Nawab Wajid vs State Of Kerala

Viju Abraham , J

This is an application for regular bail.

The Petitioner is the sole accused in Crime No. 1061/2022 of Central Police Station, Ernakulam District, alleging commission of offences punishable under Sections 406, 419 and 420 of the Indian Penal Code.

The prosecution case is as follows: The accused pretending to be the political secretary to Central Food Supplies Minister induced the brother of the defacto complainant to make payment of Rs.2,38,000/- and to deliver an iPhone worth Rs. 1,12,000/- during the period from 04/11/2021 to 21-02-2022, under the pretext of arranging job visa as sales supporting staff in a firm named ENSENANZA Food technology Engineering Management in Dubai. Thereafter he neither arranged visa as promised nor returned the amount to the de facto complainant and thereby the accused has committed the alleged offences.

The petitioner submitted that he was in custody from 20.09.2022 and has been falsely implicated in the above said crime. In fact, the petitioner along with brother of the defacto complainant and 2 others were running a business at Dubai and the defacto complainant as shareholder has invested money through bank account and the business was run jointly. In August, the defacto complainant asked the petitioner to give back his share of the business and the petitioner failed to give the money due to financial crisis. It is upon this the present crime has been registered. The petitioner has given 6 cheques and the same was returned back on presentation for the reason ‘payment stopped by the drawer’.

The learned Public Prosecutor upon instructions submitted that petitioner has received an amount of Rs. 2,38,000/-, an iphone worth Rs. 1,12,000/- and Rs.80,000/-from the defacto complainant on a promise that he will arrange job for the brother of the defacto complainant and thereafter took him visiting visa, but the petitioner did not provide a job as promised and thereby cheated the defacto complainant. The learned Public Prosecutor further submitted that petitioner is involved in 4 other crimes of a similar nature.

Considering the facts and circumstance of the case and nature of allegation and taking into consideration the fact that the petitioner is in custody from 20.09.2022, I am inclined to grant bail to the petitioner.

In the result, the bail application is allowed and it is ordered that the petitioner shall be released on bail on the following stringent conditions:

(i) The petitioner shall execute a bond for a sum of Rs.50,000/- (Rupees Fifty thousand only) with two solvent sureties each for the like-sum to the satisfaction of the jurisdictional court;

(ii) The petitioner shall appear before the investigating officer in Crime No. 1061/2022 of Central Police Station on all Saturdays at 11 am untill filing of final report;

(iii) The petitioner shall surrender his passport before the jurisdictional Court. If the petitioner does not have a passport, he shall execute an affidavit to that effect and file the same before the said court within seven days of release on bail;

(iv) The petitioner shall not attempt to interfere with the investigation or to influence any witness in Crime No. 1061/2022 of Central Police Station;

(v) The petitioner shall not involve in any other crime while on bail.

If any of the aforesaid conditions are violated, the investigating officer in Crime No. 1061/2022 of Central Police Station, may file an application before the jurisdictional court, for cancellation of bail.