Refusing anticipatory bail to a man accused of being part of a racket facilitating illegal immigration through the ‘dunki route’ and duping a Haryana resident who wanted to move to the United States, the Supreme Court on Monday said that it is because of people like him that the Indian passport gets devalued.
“Indian passport gets devalued because of people like you,” a bench of Justices Ujjal Bhuyan and Manmohan remarked orally while dismissing the anticipatory bail plea of accused Om Prakash.
The bench told the counsel appearing for the appellant, “gullible poor people, you are taking them for a ride.”
Dismissing the plea, the court said, “We don’t find any good reason to entertain this anticipatory bail application.” The counsel pressed for relief, but the court said, “These are very serious allegations.”
The FIR was registered on a complaint by a man named Raja, who wanted to settle abroad. In May 2024, one of the accused in the case, Surinder, who is working as an agent, allegedly assured him that he would send him to the US through valid means, on his incurring expenses to the tune of Rs 43 lakh. Raja’s family agreed and allegedly gave Rs 3 lakh as an advance to Surinder.
“Accused Surinder then sent him to Dubai on 23.07.2024. Through the man of accused Surinder, he was then sent from Dubai to different countries and then to forests of Panama and then to Mexico. On 01.02.2025, the donkers/agents to Surinder made him cross American Boarder. He was arrested by the American Police, was confined in jail and was deported to India on 16.02.2025,” the complaint alleged, adding that “in the meanwhile, Surinder had taken cash amount of Rs. 22,00,000/- from his (Raja’s) father.”
After the FIR was registered, the investigation started. Om Prakash, an alleged agent, fearing arrest, moved an application seeking pre-arrest bail before the Additional Sessions Judge, Panipat, but this was dismissed on March 21 this year.
Prakash then approached the Punjab and Haryana High Court, contending that he had been falsely implicated in the case. Prakash argued that as per the FIR, it was the co-accused, Surinder, and not he, who had induced the complainant and had arranged for his going abroad.
On April 9, the high court dismissed his anticipatory bail plea. The high court said, “The petitioner has criminal antecedents since he is involved in one more case of similar nature. The allegations make out a prima facie case for commission of offence of cheating as against the petitioner. For the purpose of conducting thorough investigation, custodial interrogation of the petitioner is required. The case is at its nascent stage. No such exceptional and extra ordinary circumstance could be pointed out by the petitioner’s counsel on the basis of which it can be stated that he deserves to be extended benefit of pre-arrest bail.”
He reported from the Delhi High Court and the Supreme Court of India during his first stint with The Indian Express in 2005-2006. Currently, in his second stint with The Indian Express, he reports from the Supreme Court and writes on topics related to law and the administration of justice. Legal reporting is his forte though he has extensive experience in political and community reporting too, having spent a decade as Kerala state correspondent, The Times of India and The Telegraph. He is a stickler for facts and has several impactful stories to his credit.
