Gujarat HC denies granting Bail to Lawyer accused of Cheating & Criminal Breach Of Trust

By
Tushar Gulati
-

GUJARAT: Gujarat High Court denies granting bail to a lawyer. He was alleged of cheating, criminal breach of trust, and criminal intimidation,

The Bench comprising Justice Niral R Mehta observed,

“Applicants being a lawyer by profession, is oftenly involved in the offence serious in nature which itself is a matter of shame. The profession of a lawyer is a noble profession, as it has direct nexus with pious stream of justice which at any cost shall not be allowed to be polluted. It is highly unexpected from a lawyer to have indulged in such an offence not once, but several times in past. Though some offences are settled, but the fact remains that the offences took place at the instance of the applicant. Thus, the conduct of the applicant seems to be not befitting to the standard of the profession.“
The accused was charged with offenses under Section 406, 420, 120-B, 506(2) and 34 of the IPC and The Court was hearing an application under Section 439 of CrPC.
The complaint was filed by a plaintiff intending to purchase a certain property while the accused was the power of attorney holder. It was alleged that Rs. 77 lakhs was paid to the accused who subsequently. The accused also sought Rs. 58 lakhs by way of RTGS and Rs. 29 lakhs (transferred to the joint account of the Applicant and his wife) for the execution of the sale deed. These sums were duly remitted.

The Bench identified that the primary issue worth consideration was whether the accused, a lawyer by profession and a habitual offender could be granted regular bail. To address this question, reliance was placed on Kamla Devi v. State of Rajasthan & Anr., 2022 SCC Online 307 where the Apex Court had opined:

“The primary considerations which must be placed at balance while deciding the grant of bail are: (i) the seriousness of the offence; (ii) the likelihood of the accused fleeing from justice; (iii) the impact of release of the accused on the prosecution witnesses; (iv) likelihood of the accused tampering with evidence.”

The court observe that the accused is in a legal profession and he had a ‘legal brain’ who could evade his arrest for 3 years, the Bench observed that the Applicant had pocketed Rs. 58 lakhs out of the sale consideration through his son’s accounts and the joint account of the Applicant and his wife.

There were also 6 FIRs against the Accused of similar offenses and there was sufficient evidence that the Applicant had committed the instant offenses, as well.

 

Emphasising that there was a possibility of the Applicant fleeing from justice and the fact that the Applicant had ‘polluted’ the ‘pious stream of justice’, the High Court dismissed the bail application.

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