New Delhi, May 26 Personal liberty is a fundamental right and should be curtailed only when circumstances make it imperative, a Delhi court said, citing a Supreme Court judgment to grant bail to an accused in a cheating case.
Additional Sessions Judge Vishal Pahuja was hearing the anticipatory bail plea filed by Aneel Kapoor, who is accused of cheating a senior citizen as a visa consultant, and said that the allegations involved offences punishable with imprisonment of less than seven years.
In an order dated May 21, the court, relying on an SC ruling, said, "Personal liberty is a very precious fundamental right, and it should be curtailed only when it becomes imperative according to the peculiar facts and circumstances of the case."
According to the prosecution, Kapoor cheated an elderly woman out of a substantial amount. It argued that his custodial interrogation was necessary as the investigation was still at an early stage and the recovery of money was still pending.
Advocate Ujwal Ghai, who represented Kapoor, argued that Kapoor merely acted as a visa facilitator for the complainant on several occasions and claimed that the dispute arose after a visa application involving the complainant's daughter was rejected.
A civil dispute was given a criminal colour, it contended.
The judge noted that the evidence in the case was primarily documentary and included a series of email exchanges between the complainant and the accused relating to professional services allegedly provided by Kapoor.
"It is not disputed that with the facilitation of the applicant/accused, the complainant was granted a visa on a number of occasions for visiting the UK. The applicant/accused is also a senior citizen and has a permanent address," the court said.
Neither was it disputed, the court said, that the accused facilitated visas for the complainant on multiple occasions for visits to the UK.
The court took note of Kapoor's status as a senior citizen, his permanent residence, and his undertaking to cooperate with the investigation.
It directed that in the event of arrest, Kapoor be released on furnishing a personal bond of Rs 20,000 with one surety of a like amount, subject to conditions including joining the investigation and not contacting the complainant.
