Ramesh Sharma Vs State of Hp

2025:HHC:9552

IN THE HIGH COURT OF HIMACHAL PRADESH, SHIMLA CrMPs(M) No. : 245 and 257 to
259 of 2025 Reserved on : 02.04.2025 Decided on : 08.04.2025
CrMP(M) No.245 of 2025
Dinesh Singh Kanwar …Applicant Versus
State of Himachal Pradesh …Respondent
CrMP(M) No.257 of 2025
Rajeshwar Sharma …Applicant Versus
State of Himachal Pradesh …Respondent
CrMP(M) No.258 of 2025
Ramesh Sharma …Applicant Versus
State of Himachal Pradesh …Respondent
CrMP(M) No.259 of 2025
Ravi Ram …Applicant
Versus
State of Himachal Pradesh …Respondent

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Coram

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The Hon’ble Mr. Justice Virender Singh, Judge.

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Whether approved for reporting?¹

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For the applicant(s) : Applicants in person with Mr. N.S. Chandel, Senior Advocate with Mr. Ajay Chandel, Advocate.

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For the respondent : Mr. Tejasvi Sharma, Additional Advocate General, assisted by Inspector Rajinder Singh, PS Arki, District Solan, H.P.

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Virender Singh, Judge

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The above-titled bail applications are being disposed of by the common order, as, all the four bail applications have been filed, in the same FIR, i.e. FIR No.10/2025, dated 10.02.2025, registered under Sections 420, 468, 471, 409 and 120B of Indian Penal Code (hereinafter referred to as the ‘IPC’), with Police Station Arki, District Solan, H.P. 2. These bail applications have been filed by the above-named applicants, under Section 482 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (hereinafter referred to as ‘BNSS’), for passing a direction, in their favour, directing the Investigating Officer/police of Police Station Arki, District Solan, H.P., to release them on bail, in the event of their arrest, in the above-noted FIR.

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1 Whether Reporters of local papers may be allowed to see the judgment? Yes.

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According to the applicants, they are innocent

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persons and have falsely been implicated, in the said case. The story of the prosecution is stated to be concocted one.

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Apprehending their arrest, it has been averred that they have nothing to do with the alleged offence, as, they are reputed Government servants, working in the Government Degree College, Arki, District Solan, H.P. and having deep roots in the society.

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On the basis of above facts, certain undertakings have been given, on behalf of the applicants, for which, the applicants are ready to abide by, in case, any direction is issued to the police/I.O., in this case.

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Vide orders dated 13.02.2025 and 14.02.2025,

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this Court has granted the interim bail to the applicants and State was directed to file the status reports. Consequently, status reports have been filed.

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As per the status report, filed on 20.02.2025, on 10.02.2025, complainant-Sunita Sharma, Principal, Government Degree College, Arki, District Solan, H.P, had submitted a complaint to the Police Station, upon which,

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HC Hira Singh No.46 reached at Government Degree College, Batal in order to verify the contents of the complaint, where, the complainant got recorded her statement, under Section 173 of the BNSS.

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7.1. In the statement, complainant has disclosed that she is working as Principal in Government Degree College, Arki since 25.08.2023. When, she assumed the charge of Principal, then, she found that in the year 202122, to upgrade the Government Degree College, Arki as College of Excellence, Government had allotted a sum of Rs.1 crore. The said amount was meant for the development of the college. As per the record, out of the amount of Rs.1 crore, Rs.8,81,950/- was spent for the construction of Basketball Court, whereas, amount of Rs.3 lacs was spent for the construction of Open Air Gym. As such, total amount of Rs.11,81,950/- was transferred to M/s Nandan Contractors & Supplier, Mandi, on 19.03.2022, by Treasury, Arki. However, according to her, till the date, when, she made the statement, in the Arki College Campus, neither, Basketball Court, nor Open Air Gym, were constructed.

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7.2. As per further contents of the complaint, made by the complainant, after completion of the said work, the recommendations were to be made by the Committee, constituted for the purpose, for release of the amount, however, the said Committee, without getting the work done, had recommended the payment in favour of Nandan Contractor. The Committee Members were Dr. Dinesh Singh Kanwar, Coordinator, UMY (Associate Professor English) (applicant in CrMP(M) No.245 of 2025), Dr. Ramesh Sharma, Convener (Assistant Professor English) (applicant in CrMP(M) No.248 of 2025), Dr. Prem Pal, Member (Assistant Professor Music), Mr. Ravi Ram, Member (Assistant Professor P.E.T.) (applicant in CrMP(M) No.259 of 2025), Dr. Munish Kumar, Member (Assistant Professor Commerce), Dr. Adarsh Sharma, Member (Assistant Professor Geography) and Mr. Rajeshwar Sharma, Member (Clerk) (applicant in CrMP(M) No.257 of 2023). 7.3. During the said period, the Officiating Principalcum-DD was Dr. Jagdish Chand Sharma, Associate Professor, whose tenure was from 22.11.2021 to

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24.08.2023. The work was assigned to Nandan Contractor through GeM (Government e-Market). Mr. Chaman Lal, the then Superintendent Grade-II, has made the transaction through GeM account. Procedural lapses were also found in this regard, as, for the construction of Basketball Court, bidding was done at GeM portal on 22.02.2022. Bid was opened on 04.03.2022. Five companies had participated in the bid, but, four companies were disqualified without any reason and the contract was given to sole bidder M/s Nandan Contractor & Supplier on 09.03.2022.

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7.4. It is the further case of the complainant that on 12.03.2022, M/s Nandan Contractor and Supplier had issued the certificate Consignee Receipt and Acceptance Certificate (CRAC). Meaning thereby, the said work has been completed, whereas, till 12.03.2022, neither Basketball Court was constructed nor Open Air Gym was made. On 16.03.2022, on the basis of CRAC(2), bill was submitted to Sub-Treasury, Arki and on 19.03.2022, the same was passed and the amount of Rs.11,81,950/- was

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transferred in A/c No.792030110000215, IFSC Code

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BKID0007920 of said Nandan Contractor.

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7.5. It is the further case of the complainant that bill was wrongly generated on the basis of proforma invoice, whereas, the same is required to be generated on GeM after CRAC Certificate will be generated and the payment is required to be made after passing of the bill.

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7.6. All these facts have been highlighted to show that the provisions of GeM were by-passed and the payment was made on the basis of proforma invoice.

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7.7. According to the complainant, she has again mentioned in the complaint that the Basketball Court and Open Air Gym, as mentioned in the proforma invoice, have not yet been constructed in the college. The complainant had made correspondence with Nandan Contractor with regard to construction of Basketball Court and Open Air Gym, but, no response was received. As such, according to her, the amount of Rs.11,81,950/-, which were allotted for development of Government Degree College, Arki, under the Utkrisht Mahavidyalaya Yojana, has been fraudulently embezzled by the abovesaid College Committee, Dr.

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Jagdish Chand Sharma, Associate Professor, Chaman Lal, Contractor Nandan, by preparing the forged documents. As such, she has prayed that the action be taken against them.

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7.8. On the basis of the said facts, the police registered the FIR in question and the investigation of the case was entrusted to HC Hira Singh No.46 and subsequently, criminal machinery swung into motion.

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7.9. During investigation, on 11.02.2025, the documents, pertaining to the Basketball Court and Open Air Gym, were obtained from the Principal, Government Degree College, Batal, by issuing the notice, under Section 94 of the BNSS.

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7.10. On 15.02.2025, Smt. Sunita Sharma, Principal,

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has submitted the said record. Perusal of the same demonstrated that the same is the record of the amount, sanctioned for making the college as Excellence College, Committee constituted for the said purpose, the work done statement of the Committee, copy of the proposal forms, GeM Contract Agreement and other documents were there.

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7.11. As per the record, on 07.01.2022, under the Scheme ‘Excellence College’, Government has sanctioned Rs.1 crore to the Government Degree College, Batal, out of which, Rs.75 lacs were released under this Scheme. However, in order to execute the said work, the college authorities on 14.02.2022 constituted five Committees and all the Committees were made under the Chairmanship of Officiating Principal Dr. Jagdish Sharma and Dr. Dinesh Singh Kanwar (applicant in CrMP(M) No.245 of 2025) and in the Committee, known as Cultural and Sports Infrastructure, Ramesh Sharma (applicant in CrMP(M) No.258 of 2025) was Convener, whereas, Rajeshwar Sharma (applicant in CrMP(M) No.257 of 2025), Ravi Ram (applicant in CrMP(M) No.259 of 2025), Munish Sharma, Adarsh Sharma and Prem Pal were appointed as Members of the Committee.

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7.12. On 15.02.2022, under the Chairmanship of Officiating Principal Dr. Jagdish Sharma and Dr. Dinesh Singh Kanwar (applicant in CrMP(M) No.245 of 2025), the matter was discussed regarding the Basketball Court,

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whereas, there was no reference with regard to the Open Air Gym in it.

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7.13. On 22.02.2022, bid was opened on GeM portal, where, five firms had shown to be participated. However, the Committee has declared M/s Nandan Contractor & Supplier as qualified, whereas, other four firms were declared disqualified. Thereafter, a contract was executed with M/s Nandan Contractor & Supplier on 09.03.2022 for a sum of Rs.8,81,950/regarding construction of Basketball Court.

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7.14. On 10.03.2022, on the GeM portal, M/s Nandan Contractor & Supplier had generated the invoice and on the same day, Members of the Committee, Convener and Coordinator had recommended to make the payment of Rs.8,81,950/-.

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7.15. On 12.03.2022, CRAC was generated. On 16.03.2022, Committee had recommended to the

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Officiating Principal/Chairman of the Committee Dr. Jagdish Sharma to issue the Office Order regarding the payment of Rs.8,81,950/- to M/s Nandan Contractor & Supplier by giving the reference of HPTR-2009. Thereafter,

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according to HPTR-5 Treasury Abstract Bill No.100122, the said amount was released in favour of M/s Nandan Contractor & Supplier in advance.

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7.16. As per the record, according to the status report, it was also found that on 07.03.2022, a contract was executed between M/s Nandan Contractor & Supplier with the Department. On 08.03.2022, from the GeM portal, GeM Invoice No.GEM-18714139 dated 08.03.2022, Order No.GEMC-511687771025644 dated 07.03.2022 was

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generated. On the same day, the Committee Members, Convener and Coordinator had made the recommendation to release the amount of Rs.3 lacs.

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7.17. On 12.05.2022, on the GeM portal, CRAC No.GEMCRAC-1-511687771025644-1 dated 12.03.2022 was generated. On 16.03.2022, on the recommendation of the Committee, Officiating Principal-cum-Committee Chairman Dr. Jagdish Sharma issued the Office Order regarding the payment of Rs.3 lacs to M/s Nandan Contractor & Supplier and on the same day, the amount was transferred in the account of M/s Nandan Contractor & Supplier in advance.

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7.18. It has been alleged that the Coordinator and other Members recommended for the release of the amount in favour of M/s Nandan Contractor & Supplier to the then Principal, Government Degree College, Batal, whereas, in Government Degree College, Batal, no work regarding Basketball Court and Open Air Gym was executed.

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7.19. It is the further case of the police that despite payment of the amount, which has been made in advance, M/s Nandan Contractor & Supplier has not executed the work of Basketball Court and Open Air Gym. The Committee has used the utilization certificate/acceptance certificate, whereas, on the spot, no work for the construction of Basketball Court and Open Air Gym has been executed.

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7.20. On the basis of above facts, it has been mentioned that in order to embezzle the Government money, payment of Rs.11,81,950/- was made by the Members of the Committee. The investigation is stated to be at the initial stage.

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7.21. In the status report, which has been filed on 04.03.2025, it has been apprehended that the applicants

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have joined the investigation, but, not disclosing the true facts and they may tamper with the documentary evidence.

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7.22. In the status report, which has been filed on 18.03.2025, a stand has been taken that Contractor Nitish Sharma @Nandan has also been associated in the investigation, who has disclosed that in the year 20212022, he has taken the contract for construction in 5-6 schools and colleges and due to the shortage of the labour, the above work has not been completed. He has admitted that the Principal has made the payment of Rs.11,81,950/in advance to him and he has utilized the same in some other work.

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7.23. In the status report, which has been filed on 28.03.2025, a stand has been taken by the police that the matter was also enquired from the former Officiating Principal Jagdish Sharma, who has disclosed that the work, which was being executed in the year 2021-22, under the Excellence College Scheme, was done under the supervision of the State-Level Committee, who has issued the written directions, as well as, directions through

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WhatsApp message. As per directions of the said Committee, the amount of Rs.11,81,950/- was released in advance in favour of the Contractor and Nandan Contractor has utilized the said amount in some other work and has not constructed the awarded work. The amount was released in advance, so that the same may not lapse.

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7.24. It is the further case of the police that on 19.03.2025, the requisite documents were taken into possession. Thereafter, the accused persons were produced before the Court of learned Judicial Magistrate First Class, Arki, for obtaining their specimen signatures. Again, a stand has been taken that as per the recommendation of the Committee, payment was made in advance. However, Contractor Nitish Sharma has not executed the work.

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7.25. In the status report, which has been filed on 02.04.2025, it has been mentioned that on 30.03.2025, Contractor Nitish Sharma was arrested and thereafter, he was produced before the Court, from where, he was remanded to police custody. During investigation, said Contractor Nitish Sharma has disclosed that he has

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obtained work in the State at 40-50 places and has received the amount of Rs.11,81,950/-, which he had spent in other work and he is having no money in his bank account.

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7.26. On 01.04.2025, stock register of Arki College for

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the year 2021-22 was also taken into possession and in this record also, no articles have been found to be mentioned regarding the Open Air Gym and Basketball Court. Reiterating the fact that at the instance of the Committee, consisting of accused persons, in the year 2022, under the Excellence College Scheme, the amount of Rs.11,81,950/- was released. For that purpose, Committee Members, Principal, Chaman Lal (Superintendent) have prepared the forged/wrong documents and used the said documents to get the amount released in favour of Contractor Nitish Sharma @Nandan.

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On the basis of above facts, a prayer has been made to dismiss the applications.

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Heard. Record perused.

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As per the stand, taken by the police, the entire documentary evidence has been taken into possession. The

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applicants have joined the investigation and their specimen signatures have also been obtained by producing them before the competent Court of law.

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The police is not able to make out the case for custodial interrogation of the applicants, in this case and considering the fact that the applicants are the permanent residents of the State of Himachal Pradesh, it cannot be apprehended that in case, the interim order is made absolute, they may not be available for the trial.

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The case of the prosecution is based upon the documentary evidence, which has been taken into possession. As such, no useful purpose would be served by dismissing the applications, as, dismissal of the applications would be nothing, but, remanding the applicants to judicial custody.

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Moreover, pre-trial punishment is prohibited under the law and the punishment can only be inflicted after the full-fledged trial.

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Even otherwise, the role, alleged against the applicants, would be proved during the trial.

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Considering all these facts, this Court is of the opinion that the interim orders, dated 13/14.02.2025, in the respective applications, are liable to be confirmed. Consequently, the interim orders dated 13/14.02.2025, in the respective applications, are made absolute, by virtue of which, the applicants were ordered to be released on bail, subject to the condition that the applicants will abide by the conditions, as enumerated in para No.7(i) and 7(iii) to 7(xi) of the said order(s).

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Any of the observations, made hereinabove, shall not be taken as an expression of opinion, on the merits of the case, as these observations, are confined, only, to the disposal of the present bail applications.

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The applicants are directed to move regular bail applications, when chargesheet will be filed in the competent Court of law.

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It is made clear that the respondent-State is at liberty to move an appropriate application(s), in case, any of the bail conditions, is found violated by the applicants.

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