On 24th July 2020, Justice Alok Kumar Verma heard the case of Mohan Kumar Saxena vs the State of Uttarakhand, via video-conferencing. The Court rejected the bail plea as a prima facie evidence of counterfeit existed.
Facts of the Case
On 26.12.2019, an FIR was registered against R.S. Rathore, an e-stamp vendor. It was registered under Sections 255 and 258 of the I.P.C. The Registrar Office received two sale deeds. Meera Biswas and Deepak Biswas presented one sale deed each in e-stamp papers.
The Registrar Office found that both the e-stamp papers were not verified in the Stock Holding Corporation of India Ltd. These stamp papers bore the e-stamp of vendor R.S. Rathore. The Stock Holding Corporation of India Ltd. informed the Registrar Office that they did not issue the said e-stamp papers to R.S. Rathore.
Besides, they also mentioned that there was no such person as a stamp vendor in the name of R.S. Rathore in their records.
During the investigation, they found that the said e-stamp papers were forged. Thereafter, the police filed the charge sheet. The applicant filed the bail the application under Section 439 of CRPC, 1973.
Arguments of the Applicant
The learned counsel for the applicant argued that the case is falsely implicated against the applicant. The applicant is not named in the FIR. The respondent lodged the FIR after a delay of 36 days. Further, the respondent did not give enough explanation for the same.
No e-stamp papers were recovered from the applicant’s possession. He added that the applicant did not sell the alleged forged e-stamp papers to any of the purchasers.
The applicant is the son-in-law of the original stamp vendor, Rajesh Kumar. The applicant worked as an assistant with him.
The Sub-Registrar In-Charge issued a notice to Rajesh Kumar with regard to forgery committed through forged e-stamp paper. Rajesh Kumar had lodged a written report before that. The written report stated that while he was coming to his place, his bag fell down and documents like Aadhar card, Pan Card, etc. went missing.
Meera Biswas informed the Sub-Registrar that she purchased the e-stamp from one Gappu Bhatanagar. The statements recorded under Section 161 of the Code of Criminal Procedure are contradictory. The applicant has no concern with the alleged allegations. No offence under Sections 255 and 258 of the I.P.C. is made out against him.
Arguments of the Respondent
The learned counsel for the State argued that the applicant had been involved in the offences. These offences are grievous in nature under Sections 255 and 258 of the I.P.C. Thus, the applicant is not entitled to bail.
Court’s Analysis
The investigation shows that Rajesh Kumar was the valid license holding vendor. The applicant was also registered as an Assistant vendor. Evidence shows that the applicant looked after the entire work of stamp vending of Rajesh Kumar.
He has generated the forged e-stamp papers. The applicant misused the numbered e-stationery issued by the e-stamp holding office. On 23.12.2019, Stock Holding Corporation of India Ltd produced a report. The report stated that they did not issue those e-stamp certifications and that the e-stamps were fake.
Court’s Decision
It prima facie appears that the present applicant counterfeited the e-stamps issued by Government. Thereafter, he sold these stamps. The applicant was prima facie involved in this offence.
The Court added that there is no good reason to release him at this stage. The Court, thus, rejected the bail application.
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