Full Judgment Text
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PETITIONER:
STATE OF ASSAM AND ANR.
Vs.
RESPONDENT:
R.K. KRISHNA KUMAR AND ORS., SAEED KIDWAI AND ORS.
DATE OF JUDGMENT: 24/10/1997
BENCH:
M.K. MUKHERJEE, K.T. THOMAS
ACT:
HEADNOTE:
JUDGMENT:
WITH
CRIMINAL APPEAL NO. 1005 OF 1997
(Arising out of SLP (Crl.) No. 3163 of 1997)
WITH
CRIMINAL APPEAL NO. 1006 OF 1997
(Arising out of SLP (Crl.) No. 3262 of 1997)
J U D G M E N T
Thomas, J.
Leave granted.
State of Assam and its Director General of Police have
filed these appeals challenging the orders of the Bombay
High Court as per which some officers of M/s Tata Tea Ltd.
(who are arrayed as respondents herein) were granted
anticipatory bail facility. It appears that those
respondents are suspected to have given aid to militant
groups which have been banned under the provisions of the
Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967. Assam Police are
wanting to interrogate all the suspected persons, including
the respondents, in connection with investigation of the
cases registered for the above crimes by the appellants.
Respondents moved the Bombay High Court for anticipatory
bail and a learned Single Judge, without even affording an
opportunity to the appellants for a hearing directed the
appellants to release the respondents, if arrested, on bail
of Rs. 10,000/- each with one or two sureties of the like
amount.
Various arguments have been raised by Shri K.T.S.
Tulsi, learned counsel appearing for the appellants, in
challenge of the impugned orders. Learned counsel appearing
for the respondents, while arguing in reply to the
appellants’ contention did not dispute that Government of
Assam or the Director General of Police of the State of
Assam were not heard, in spite of they being made parties in
each of the applications for anticipatory bail.
According to Shri Tulsi, only the Courts of Session in
Assam and High Court of Guwahati have jurisdiction to
entertain the applications for anticipatory bail in respect
of the activities alleged against the respondents vis-a-vis
the two banned organizations because all such crimes were
committed within the territorial limits of the State of
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Assam.
We do not think it necessary to decide whether Bombay
High Court has jurisdiction to entertain the applications
filed by the respondents. All the same, the question of
granting anticipatory bail to any person who is allegedly
connected with the offences in question must for all
practical purposes be considered by the High Court of
Guwahati within whose territorial jurisdiction such
activities should have been perpetrated. In view of the
conceded position that appellants were not heard by the High
Court we set aside the impugned orders on that ground alone.
The applicants are to be disposed of after hearing the
appellants also. For that purpose we order that the
applications for anticipatory bail filed by the respondents
would stand transferred to the High Court of Guwahati where
those applications would be heard by a Division Bench of
that High Court and appropriate orders be passed thereon. We
request of Chief Justice of High Court of Guwahati to allot
these cases to a Division bench to hear the applications,
preferably on 4.11.1997.
In order to avoid conflicting decisions and opinions,
we think it necessary that all future petitions for
anticipatory bail made by any one in common or related
matters referring to such activities committed within the
territorial limits of Guwahati High Court shall be heard
only by the same Division Bench. We further direct that no
such application for anticipatory bail shall be entertained
by any court other than the Division Bench of the High Court
of Guwahati indicated above.
Status-quo as on today will be maintained by the
appellants vis-a-vis the respondents herein till 7.11.1997
which is necessary to enable the Division Bench of the High
Court of Guwahati to pass appropriate orders on the
applications filed by the respondents.
We direct the Registry to take immediate steps to
ensure that the applications filed by the respondents for
anticipatory bail in Bombay High Court are despatched to
Guwahati High Court so as to reach there on or before
3.11.1997.
The appeals are thus disposed of.