Dr. Rini Johar & Anr. vs State Of M.P.&Ors.;

2. As the facts would unveil, the informant, respondent no.8 herein, had sent an email to the company for purchase of machine Aura Cam, 6000, which is an Aura Imaging Equipment, in India and the concerned company sent an email to the respondent making a reference to the petitioner no.1. Thereafter, the said respondent sent an email asking her to send the address where he could meet her and have details for making payment. He also expressed his interest to become a distributor.

3. The informant visited the petitioner no.1 at Pune and received a demo of Aura Cam 6000 and being satisfied decided to purchase a lesser price machine i.e. “Twinaura Pro” for a total sum of Rs.2,54,800/-. He paid a sum of Rs.2,50,000/- for which a hand written receipt was given as the proof of payment. During the course of the said meeting, the 8th respondent expressed his desire to purchase a laptop of M/s. Progen of which the petitioner no. 1 was the representative. In pursuance of the discussion, the laptop was given to him who acknowledged it by stating that he owed a sum of Rs.4,800/- as balance consideration towards the Aura Cam and an amount of Page 2 3 USD 350 towards the laptop. An assurance was given for remitting the money within a short time. As averred, the respondent no.8 had never raised any grievance relating either to the machine or the laptop. Certain transactions between the informant and the US company have been mentioned and the allegations have been made against the 8th respondent that he represented himself as the sole distributor in India which was brought to the notice of the concerned police in the State of M.P. by the competent authority of the company. The said facts really do not have much relevance to the lis which we are going to adjudicate in the present writ petition.

4. When the matter stood thus, the respondent no.8 filed a complaint before the Inspector General of Police, Cyber Cell, Bhopal alleging that the petitioner no.1 and Mr. Guy Coggin had committed fraud of US 10,500. On the basis of the complaint made, FIR no. 24/2012 under Section 420 and 34 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and Section 66-D of the Information Technology Act, 2000 (for brevity, ‘the Act’) was registered against the petitioners by Cyber Police Headquarters, Bhopal, M.P. The respondent no.2, I.G. Page 3 4 Cyber Cell, issued an order on 20.11.2012 which is to the following effect:-

5. On 21.11.2012, Dy. S.P. State Cyber Police, Bhopal proceeded to pass the following order:-

7. As the narration would unfurl, on 27.11.2012, the petitioners were arrested from their residence at Pune. Various assertions have been made as regards the legality of the arrest which cover the spectrum of non-presence of Page 4 5 the witnesses at the time of arrest of the petitioners, non-mentioning of date, and arrest by unauthorized officers, etc. It is also asserted after they were arrested, they were taken from Pune to Bhopal in an unreserved railway compartment marked – ‘viklang’ (handicapped). Despite request, the petitioner no.2, an old lady, was not taken to a doctor, and was compelled to lie on the cold floor of the train compartment without any food and water. Indignified treatment and the humiliation faced by the petitioners have been mentioned in great detail. On 28.11.2012, they were produced before the learned Magistrate at Bhopal and the petitioner no. 2 was enlarged on bail after being in custody for about 17 days and the petitioner no.1 was released after more than three weeks. There is allegation that they were forced to pay Rs.5 lakhs to respondent no.3, Deepak Thakur, Dy. S.P. Cyber Cell, Bhopal. On 18.12.2012, chargesheet was filed and thereafter a petition under Section 482 CrPC has been filed before the High Court for quashment of the FIR.

12. We consider it imperative to refer to the enquiry made by the State and the findings arrived at by the enquiry officer. It is asserted in the counter affidavit that the petitioners had made a complaint to the Lokayukta Police (M.P. Special Police Establishment) alleging that Deepak Thakur, respondent no.3 herein, demanded a bribe of Rs.10 lakhs for letting them go and pursuant to the said demand, initially a sum of Rs.2,50,000/- was paid and subsequently a sum of Rs.2,50,000/- was also given. The Lokayukta Police had already registered a preliminary enquiry no. 33/2015 and after enquiry submitted an enquiry report dated 18.6.2015 stating that prima facie case had been made out against Deepak Thakur, Dy. S.P., Cyber Cell, Bhopal, Ishrat Khan, Head Constable, Cyber Cell, Bhopal, Inderpal, Writer, Cyber Cell Bhopal and Saurabh Bhat, Clerk, Cyber Cell, Bhopal under Section Page 8 9 13(1)(d) and Section 13(2) of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988 and Section 120B IPC. Based on the said preliminary enquiry report, FIR No. 273/2015 dated 27.3.2015 has been registered against the accused persons in respect of the said offences and further steps under the CrPC are being taken. Be it clarified, we are not at all concerned with the launching of said prosecution and accordingly we shall not advert to the same.

Page 16 17 (9) Copies of all the documents including the memo of arrest, referred to above, should be sent to the Illaqa Magistrate for his record. (10) The arrestee may be permitted to meet his lawyer during interrogation, though not throughout the interrogation.

24. We are compelled to say so as liberty which is basically the splendor of beauty of life and bliss of growth, cannot be allowed to be frozen in such a contrived winter. That would tantamount to comatosing of liberty which is the strongest pillar of democracy.

30. Consequently, the writ petition is allowed to the extent indicated above. There shall be no order as to costs.

1992 Supp. (1) SCC 335 Page 27