KHAN, J. - (1.) -
(2.) THESE four petitions under Section 482 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (the Cr. P.C.) by Rajiv Rathore, petitioner, seek the cancellation and quashing of the relevant First Information Reports registered at the same or different Police Stations of Jaipur City, against him and some others. As per desire and consent of the learned counsel for the parties these were heard together and are now disposed of by this combined order. The main order shall be placed on the record of S.B. Cr. Misc. Petition No. 602 of 1999 and a copy thereof on the records of each of the remaining petitions. The relevant facts, in chronological order in accordance with the sequence of events and the day, time and place of the registration of the various FIRs at the same and other police stations, are these: On April 22, 1999 at 2.05 p.m. one Nathu Ram reported to the Station House Officer (SHO) Police Station Vidhan Sabha, Jaipur that on 20.4.99 two unknown persons had taken his brother, Kalu Ram, with them in a white Maruti Zen Car for taking the measurements of certain `Chokhats'; that on 21.4.99 Kalu Ram informed the members of his family on telephone that he would return to the house at about 1.30 p.m.; that on that very day at about 11.00 p.m. he again informed the family that he would reach the house at about 10.00 a.m. in the next morning; that since Kalu Ram did not reach the house by that time the informant got worried and suspicious about his brother and reported the matter to the police. In the report it was also mentioned that since his brother was in litigation with his land-lords over the possession of the shop and in the past some persons, representing themselves to be the men of Sh. Shyam Pratap Singh Rathor, D.G. Police used to approach him for vacation of the shop, he suspected that Arun Sogani, Neeraj Sogani, Bhartesh Sogani, Sanjiv Meena, Hari Ram Yadav, Ganpat Sen and some others had abducted his brother. Crime No. 81/99 under Section 365 IPC was registered at Police Station Vidhan Sabha on the basis of this report and investigation was commenced. The investigating officer was still busy in collecting information regarding the telephone wherefrom telephonic messages were received from time to time at the house of Kalu Ram that at 4.00 p.m. he received a wireless message from his police station that Kalu Ram had reached his house. He, therefore, contacted Kalu Ram and examined him under Section 161 Cr. P.C. On being so examined Kalu Ram stated that he and several other persons had taken on rent a piece of land admeasuring 2500 sq. yds. on Tonk Road from Bhartesh Chand Sogani some times in 1962 and constructed shops thereupon and paying rents thereof to the said land lord; that since the tenanted property recorded substantial increase in its price over the years the said landlord started pressing them for vacating the premises and on the tenants, including himself, declining to oblige him the land lord commenced civil litigation by filing suits for eviction against them; that in the year 1998 he came to know that the Sogani had sold the disputed property to Rajiv Rathore, petitioner; that the petitioner through his men began to exercise undue influence upon him and other tenants to get their shops vacated; that on 20.4.99 two persons took him in a Maruti Zen Car to a factory premises in Sanganer where some other persons joined them and they all, seven in number, started pressurising and beating him with fists and kicks in order to make him agree to vacate the shop; that at about 11.00 p.m. he was taken in a Jeep to another place on Mohana Road near Sanganer where four other persons joined them; that at about 4.00 a.m. in the morning he was taken to room No. 212 of a hotel where he was detained till 11.00 p.m. in the night and was again taken back to the same place at Mohana Road where he was beaten and threatened with dire consequences; that at about 3.00 a.m. a person, reported to have reached from Delhi, came there and he (Kalu Ram) was presented before him; that the said man gave him a beating and threatening and then left that place; that thereafter he was again taken to the same hotel and confined in Room No. 212 thereof; that at about 10.00 or 11.00 a.m. in the morning some persons came to him and forcefully obtained his signatures on 3-4 blank stamp papers; that at about 12.00 O'clock he was made to talk to a man on telephone who threatened him and asked him to vacate the shop; that he was not the same man who was stated to have arrived at from Delhi and had given him beating in the earlier night; that thereafter his moustaches were cut and his face was hidden under a cloth and then a person came to him who asked him to vacate the shop against a payment of more than five lacs and also to advise other tenants to vacate their shops; that he was a young man who had so threatened him and offered money; that the said young man asked him as to whether he knew as to who had purchased the shops and on his telling him that as per his knowledge the shops were purchased by Sh. Shyam Pratap Singh Rathore, the said fellow refuted that fact and told him that he was a `miyan' (Muslim) and was asking his men to release him and further assured him that his men would no longer harass and harm him and he might carry on his business; that thereafter some men took him in a Jeep and left him near Gopalpura Railway Phatak with an advice to him to take back the report and also to persuade the other businessmen in Lalkothi area not to proceed on strikes etc. in the matter. On further investigation the investigating officer came to know that the Maruti Zen Car, used in abducting Kaloo Ram and the farm house, located at Mohana Road, belonged to Munna co-accused and the hotel called "Chaupal" in room No. 212 of which Kalu Ram was alleged to have been wrongfully detained and confined, was owned and run by one Jitendra Choudhary. It was also known by him that Raj Kumar Constable, posted as personal guard to Sh. Shyam Pratap Singh Rathore, D.G., and Man Singh Thanedar had visited `Chaupal' and had got a room reserved therein for the stay of some guests represented to be of the petitioner. It was also known by him that the Jeep which was used in bringing Kalu Ram back to the Chaupal Hotel, was owned by Gulla Ram Jat.
(3.) ON the basis of the information gathered by him in the above manner, the Investigating Officer formed the opinion on 24.4.99 that the petitioner appeared to be concerned with the abduction of Kalu Ram as he (the petitioner) was alleged to be the prospective purchaser of the property in question. Being of such opinion he required the petitioner to appear before him at the police station for interrogation. The petitioner appeared before him on that very day at 10.00 p.m. After interrogating him the investigating officer suspected that he might have contacted Munna on his Mobile telephone and might have made payment of some money from his Bank Accounts to Bhartesh Chandra Sogani. He, therefore, arrested the petitioner at 11.00 p.m. on 24.4.99. ON 25.4.99 the petitioner was produced before a Magistrate who ordered that the petitioner be kept in police custody and be produced on 26.4.99 before the concerned Magistrate. The concerned Magistrate remanded the petitioner to police custody upto 28.4.99. In the course of further interrogation the petitioner denied to have purchased the property or agreed to purchase the same from Bhartesh Chandra Sogani. He told the Investigating Officer that on 19.4.99 he had left for Delhi, stayed for the night at Behror Midway and then in the RSEB Rest House in Lajpat Nagar, Delhi and returned to Jaipur in the morning of 22.4.99. On 27.4.99 the Investigating Officer formed the opinion that it was a case of criminal conspiracy and accordingly added the charge under Section 120B IPC and made further investigation in that direction. Proceeding on that line he arrested Gulla Ram Jat on 27.4.99 at 8.30 p.m., Bhairoo Ram Yadava on 29.4.99. The petitioner, Gulla Ram Jat and Bhairoo Ram were,, however, released on bail under Section 439 Cr. P.C. by the learned Sessions Judge on 29.4.99, 30.4.99 and 4.5.99 respectively. While investigation in FIR No. 81/99 of P.S. Vidhan Sabha was being made in the manner stated above one Salimuddin @ Salim lodged a report on 24.4.99 at 9.30 p.m. alleging therein that some times in the month of August Arun Sogani and some policemen reached his shop and told him that the shop in possession of the informant had been sold by Arun Sogani to D.G. Saheb; that on the next day one Ayub Chobla took him to the residence of D.G. Saheb where the petitioner asked him to vacate the shop as that and all the other property around it had been purchased by him from Bhartesh Chandra Sogani. On this report Crime No. 83/99 under Section 384 IPC was registered at the same Police Station Vidhan Sabha on 24.4.99. ;