TaxTMI 
TaxTMI 
2023 (4) TMI 1226
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....er: That on 27.11.2020, an FIR/complaint came to be registered by the CBI (ACB, Kolkata) against inter alia the officials of Eastern Coalfield Limited, CISF, Railways and others for the commission of offences under sections 120B/409 of the IPC and the relevant provisions of the Prevention of Corruption Act. That on 16.04.2021, the respondent - accused Vikas Mishra came to be arrested by the CBI and was remanded to the CBI custody for a period of seven days i.e., till 22.04.2021. However, during the said period of remand to CBI custody, the respondent - accused Vikas Mishra was admitted in the hospital and thus could not be interrogated by the CBI despite police custody remand. 2.1 That on 21.04.2021, the respondent-accused was enlarged on interim bail by the learned Special Court which came to be extended from time to time. On 08.12.2021, the learned Special Court cancelled the interim bail of the respondent-accused on the ground that he did not appear before the Special Court despite specific directions and also did not cooperate with the CBI investigation. That on 09.12.2021 and pursuant to the interim bail being cancelled, the respondent-accused came to be arrested again on 1....
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....er got interim bail which came to be subsequently cancelled on 08.12.2021, the CBI could not exercise the police custody remand which as such was allowed by the learned Special Judge on 16.04.2021. 4.1 It is submitted that as such the order granting seven days police custody remand attained finality and therefore the CBI should be given the police custody remand of the accused for the remainder period of seven days. 4.2 It is submitted that as such all throughout the respondent-accused managed to get himself hospitalised on one ground or the other and therefore as such successfully frustrated the order of police remand allowed by the learned Special Judge. It is submitted that nobody can be permitted to frustrate the court's process. 4.3 Making above submissions, it is prayed to grant the police custody remand of the respondent-accused for the remainder period of seven days which the CBI could not exercise because of the respondent got himself hospitalised and was released on interim bail. 5. The present application and the prayer of the CBI for further police custody remand is vehemently opposed by Shri Neeraj Kishan Kaul, learned Senior Counsel appearing on behalf of the resp....
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....d of seven days, it is required to be noted that as such the learned Special Judge granted seven days police custody of the respondent-accused on 16.04.2021. The order granting seven days police custody as such had attained finality. However, it so happened that before the seven days police custody is over and before the CBI exercises the power of interrogation for full seven days which as per the order passed by the learned Special Judge was available to the CBI, the respondent-accused got himself hospitalised on 18.04.2021. On 21.04.2021, the learned Special Judge granted interim bail to the accused. As per the settled position of law therefore once on bail/interim bail, during that period there cannot be any police custody. Therefore, the CBI could not interrogate the respondent-accused for full seven days under the police custody remand, which otherwise the CBI was entitled to. That thereafter, the accused remained in the hospital from time to time during the interim bail which also came to be extended from time to time. That thereafter, by order dated 08.12.2021, the learned Special Judge cancelled the interim bail by observing that the respondent accused has misused the inter....
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.... bail on the part of the accused person which he obtained exclusively on medical ground. In my appreciation allowing furtherance of this liberty would certainly defeat the cause of public justice. The nature and seriousness of the offence, the character of evidence collected before and after the interim bail was granted as against this accused person, the present circumstances and shown gesture of designed reluctance of the accused person in assisting the investigation to progress, and the larger interest of the public and the nation - all at a time, impel me to jump to the judicial inference that the accused person should no more be allowed to enjoy the liberty of the interim bail granted to him on 21.04.2021 and which has been extended from time to time till date. The precedents relied upon by the Ld. Advocates for the accused person are all dissimilar to the factual matrix of the present case and hence require no separate mentioning. So far as the present health condition of the accused person is concerned from the documents supplied on behalf of the accused person, it is definitely evident that his health is in condition than what he was in at the time of obtaining the Interim ....
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....pecial Court refuses to grant the police custody erroneously which as such was prayed within 15 days and/or immediately on the date of arrest and thereafter the order passed by the trial/Special Court is challenged by the investigating agency before the higher Court, namely, Sessions Court or the High Court and the higher Court reverses the decision of the learned Magistrate refusing to grant the police custody and by that time the period of 15 days is over, what would be position? The learned senior counsel is not in a position to answer the court query. 8. Be that as it may, the facts in the present case are very glaring. Despite the fact that on 16.04.2021, the learned Special Judge allowed police custody of the respondent-accused for seven days i.e., up to 22.04.2021, the respondent-accused got himself admitted in the hospital during the period of police custody, i.e., on 18.04.2021 and obtained interim bail on 21.04.2021 which came to be extended till 08.12.2021 when his interim bail came to be cancelled by the learned Special Judge by observing that the accused has misused the liberty shown to him and during the interim bail he has not cooperated with the investigating agenc....