The Bombay High Court recently set aside a Malegaon additional sessions judge order asking a man – booked for cheating and defrauding a developer – to deposit of Rs 22 lakh as a condition for him to be released on bail. Maintaining that such an “onerous” condition for bail was not maintainable, the HC granted bail to the man with conditions applicable in case of normal bail pleas.
On May 5, a single judge bench of Justice Sarang V Kotwal heard a bail application filed by Mohammadali Jamaluddin Saiyyad seeking that the condition of depositing Rs 22 lakh be set aside for him to be released on bail. The applicant was booked for cheating and criminal conspiracy by the Manmad City police in Nashik district. He was arrested on March 9, 2019.
Malegaon additional sessions judge had granted bail to him last August and directed him to deposit Rs 22 lakh before the magistrate as a condition for his release on bail.
As per the prosecution, Saiyyad, in connivance with three others, had posed as representatives of a financial company from Gujarat and sought Rs 22 lakh from a developer in Manmad as commission to obtain and process a loan of Rs 5 crore.
However, after receiving the commission, the loan was not sanctioned. The developer went on to file a police complaint, leading to the arrest of the four accused. While the three others were granted bail by the HC earlier, Saiyyed was the last to apply for the same.
Advocate Abhinav Chandrachud, appearing for Saiyyad, said that the condition imposed by the judge was not as per Supreme Court rulings and as his client could not arrange the amount, his right to be released on bail was taken away.
Advocate Chetan Damre, appearing for the developer, said that Saiyyad, the “mastermind” behind the offence, has two passports and there was a possibility that he may abscond if granted bail.
The bench, concurring with Chandrachud, said: “Obviously the condition is onerous and it is prejudging the issues between the parties without trial. This condition proceeds on the footing that the FIR is the complete truth without necessity of any further proof. This approach obviously is not permissible.”
Disposing the plea, the HC granted bail to Saiyyad on furnishing a personal bond of Rs 50,000 and local solvent sureties. He was also asked to appear before the police once every month and attend trial hearings.
Source: https://indianexpress.com/article/cities/mumbai/bombay-hc-depositing-fraud-amount-as-condition-for-granting-bail-onerous-7315576/
