Punjab-Haryana High Court
Vikram Sharma @ Vicky Sharma @ … vs State Of Punjab on 6 April, 2021 IN THE HIGH COURT OF PUNJAB & HARYANA
AT CHANDIGARH
(Sr. No. 215) CRM-M No. 2320 of 2021
Date of decision : 06.04.2021
Vikram Sharma @ Vicky Sharma @ Bhupesh Kumar
…..Petitioner
Versus
State of Punjab
…..Respondent
CORAM : HON’BLE MR. JUSTICE DEEPAK SIBAL
Present : Mr. Siddharth Gupta, Advocate for the petitioner.
Mr. Randhir Singh Thind, DAG, Punjab.
Mr. Anureet Singh Sidhu, Advocate for the complainant.
***
DEEPAK SIBAL, J. (Oral)
The present petition has been filed under Section 438 Cr.P.C.
for the grant of anticipatory bail in FIR No. 0149 dated 11.10.2020 under
Sections 420, 506, 120-B IPC registered at Police Station Arniwala, district
Fazilka.
Briefly stated, the case of the prosecution is that in the year
2017 the petitioner and the complainant met in the election office of a
political leader; the petitioner projected to the complainant that he had close
links with senior political leaders/authorities; thereafter, when the
complainant’s mother was unwell, the petitioner used his authority to get
her treatment from PGIMER, Chandigarh; after the complainant’s mother
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had recovered, the petitioner told the complainant that he could procure
mining licences for the complainant; taken in by the promises made by the
petitioner, for procurement of mining licences, the complainant and his
associate Sanjeev Kumar paid to the petitioner a total amount of Rs.25.25
lakhs, the details of which are given below : –
Sr. Amount in Details/Mode of payment
No. rupees
1. 7,00,000/- Paid to the petitioner in cash in June,
2018 by the complainant and said
Sanjeev Kumar.
2. 1,25,000/- Transferred to the bank account No.
10262010006660 of the petitioner with
Oriental Bank of Commerce on
30.06.2018 from the account of the
complainant Lakhvir Singh.
3. 30,000/- Transferred to the bank account No.
10262010006660 of the petitioner with
Oriental Bank of Commerce on
10.09.2018 from the account of the
complainant Lakhvir Singh.
4. 3,00,000/- Transferred to the bank account No.
10262010006660 of the petitioner with
Oriental Bank of Commerce on
18.09.2018 from the account of the
complainant Lakhvir Singh.
5. 30,000/- Transferred to the bank account No.
10262010006660 of the petitioner with
Oriental Bank of Commerce on
04.12.2018 from the account of the
complainant Lakhvir Singh.
6. 1,00,000/- Transferred to the bank account No.
10262010006660 of the petitioner with
Oriental Bank of Commerce on
17.12.2018 from the account of the
complainant Lakhvir Singh.
7. 25,000/- Transferred to the bank account No.
10262010006660 of the petitioner with
Oriental Bank of Commerce on
27.12.2018 from the account of the
complainant Lakhvir Singh.
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8. 80,000/- Transferred to the bank account No.
10262010006660 of the petitioner with
Oriental Bank of Commerce on
01.08.2018 from the account of the
complainant Lakhvir Singh.
9. 3,00,000/- Transferred to the bank account No.
10262010006660 of the petitioner with
Oriental Bank of Commerce on
20.09.2018 from the account of the
complainant Lakhvir Singh.
10. 1,00,000/- Transferred to the bank account No.
10262010006660 of the petitioner with
Oriental Bank of Commerce on
13.11.2018 from the account of the
complainant Lakhvir Singh.
11. 40,000/- Transferred to the bank account No.
10262010006660 of the petitioner with
Oriental Bank of Commerce on
16.09.2019 from the account of the
complainant Lakhvir Singh.
12. 25,000/- Transferred to the bank account No.
10262010006660 of the petitioner with
Oriental Bank of Commerce on
10.01.2019 from the account of the
complainant Lakhvir Singh.
13. 20,000/- Transferred to the bank account No.
10262010006660 of the petitioner with
Oriental Bank of Commerce on
28.02.2019 from the account of the
complainant Lakhvir Singh.
14. 50,000/- Transferred to the bank account No.
10262010006660 of the petitioner with
Oriental Bank of Commerce on
21.09.2019 from the account of the
complainant Lakhvir Singh.
15. 1,00,000/- Transferred to the bank account No.
10262010006660 of the petitioner with
Oriental Bank of Commerce on
21.09.2019 from the account of the
complainant Lakhvir Singh.
16. 50,000/- Transferred to the bank account of Ishad
Ibrahim (friend of the petitioner) with
J&K Bank on 18.10.2019 from the
account of the complainant Lakhvir
Singh.
17. 5,00,000/- Paid to the petitioner in cash on
10.05.2020 against cheque which was
dishonoured on being presented in the
bank.
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18. 1,00,000/- Transferred to the bank account No.
10262010006660 of the petitioner with
Oriental Bank of Commerce on
20.09.2018 from the account of the said
Sanjeev Kumar.
19. 1,00,000/- Transferred to the bank account No.
10262010006660 of the petitioner with
Oriental Bank of Commerce on
04.01.2019 from the account of the said
Sanjeev Kumar.
It is further the case of the prosecution that the petitioner also
obtained from the complainant two blank signed stamp papers on the
pretext that the same were required to be submitted for the procurement of
the mining licences; no mining licences were procured by the petitioner and
when the complainant sought return of his money, the petitioner threatened
to use the aforesaid blank signed stamp papers to lodge cases of forgery
against the complainant.
Learned counsel for the petitioner submitted that the petitioner
has been falsely implicated in this case at the behest of the complainant who
is inimical towards him; in fact it is the petitioner who is a victim at the
hands of the complainant as the petitioner had given an amount of Rs.92
lakhs to the complainant on the pretext that the complainant would procure
for the petitioner a petrol pump; in this regard when the petitioner filed a
complaint with the police, the complainant, as a counter blast, lodged the
present FIR against the petitioner and that the petitioner is ready and willing
to join the investigation as and when called by the investigating agency.
Learned State counsel as also learned counsel appearing for the
complainant contended that :-
(i) the petitioner is a habitual offender as he is involved in the
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following seven criminal cases (including the present one) :-
1. FIR No.205 dated 18.11.2016 under Sections 420, 34
IPC, P.S. Civil Lines Bathinda,
2. FIR No.267 dated 05.12.2019 under Sections 420,
406,34 IPC P.S. Civil Lines Bathinda
3. FIR No.54 dated 15.08.2016 under Section 420 IPC
P. S. Balianwal, district Bathinda
4. FIR No.109 dated 25.07.2020 under Section 420 IPC,
P. S. Arniwala,
5. FIR No.05 dated 08.01.2021 under Sections 420,
120-B IPC, P. S. City Khanna,
6. FIR No.30 dated 21.03.2021 under Sections 420,
120-B IPC, P. S. Arniwala and
7. FIR No.0149 dated 11.10.2020 Under Sections 420,
506, 120-B IPC P. S. Arniwala (present one);
(ii) investigations conducted so far have revealed that the
petitioner has fabricated blank stamp papers which he had got
signed from the complainant on the pretext that such papers
were required for procurement of mining licences and used
them to build his defence before the police as also has
appended them to the present petition as Annexure P-2;
(iii) there is no plausible explanation forthcoming from the
petitioner as to why he accepted lakhs of rupees from the
complainant and his associate Sanjeev Kumar;
(iv) the petitioner is absconding;
(v) in addition to the amounts received by the petitioner from the
complainant and his associate Sanjeev Kumar, the documents
forged by the petitioner are to be recovered from him and
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(vi) the petitioner has committed the offence in question while on
bail in other criminal cases and even during the pendency of
the present petition has committed another offence which is
the subject matter of FIR No.30 dated 21.03.2021 registered
under Sections 420, 120-B IPC at Police Station Arniwala,
district Fazilka.
The petitioner was/is involved in seven criminal cases in which
he faces allegations of criminal breach of trust and fraud. While on bail in
one or the other case, he is alleged to have repeated the offence(s) which
were the subject matter of the FIR(s) lodged against him. Thus, on more
than one occasion, he has misused the concession of bail granted to him by
the Trial Court/this Court.
In the present case the petitioner faces serious allegations of
fraud and criminal breach of trust. As per the FIR, after showing his
political clout and getting treatment of complainant’s mother in a prestigious
institute of this country, the petitioner demanded and received over Rs.25
lakhs from the complainant and his associate, which include Rs. 15,75,000/-
through bank transfers. Such amounts were received by the petitioner on the
pretext of getting mining licences for the complainant and his associate by
using his political links.
Preliminary investigation has further found that the petitioner
has forged the signed blank stamp papers which he had taken from the
complainant on the pretext that they were needed for applying for the grant
of mining licences and then used the same to build up his defence not only
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before the police but also to secure anticipatory bail from the Trial
Court/this Court.
In view of the above discussion; for recovery of the original
documents allegedly forged by the petitioner; for questioning the petitioner
with regard to the aforesaid documents and money allegedly received by
him and for the reason that in the status report the State alleges that the
petitioner is absconding, he is held not entitled to the grant of anticipatory
bail.
Dismissed.
It is clarified that the above observations have been made only
for the limited purpose of deciding the present anticipatory bail application
and the same would not be construed to be an expression of opinion on the
merits of the case.
06.04.2021 ( DEEPAK SIBAL )
sunil yadav JUDGE
Whether speaking/reasoned : Yes / No
Whether reportable : Yes / No
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