ORDER

19.01.2022 Heard Mr. B.K. Mahajan, learned counsel for the accused petitioner as well as Mr. K.K. Parasar, learned Addl. P.P., Assam appearing for the State respondent.

By this petition under Section 439 Cr.P.C., the accused-petitioner, namely Sudeep Kr. Deb has prayed for grant of bail in connection with Kokrajhar P.S. Case No. 881/2021 u/s 420/409/384 of the IPC.

The case diary, as called for, is placed before the Court.

Mr. B.K. Mahajan, learned counsel for the accused petitioner, contends that the accused is presently working as a Senior Assistant in the Office of the Executive Engineer (Agriculture), Kokrajhar and he is roped into a false and fabricated case. Mr. Mahajan further contends drawing attention to the paragraph No. 11 of the petition that one Gopal Prasad, reporter for a local news portal based at Kokrajhar made the video in question to go viral in the social media platform and by using various camera angles and by doctoring the video roped both the accused persons named in the FIR into a false and fabricated case. Mr. Mahajan also contends that the aforesaid Gopal Prasad had demanded an amount of Rs.1,50,000/- from the present accused petitioner as extortion money by stating that if the amount is not paid he would make the video go viral thereby damaging the reputation of the accused petitioner as well as his service career. Mr. Mahajan contends that perhaps due to realising such background of the instant false case, the investigating officer refrained himself from seeking police custody of the accused petitioner at the time of his production before the learned Judicial Magistrate. Mr. Mahajan vehemently submits that the instant case is the result of a deep rooted conspiracy of the video maker and publisher concerned.

Opposing the bail application, Mr. K.K. Parasar, learned Addl. P.P., Gauhati High Court, contends that the case diary prima facie reveals that the accused petitioner extorted illegal gratification from the beneficiaries of paddy thrashers distributed at the office of the Executive Engineer (Agri.) at Kokrajhar, which was video graphed and went viral in social media prompting the informant police officer to lodge the F.I.R. Mr. Parasar, therefore, strongly opposes grant of liberty of bail to the accused petitioner.

The case relates to extortion of money by the FIR named accused persons from the beneficiaries of paddy threshers distributed at the office of the Executive Engineer, Agriculture Department, Kokrajhar which came to light after circulation of one video in various news portals. It is alleged in the FIR that the accused persons intentionally had grabbed/demanded money from the people to deliver paddy threshers and other items which were subsidized Govt. supplied articles issued to the public by the government under Rashtriya Krishi Vikash Yojana (RKVY).

It is noticed that the accused petitioner has been in judicial custody since

30.12.2021, i.e., for 20 days.

On scrutiny of the materials on the case diary, it is, inter-alia, prima facie revealed that the alleged video clip in question which went viral in the social media and on the basis of which the Officer-in-Charge of Kokrajhar P.S. lodged the F.I.R. and arrested the accused petitioner and another originated in NK TV wherefrom it was widely circulated in the social media news portals. However, the aforesaid video clip was obtained in the form of a compact disc from one of the witnesses, who published in ‘Kokrajhar Now’- a page in the Facebook after copying/sharing from the video displayed in NK TV.

The Investigating Officer has noted to the effect that “From the video it is seen that some public are giving something to the employees of the Agriculture Department who were on the table at distribution of materials.”

In their statements under Section 161 Cr.P.C., some of the beneficiaries under Rashtriya Krishi Vikash Yojana (RKVY) Scheme have inter-alia, stated that out of infinite joy at getting the benefit of subsidy materials from the gove