrawal 4. Basantlal Shankarlal Agrawal 5. Gopal Babanlal Agrawal 6. Gaurishankar Sitaram Pasari APPLICANTS VERSUS The State of Maharashtra RESPONDENT .... Mr. Joydeep Chatterji, advocate for the applicants. Mr. B.J. Sonawane, APP for the respondent/State. .... WITH CRIMINAL APPLICATION NO. 3504 OF 2010 1. Dinesh Tarachand Gindodia 2. Vijaykumar Bhatulal Agrawal 3. Sandeep Hansraj Agrawal 4. Hiralal Chhaganlal Agrawal 5. Nagindas Laturam Agrawal APPLICANTS VERSUS The State of Maharashtra RESPONDENT .... Mr. Joydeep Chatterji, advocate for the applicants. Mr. B.J. Sonawane, APP for the respondent/State. .... WITH CRIMINAL APPLICATION NO. 3508 OF 2010 Rajendra Rameshwar Gindodia APPLICANT VERSUS The State of Maharashtra & another RESPONDENTS .... Smt. Sadhana S. Jadhav, advocate for the applicant. Mr. B.J. Sonawane, APP for the respondent/State. .... WITH CRIMINAL APPLICATION NO. 3533 OF 2010 Kailash Banwarilal Agrawal APPLICANT VERSUS The State of Maharashtra RESPONDENT ( 3 ) .... Mr. Manoj Shinde, advocate holding for Mr. M.K. Goyanka, advocate for the applicant. Mr. B.J. Sonawane, APP for the respondent/State. .... [CORAM : V.R. KINGAONKAR, J.] [DATE : 4th October, 2010] PER COURT : 1. These are applications seeking directions under section 438 of the Criminal Procedure Code. 2. The applicants are Ex and present Directors of Shri Agrasen Cooperative Credit Society, Dhule. They apprehend their arrest in connection with Crime No. 187/2010, registered at City Police Station, Dhule, for offences of misappropriation, fabrication of documents, criminal conspiracy, etc. 3. Heard learned advocates for the applicants and learned A.P.P. 4. The criminal applications No. 3392/2010, 3393/2010, 3400/2010 and 3623/2010 are by the Directors who were working in 2001. The other applications are filed by group of Directors who were in the Management after 2001. ( 4 ) 5. The recitals of the FIR prima facie indicate that the loans were granted in favour of five (5) borrowers, shown at serial Nos. 40 to 44 in the FIR without obtaining proper security from them. The next allegation is that the Directors of the Cooperative Credit Society deposited amounts of Rs. 2,16,70,000/- in Indira Cooperative Bank, Dhule and an amount of Rs. 15,00,000/- in Dhule Shahar Kirana Bhusar Nagari Sahakari Patsanstha, Dhule and both the investments for such huge amounts were illegal. It is due to such kind of illegalities that the Credit Society sustained heavy financial setback. The amounts of depositors could not be, therefore, repaid and, therefore, the applicants alongwith others are liable to account for the alleged offences. 6. It is true, no doubt, that the Directors, who were in the Management prior to April, 2001, did not take proper precaution while granting loans to the five (5) borrowers who are shown at serial Nos. 40 to 44 in the list of the accused persons. Still, however, it is pertinent to notice that out of these five (5) borrowers, the borrowers shown at serial No. 40 to 43 have cleared the debts. The certificates issued by the Chairman of the Cooperative Credit Society are placed on ( 5 ) record in order to show that the said borrowers have paid up the amounts due against them. It further appears that the properties of borrower shown at serial No. 44, namely, Hitendra Bansilal Shah, have been attached in the course of execution and the recovery proceedings are pending against him. One cannot be oblivious of the fact that all these loan transactions had occurred prior to April, 2001. The FIR is lodged after a long-drawn period i.e. on 13th August, 2010. In the meanwhile, various audit inspections were carried out and yet, no such accusation was made against Board of Directors who were in the office prior to April, 2001. What appears from the record is that the Cooperative Credit Society sufferred great financial setback due to the subsequent huge investments which were made in the Cooperative Bank and another Cooperative Credit Society. In this view of the matter, it is difficult to say that due to commission of irregularities while sanctioning the loans to the five (5) borrowers named at serial No. 40 to 44, the funds of the Cooperative Credit Society have been misappropriated by the members of the Director Board of the Credit Society. 7. So far as the huge investments are concerned, it is important to notice that the amounts have been insecured due ( 6 ) to such kind of transactions because the investments are made without prior permission of the competent authority. The learned advocate for the applicants, appearing in criminal application No. 3504/2010, 3508/2010 and 3533/2010, would submit that the deposits were so made with intention to obtain more interest. My attention is also drawn to certain observations in the context of earlier applications, bearing criminal application No. 1331/2008 and others. What appears from the record is that there is no averments in the FIR that the members of the Board of Directors committed misappropriation of the funds of the Cooperative Credit Society on account of the irregularities caused by making such huge investments of amounts which were insecured. These members of the Board of Directors may be liable for recovery or disqualification, as the case may be, under the provisions of the Maharashtra Cooperative Societies Act, 1960. There is no material on record, however, to infer that they intentionally swindled the funds of the Cooperative Credit Society by making such investments. The interconnection between the act of investments and alleged probability of obtaining personal gains by the group of said Directors is not brought on face of the record. Considering these aspects, the applicants are likely to be humiliated due to the arrest which ( 7 ) is not found to be imminent for the purpose of effective investigation. 8. In the result, the applications are allowed. The applicants are directed to be released on bail, in the event of their arrest, on furnishing of bail bonds in sum of Rs. 20,000/- (rupees twenty thousand), each, with one surety, each, before the Arresting Officer and on the condition that they shall attend the concerned Police Station on each Tuesday and Saturday between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. for the purpose of physical interrogation and to facilitate the proper information to the Investigating Officer regarding the transaction. In case, the applicants will not attend the Police Station and will not cooperate with the Investigating Officer, liberty is granted to the prosecution to seek cancellation of the anticipatory bail granted to the applicants. The applications are accordingly disposed of. [V.R. KINGAONKAR] JUDGE NPJ/criapln3623-10-group ( 8 )