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2019 Supreme(Tri) 37
IN THE HIGH COURT OF TRIPURA, AGARTALA
ARINDAM LODH, J.
Shri Badal Choudhury, S/o. Late Debendra Kumar Choudhury & Ors. - Petitioners
Versus
The State of Tripura - Respondent
B.A. No. 134 of 2019
Decided On : 31-10-2019
For the Petitioner:Mr. Bikash Ranjan Bhattacharjee, Sr. Adv., Mr. S.K. Deb, Sr. Adv., Mr. P. Roy Barman, Advocate, Mr. H. Debnath, Mr. A. Bhattacharjee, Ms. R. Guha, Ms. R. Purakayastha, Mr. T.D. Majumder, Mr. S. Lodh, Mr. R. Mukherjee, Mr. Samarjit Bhattacharjee, Mr. K. Nath, Mr. D.P. Ghosh.
For the Respondent:Mr. A.K. Bhowmik, Advocate General, Mr. Ratan Dutta, P.P., Mr. Raju Datta, Advocate.
Thorough investigation is necessary to uncover the truth and lift the veil behind the mirror in cases involving misappropriation of government funds.
Headnote:
Corruption - Misappropriation of Government Funds - Indian Penal Code, Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988 - 409, 418, 420, 201, 120B, 13 - The judgment discusses the illegal departure from the policy decision of the Council of Ministers and the need for thorough investigation to unearth the truth and lift the veil behind the mirror.
Fact of the Case:
The accused, an ex-minister and Member of the Legislative Assembly, was arrested in connection with a case involving misappropriation of government funds. The accused filed bail applications, which were rejected by the court.
Finding of the Court:
The court found that there were reasonable grounds for believing the accusations against the accused, and that thorough investigation was necessary to uncover the truth and lift the veil behind the mirror. The bail application was rejected and dismissed.
Issues: The issues involved the illegal departure from the policy decision of the Council of Ministers, the need for thorough investigation, and the accused's involvement in committing offences under the Indian Penal Code and the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988.
Ratio Decidendi: The court held that there were reasonable grounds for believing the accusations against the accused, and that thorough investigation was necessary to uncover the truth. The court also emphasized the need to provide proper health care and appropriate medical attention to the accused.
Final Decision: The bail application filed by the petitioner on behalf of the accused was rejected and dismissed.
JUDGMENT :
The accused person, Sri Badal Choudhury, is an ex-minister and presently, a Member of the Legislative Assembly. Mr. Choudhury has been arrested in connection with West Agartala PS Case No.2019 WAG 251 registered under Section 409, 418, 420, 201, 120B of the Indian Penal Code and Section 13 of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988. This application under Section 439 CrPC has been filed by Smt. Namita Gope, wife of the accused person, for releasing him on bail.
2. From the FIR dated 13.10.2019 it is revealed that there are two other accused persons, namely, Sri Yashpal Singh, IAS, former Chief Secretary and Principal Secretary, Public Works Department under the Government of Tripura and Sri Sunil Bhowmik, former Chief Engineer, Public Works Department under the Government of Tripura.
3. The essential facts of the case, for purpose of consideration of the present bail application, are as follows:
3.1. A complaint was lodged by SI Badal Dutta of the Vigilance Organization, Government of Tripura on 13.10.2019 which was registered as formal FIR, as aforestated. It is stated that a vigilance enquiry was conducted during which major wrongdoings and criminal conspiracy came to light for finalization of tenders and awarding of projects at cost plus basis to some Public Sector Units(PSUs) and some private sector construction agencies during financial year 2008-09 for implementation of major infrastructural development projects by the State PWD.
3.2. The State of Tripura, in view of huge influx of funds to mobilize infrastructural development within the territory of Tripura undertook many projects. To bring transparency and cost effectiveness in implementing various project works, the Public Works Department(PWD) of the Government of Tripura had proposed to frame a specific policy for implementation and execution of various projects; and for that purpose, a memorandum was prepared for placing before the Council of Ministers(COM) vide Memorandum dated 31.05.2008. After considering various facets to facilitate quality and expeditious execution of works by the PWD, Government of Tripura, the said memorandum was placed before the COM and accordingly, it was approved by the COM, which would be evident from the record of decision of the meeting of COM held on 03.06.2008.
3.3. It is apparent from the said policy that the COM had taken into consideration many important facets to implement and complete the projects within a stipulated period and it is noticed that the COM had also decided to provide incentives to the contractors or implementing agencies if the works were completed before the stipulated date. Salient features of the memorandum for the COM dated 31.05.2008 may be reproduced here-in-below for convenience, in extenso:
“1. ..........................
2. To overcome this typical situation and for the interest of smooth implementation of different sanctioned projects in time, the following proposals are submitted for kind perusal and decision please:
(i) PWD may be allowed to award the implementation of various projects directly to the Public Sector Undertakings at cost plus basis (Limited upto 10% of the estimated cost).
(ii) PWD may also be allowed to award works to the well reputed Private Sector Construction Agencies short listed after invitation of Expression of Interest with pre-determined conditionalities as well as evaluation of their technical and financial capabilities, experience in the respective fields, etc. directly at cost plus basis(Limited upto 10% of the estimated cost).
3. Cost of the projects for this purpose is to be assessed based on the current Schedule of Rates prepared by State PWD. State PWD will update the Schedule of Rates at the earliest and will continue to update the same in the month of January every year subsequently on regular basis.
4. All relevant preliminary activities viz. survey, preparation of site plan/architectural drawing/preliminary estimate/detailed working and structural drawings/detailed esti
