Vinod Kumar vs State of Punjab

Mahesh Grover, J.—This is a petition u/s 482 of the Code of Criminal Procedure praying for quashing of the order by which the Petitioner was declared as a proclaimed offender in a case registered vide FIR No. 9 dated 10.2.2009 under Sections 406/420/120B Indian Penal Code at Police Station Gardhiwal, Distt. Hoshiarpur.

Learned Counsel for the Petitioner has referred to Section 82 of the Code to state that the procedure prescribed therein has not been followed and, therefore, the proclamation and the consequent order deserve to be quashed.

This matter was taken up on 26.7.2011 on which date it was adjourned for today on the request made by the learned Counsel for the Petitioner.

Mr. Arun Takhi, Advocate, who has appeared for the complainant, has stated that the Petitioner is concealing the material facts from this Court. On 16.12.2009 the prayer of the Petitioner for pre-arrest bail was declined by passing the following order:

On the last date of hearing, a direction was issued by this Court that the tractor be got recovered before the next date of hearing. A perusal of the F.I.R. Clearly indicates that the Petitioner was the person, who had taken the tractor from the possession of the complainant for getting it repaired as it was found that there was some manufacturing defect in the tractor. Therefore, in the light of the fact that the recovery has not been effected till date of tractor, of which possession was taken by the Petitioner, the prayer for grant of anticipatory bail is rejected.

Dismissed.

He states that this fact was never disclosed to this Court as also before the learned Sessions Judge before whom a fresh application u/s 438 Code of Criminal Procedure had been filed which has since been accepted. The reason for filing the subsequent bail application is ostensibly the order dated 24.7.2011 in which this Court observed as follows:

I have gone through the allegations against the Petitioner in the FIR. The Petitioner is directed to avail the remedy u/s 438 Code of Criminal Procedure It is ordered that in case the Petitioner files an application u/s 438 Code of Criminal Procedure, the order dated 30.05.2011, will not prejudice the rights of the Petitioner, in any manner.

On appraisal of the material which has been produced before this Court, I am of the opinion that the Petitioner certainly has concealed the material facts. He has nowhere stated that on a prior occasion his prayer for pre-arrest bail had been declined and that too for a reason that he had defied the directions given by this Court and did not assist the prosecution in recovering the tractor which was in his possession.

Grant of bail and especially a pre-arrest bail is a matter of discretion by the Court to be exercised in favour of a person who seeks it, provided his bona fides stand established, but a person who conceals material facts from the court ought not to be granted such indulgence. Be that as it may, it is open to the complainant to have recourse to the proper remedy available to him in view of a subsequent order having come into existence vide which the Petitioner has been granted pre-arrest bail. For the purposes of this petition, since the Petitioner has not approached this Court with clean hands, I am of the opinion that the petition deserves to be dismissed solely on this ground in view of the observations of the Hon''ble Supreme Court of India in Ramjas Foundation and Another Vs. Union of India (UOI) and Others, that a person approaches the court with tainted hands, does not deserve any concession.

Consequently, the petition is dismissed with costs of Rs. 20,000/-to be paid before the Mediation and Conciliation Centre of this Court.