1 Appln 2915-10 Anand IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT BOMBAY CRIMINAL APPELLATE JURISDICTION CRIMINAL APPLICATION NO.2915 OF 2010 Amar Dinesh Shah ..Applicant V/s. The State of Maharashtra ..Respondents & ors Mr.Niteen Pradhan i/b.Mr.Yusuf Iqbal Yusuf Neville Majra i/b.M/s.Yusuf & Associates, Advocate, for the Applicant Mrs.Geeta Mulyekar, APP, for Respondent No.1 - State Mr.Rajendra Rathod, Advocate, for the Respondent Nos.3 & 4 CORAM : R.C.CHAVAN, J. DATE : 1ST SEPTEMBER, 2010 P.C. . This an Application for cancellation of bail granted by the Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate, 19th Court, Esplanade, Mumbai. 2. I have heard the learned Counsel for the Applicant. 2 Appln 2915-10 3. The Applicant filed a report with the police complaining of having been cheated by the Respondent Nos.3 & 4 by handing over forged letters of credit issued by Corporation Bank, Bhopal. Forgey of that letters of credit was said to have made by one Deepak Zala. The learned Counsel for the Applicant was right in submitting that the forgery of letters of credit by Zala cannot exclude complicity of the Respondent Nos.3 & 4 since it is the Respondent Nos.3 & 4, who had delivered the letters of credit to the Applicant. This aspect should have been considered by the learned Magistrate. 4. The learned Counsel for the Applicant submitted that the learned Magistrate should have also seen that an offence where letters of credit have been forged is punishable with imprisonment for life. He should not have exercised powers under Section 437 to admitted the Respondent Nos.3 & 4 to bail. 3 Appln 2915-10 5. I have heard the learned Counsel for the Respondent Nos.3 & 4 as well. First, though the offence punishable under Section 467 prescribes punishment of imprisonment which may extend to imprisonment for life and therefore, the magistrate's powers to grant bail under Section 437 of the Code of Criminal Procedure is not ousted. It has been held by this Court very recently in Criminal Writ Petition No.2785 of 2009 dated 22nd July, 2010 that merely because punishment prescribed may extend to imprisonment for life, powers of magistrate to grant bail under Section 437 of the Code of Criminal Procedure are not excluded. Only if the offence is punishable with only death or imprisonment for life the magistrate cannot grant bail. Ordinarily, when Magistrate has power to grant bail, he is expected to exercise that powers with circumspection. In this case, it was not necessary to make the observation which he has made while admitting the Respondent Nos.3 & 4 4 Appln 2915-10 to bail, which virtually show that the learned Magistrate had reached a prima facie conclusion that the Applicants were not involved in the offence punishable under Section 467 of the Indian Penal Code. This question would have to await trial. 6. As to the cancellation of bail, if the Magistrate, who held to have power to grant bail, question of cancellation could also be raised before the Court of Sessions. I would however not like to send the parties back to the Sessions Court after I have spent my time on the matter. Considering the fact that investigating officer from Economic Offences Wing of CID had himself sought magisterial custody of the Respondent Nos.3 & 4, presence of the Applicant in custody for the purpose of investigation was obviously not necessary. There being in jail is unlikely to be necessary for completing the investigation, since offence is based on the documents which 5 Appln 2915-10 have been secured by the police. The learned Magistrate has also directed that the Respondent Nos.3 & 4 shall attend the office of investigating officer Economic Offences Wing, CID, Unit-III, Mumbai, twice a week, which should be sufficient to ensure that they remain present and also co-operate with the police for investigation. 7. In view of this, excluding the observations which the learned Magistrate has made while deciding bail Application which he could have avoided there is no reason, to cancel bail granted. 8. Criminal Application is, therefore, rejected. (R.C.CHAVAN, J.)