The main legal point established in the judgment is the court's emphasis on the serious nature of the allegations, the evidence collected, and the need for custodial interrogation in cases involving criminal conspiracy and manufacturing of evidence.

JUDGMENT :

DEEPAK SIBAL, J.

1. The matter has been taken up through video conferencing.

2. The present petition has been filed under Section 438 Cr.P.C. for the grant of anticipatory bail in FIR No.841 dated 20.11.2020 under Sections 307, 323, 324, 342, 452, 120-B IPC and Section 25 of Arms Act (Sections 195, 201, 203, 204, 420 IPC added later on) registered at Police Station Ambala City.

3. On 20.11.2020, the police received information that in the Court premises in Ambala, the petitioner, who is a practicing advocate, had been assaulted. Acting on such information the Investigating Officer (for short - the IO) reached the petitioner's Chamber only to know that the petitioner had already been taken for treatment to Civil Hospital, Ambala City. Accordingly, the IO went to the hospital and recorded the petitioner's statement as per which Raju son of Gurcharan Singh who was inimical towards the petitioner and some other unknown persons had caused injuries to him with a knife. On the basis of such statement a formal FIR was registered.

4. To investigate the alleged assault on the petitioner, the IO went to the place of occurrence and prepared a rough site plan. He also recorded statements of witnesses. The spot of occurrence was also examined by officers of the crime department. On examination of CCTV footage collected from the cameras in the vicinity the IO found that on the day of occurrence, at 08:56 a.m., three young boys, with muffled faces, had entered the petitioner's chamber and left the same at 09:17 a.m. Thereafter CCTV footage of other cameras in the area was also procured by the IO which further revealed that on the day of occurrence, the aforesaid three persons, after staying in petitioner's chamber for some time, were seen going towards the railway station and as per CCTV footage of the Ambala cloth market, at 09:54 a.m., on the same day, the aforesaid three persons were seen going towards the petitioner's house. On 03.12.2020 with the help of Cyber Cell, Ambala, the aforesaid three persons were identified as Sarwan Kumar, Basant Kumar and Karamveer. Basant Kumar's and Sarwan Kumar's houses were raided and they were both apprehended. Their physical appearances were then matched with the collected CCTV footage. Karamveer continued to evade his arrest. Basant Kumar's and Sarwan Kumar's interrogation revealed that they were the petitioner's cousins and had been called by the petitioner to involve Gurcharan Singh and his son Raju in a false criminal case. In conspiracy with the petitioner, both of them, along with Karamveer, after giving painkillers to the petitioner, had inflicted injuries upon him with the help of a knife and surgical blade. Their statements were recorded and thereafter they were produced before the Illaqa Magistrate who remanded them to police custody. During their remand, Sarwan Kumar disclosed the number of his mobile as also the mobile numbers of the petitioner and his wife. He further disclosed that the petitioner used to talk to them on and from these mobile numbers. Sarwan Kumar and Basant Kumar then got recovered the clothes and the pair of shoes worn by him on the day of the occurrence. Sarwan Kumar also got recovered the surgical blade used in the crime. On 07.12.2020, Karamveer was arrested and he also suffered a disclosure statement on the same lines as co-accused Sarwan Kumar and Basant Kumar. He also got recovered the pair of shoes and clothes worn by him on the day of occurrence as also got demarcated the place of occurrence.

5. The petitioner is sought to be prosecuted for having lodged a false FIR on the basis of the above investigation done by the investigating agency.

6. Learned counsel for the petitioner contends that the petitioner has been falsely implicated in the case; the only evidence against the petitioner are the disclosure statements of co-accused made by them in police custody which have no evidentiary value; other co-accused namely Sarwan Singh, Basant Kumar and Karamveer are o