The Gujarat High Court in Shaileshgiri Mohangiri Meghnathi v/s State Of Gujarat who had allegedly eloped for 3 years with a huge amount of money during the execution of a sale deed. Terming it as a matter of shame and deprecation of the noble profession, the Hon’ble Court observed that "applicant being a lawyer by profession, is oftenly involved in the offence serious in nature which itself is a matter of shame. The profession of a lawyer is a noble profession, as it has direct nexus with pious stream of justice which at any cost shall not be allowed to be polluted. It is highly unexpected from a lawyer to have indulged in such an offence not once, but several times in past. Though some offences are settled, but the fact remains that the offences took place at the instance of the applicant. Thus, the conduct of the applicant seems to be not befitting to the standard of the profession."
The facts in the instant case were that the applicant was Complainant’s power of attorney holder. It was alleged against him that Rs. 77 lakhs was paid to the Applicant who subsequently also sought Rs. 58 lakhs by way of RTGS and Rs. 29 lakhs (transferred to the joint account of the Applicant and his wife) for the execution of the sale deed. Thereafter, the Applicant never reached the sub-registrar’s office and was evading arrest for 3 years until he was finallt caught and arrested in 2021. His legal accumen helped him to evade arrest even though a warrant u/s 70 of CrPC was issued.
The question before the court was that whether the Applicant, a lawyer by profession and a habitual offender could be granted regular bail. Relying on Kamla Devi v. State of Rajasthan & Anr where the top court had opined "The primary considerations which must be placed at balance while deciding the grant of bail are: (i) the seriousness of the offence; (ii) the likelihood of the accused fleeing from justice; (iii) the impact of release of the accused on the prosecution witnesses; (iv) likelihood of the accused tampering with evidence."
The Court rejected the applicant’s bail plea taking into account the seriousness of the offence and his likelihood of fleeing from justice considering how he was able to evade arrest for 3 years due to his legal brain.