Case Title: Jay Shri & Anr. v. State of Rajasthan
Case no: SLP(Crl.) No. 14423 OF 2023
Dated on: 19 January 2024
Coram: Hon’ble JUSTICE SANJIV KHANNA and JUSTICE DIPANKAR DATTA
FACTS OF THE CASE
The appellants, Jay Shri and Hitesh Kela, were arrested in connection with FIR no. 0220/2022, registered with Police Station – Osiyan, District – Jodhpur Rural, Rajasthan, for the offences punishable under Sections 420 and 120B of the Indian Penal Code (IPC). They filed an appeal against an order denying them anticipatory bail.
LEGAL PROVISIONS
Indian Penal Code (IPC):
- Section 420: This section deals with the offence of cheating where a person deceives another and fraudulently or dishonestly induces them to deliver any property, or to make, alter or destroy the whole or any part of a valuable security, or anything which is signed or sealed and capable of being converted into a valuable security.
- Section 120B: This section pertains to criminal conspiracy and the punishment for conspiring to commit an offence.
Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (CrPC):
- Section 438: Direction for grant of bail to a person apprehending arrest (Anticipatory Bail). This section allows a person to seek bail in anticipation of an arrest on accusation of having committed a non-bailable offence. The court can impose conditions while granting anticipatory bail.
- Section 438(2): Specifies the conditions that the court may impose while granting anticipatory bail, such as:
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- The person shall make himself available for interrogation by the police officer as and when required.
- The person shall not, directly or indirectly, make any inducement, threat, or promise to any person acquainted with the facts of the case so as to dissuade them from disclosing such facts to the court or any police officer.
- The person shall not leave India without the previous permission of the court.
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COURT’S ANALYSIS AND JUDGEMENT
The court heard the contentions of both parties, allowed the application filed by the complainant/informant to be impleaded as respondent no. 2 to the present appeal and held that mere breach of contract does not amount to an offence under Sections 420 or 406 of the IPC unless fraudulent or dishonest intention is shown right at the beginning of the transaction. The court cautioned against converting purely civil disputes into criminal cases and stated that any effort to settle civil disputes and claims, which do not involve any criminal offence, by applying pressure through criminal prosecution should be deprecated and discouraged. The court granted anticipatory bail to the appellants, directing that they be released on bail by the arresting/investigating officer or the trial court on terms and conditions to be fixed by the trial court. The appellants were also required to comply with the conditions mentioned in Section 438(2) of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973. Henceforth, the court set aside the impugned judgment/order and allowed the appeal. The court clarified that the grant of anticipatory bail and the observations made in the present order would not be treated as an expression of opinion on the merits of the case and would have no bearing whatsoever on any civil proceedings.
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Judgement Reviewed by – PRATYASA MISHRA
