Anti Corruption Court, Anantnag has rejected the bail applications of two persons accused of fabricating documents to obtain bank loan.
After hearing prosecution and defence counsels, special anti-corruption judge, Anantnag, Khalil Ahmad Choudhary said while dealing with the matters of bail applications, the court should exercise its discretion in judicious manner and not as a matter of course.
The court observed that the case against the accused have been filed on the compliant of Tehsildar Pahloo.
“Tehsildar has received a fake and fabricated loan case from Showket Ahmad Dar of Pahloo which has neither been prepared by Patwari, Pahloo nor has been countersigned by any magistrate. The Patwari concerned has telephonically exposed that accused does not possess any landed property in revenue records in his name and has submitted that matter may be investigated and proper action may be taken,” the court observed.
It said during investigation some fake revenue documents were seized in presence of witnesses from Tehsil Office, Devsar. “The documents were prepared for housing loan.”
During the course of investigation, it came to fore that fake documents were prepared against consideration of Rs 10,000 by Amir Ahmad Dar who happens to be cousin brother of Showkat, the court observed.
It said that perusal of the case diary would show and satisfy the court that there were reasonable grounds to believe that the allegations leveled against the accused were prima facie credible and plausible and that the investigating agency was in the process of collecting further evidence to scan and analyze the involvement of the accused in the commission of the crime.
The court said looking to genesis of the occurrence and attenuation, circumstances, grounds taken in the application cannot be considered for the release of the accused on bail as still investigation was at infancy stage.
“I am of the considered opinion that both the applications are devoid of any merit for releasing the accused on bail or on short term bail. Accordingly, bail plea of the accused is rejected,” the court said.
Earlier, the prosecution vehemently opposed the bail application on the grounds that accused was involved in heinous offence and as such they cannot claim bail as a matter of right.
“Rejecting of bail at this stage will go a message for the public as well as public servants that the courts are dealing with strong hands against the person/public servant indulged into corruption,” the prosecution pleaded.