Lt Col Prasad Shrikant Purohit vs The State Of Maharashtra

On 29.09.2008, at around 9:35 p.m., a bomb explosion ASHA SUNDRIYAL Date: 2017.08.21 14:57:07 IST took place at Malegaon, District Nasik, opposite Shakil Goods Reason:

(d) During investigation, it was found that the appellant herein, along with other co-accused in the case, entered into a criminal conspiracy between January, 2008 to October, 2008 with a common object and intention to strike terror in the minds of people caused bomb blast at Malegaon by using explosive substances to cause damage to life and property and to create communal rift. According to ATS, the appellant herein had brought RDX with him from Kashmir for the purpose of Bomb Blast at Malegaon.

(g) The appellant came to be arrested on 05.11.2008 in connection to the said offence. The appellant herein preferred a Bail Application being No. 42 of 2008 before the Special Judge under MCOCA for Greater Mumbai. By order dated 31.07.2009, the Special Judge discharged the appellant and other co-accused from the offences under MCOC Act and directed to transfer the case to the regular court at Nasik. The State Government, being aggrieved by the order dated 31.07.2009, filed an appeal being 866 of 2009 before the High Court. A Division Bench of the High Court, vide order dated 19.07.2010, set aside the order dated 31.07.2009 and restored the bail application filed by the appellant herein for hearing on merits. The appellant herein went in appeal before this Court and filed Criminal Appeal Nos. 1969-1970 of 2010. It would be appropriate to mention here that after filing of the charge sheet by ATS, Mumbai, the investigation of the same was started by the National Investigation Agency, (NIA), New Delhi 5 as per the order of the Government of India dated 01.04.2011 and on 13.04.2011, the NIA re-registered the offence in respect of the said incident as CR No. 5/11.

17) In view of the above, it would be relevant to quote the retracted statement of PW-55, mentioned in the charge sheet filed by the NIA, wherein he stated that he did not retract in front of the Magistrate while his statement was being recorded under Section 164 of the Code due to threat and pressure of the ATS. However, he sent one complaint to Maharashtra State Human Rights Commission, Mumbai on 05.10.2009 stating that he was forced to give the confessional statement as dictated to him by the ATS Mumbai that too before transfer of the investigation of the case to the NIA. He further alleged that the following lies were dictated to him to depose before the Magistrate by the ATS which he also incorporated in the complaint sent to State Human Rights Commission which are as under:-

Conclusion:-

they are:

As mentioned earlier, at the stage of granting bail, a detailed examination of evidence and elaborate documentation of the 22 merit of the case need not be undertaken. However, keeping in view the fact that NIA has submitted the supplementary charge-sheet which is at variance with the charge-sheet filed by the ATS and that the trial is likely to take a long time and the appellant has been in prison for about 8 years and 8 months, we are of the considered view that the appellant has made out a prima facie case for release on bail and we deem it appropriate to enlarge the appellant herein on bail, subject to the following conditions:

Further, any observations made by us in this order shall not come in the way of deciding the trial on merits.

26) In view of the above, we set aside the judgment passed by the High Court dated 25.04.2017 and grant bail to the appellant herein on the conditions mentioned above. Intervention Application is allowed. The appeal is allowed.

AUGUST 21, 2017.