SNS KASHMIR
Baramulla: A court in Baramulla on Monday rejected bail application of Shahid Imran- editor and admin of face book page Kashmir crown who is accused of ‘extortion and intimidation’ stating that over lack of jurisdiction of the court besides stating ‘freedom of press will not arm and authorize the media person to misuse and exploit the illiterate and rustic people of the country’.
While Imran’s counsel said that his client has not “indulged in any case whatsoever but merely on some enmity has been put behind the bars”, AAP Javid Manzoor Sheikh and Akhter Rasool on behalf of prosecution said that nature of the case was glaring and the facts “send chills down the spine as to how the forth state has not only breached the trust of one particular individual but the entire public.”
He said the facts of the case point out the very heinousness of the crime as to how one lady complainant reposed her entire trust in particular individual with the object of only saving her brother from the menace of drugs and how that the individual broke the trust and abused his position and used the helplessness of the victim to his own advantage.
“The extortion, cheating, forgery, intimidation and criminal conspiracy are not minor offences especially by the person who has gained public faith and if such person is enlarged on bail it will send a negative message in the society and public who are watching keenly the outcome from the court,” the AAP said. Imran, he said, is involved in very heinous offences, “Which endangers not only the individual but the whole society.”
“No doubt, freedom of press is a constitutional guarantee placed within the Part III of the constitution pertaining to the fundamental rights. However, freedom of press will not arm and authorize the media person to misuse and exploit the illiterate and rustic people of the country,” Sub Judge/ Judicial Magistrate Baramulla, Mansoor Ahmad Lone said in the order, a copy of which lies with SNS Kashmir said . “While weighing the allegations leveled against the accused which are so heinous and serious that if the discretion is exercised in his favour surely there will be a cry in the society besides the other similar situated persons will get enhance at the hands of unscrupulous and dishonest press man/ media persons.”
The prosecuting officers said that while the court is not supposed to swift the evidence at the stage of the consideration of the bail, at the same time there is no bar to make a passing reference to the incidents reported in the case of the past conduct of the accused.
“The investigation of the case in hand is incomplete and is at the very threshold. Bail would cause serious bottlenecks in the investigation of the case. Moreover, the accused would tamper the evidence and will try to win over the prosecution witnesses. The applicant is required for investigation purposes and his release will be highly prejudicial to the investigation of the case,” the AAP said.
They added that the accused is a ‘repeat offender’ of similar nature of offences and only in District Baramulla has many FIR’s some challaned and some under investigation. The details criminal antecedents of accused person is detailed as FIR No.37/2018 U/S 341 & 323/RPC of P/S Sopore, FIR No.145/2021 U/S 384,385,506(ii) 420, 120-B and 468/IPC of P/S Dangiwacha, FIR No.177/2021 U/S 384 and 506/IPC of P/S Baramulla and FIR No.194/2021 U/S 420/IPC P/S Baramulla..
“The accused is a repeat offender and has committed acts of illegal extortion and other offences through Kashmir zone. The accused is an influential person belong to one unregulated Kashmir Crown Media Group running a Facebook page and a YouTube channel by the name “Kashmir Crown’. The perusal of the report as well as well as the other material reveals that the accused is a repeat and habitual offender who under the garb of being part of a news channel/ group has indulged in extortion and there are number of cases pending against him with regard to the same similar incidents as is involved in the present case,” stated the AAP.
“Besides, the custody of the accused has been changed from the instant FIR (FIR No.145/2021 Police Station Dangiwacha Offences: 384,385,506-II,420,120- B,468/IPC) to case FIR No. 194/2021 U/S 420/IPC of P/S Baramulla by this court.
Sub Judge/ Judicial Magistrate Baramulla, Mansoor Ahmad Lone in the order said, “Further, the application in hand has been transferred to this court wrongly and against the provisions of Section 410 of Cr.P.C which warrant that the case can be transferred to a magistrate competent to enquire and try the same.”
“In the instant case, the occurrence is stated to have taken place within the territorial limits of JMIC Dangiwacha and not within the territorial limits of this court. As such, this court lacks the jurisdiction upon the subject matter of the application in question and this court is debarred to pass any order with respect to the same,” the order reads
From the totality of the circumstances, the court said that the application was bereft of any reason and the same is as such rejected.