Court rejects Navneet Kalra’s anticipatory bail plea in O2 concentrator case

NEW DELHI: Observing that businessman Navneet Kalra’s custodial interrogation was required to unearth the conspiracy behind the alleged hoarding and black marketing of oxygen concentrators in the capital, a Delhi sessions court on Thursday dismissed his anticipatory bail plea.
Additional sessions judge Sandeep Garg further noted that the allegations against Kalra were serious.The bail order stated, “There is prima facie incriminating evidence on record against the applicant/accused, i.e. the concentrators being sold by applicant/accused were not manufactured with German collaboration and were manufactured in China. They were not having adequate output so as to meet the requirements of even one person”.
According to reports of a testing lab, Shriram Institute for Industrial Research, which the police relied upon in respect of two oxygen concentrators seized from the premises owned by Kalra, the average output in terms of oxygen purity was found to be 32.7 % and 38.2 %. “With the laboratory room air, the oxygen concentration was found to be merely 20.8 %. As per the statement of one aggrieved, the applicant/accused had firstly quoted the price of the oxygen concentrator as Rs 49,999 and on the next day, he forced him to pay Rs 55,000, owing to his urgent requirement,” it was alleged.
The police had alleged that he made fraudulent representations that he was selling premium portable oxygen concentrators, manufactured with German collaboration, which were sufficient to meet the requirements of two people.
However, he allegedly collected advance payments from several needy people for supply of oxygen concentrators and he kept postponing the delivery on the pretext of shipment being held-up. As a result, he reportedly kept increasing the price of the machines and eventually, neither did he supply the product nor was the amount refunded.
Pahwa pointed out that his client had only carried out a legitimate transaction of import. “Customs authorities were activated. Customs was aware of the transaction. The GST is deposited with the government. Invoices are given, returns are filed,” the counsel argued.
Seeking anticipatory bail for Kalra, senior advocate Vikas Pahwa argued that all rules had been complied with and the transactions of sale were through banking channels. “Oxygen concentrators are not cosmetic, they are not for luxury. It is only (for use) when someone is medically unfit or someone is dying. When selling it through banking channels, where is the offence?” asked Pahwa.
He also submitted that there were police officials, judicial officers, politicians, neighbours and friends who had purchased the machines for emergency use, and not for luxury.
“Custodial interrogation of applicant/accused is required to be carried out to unearth the entire conspiracy hatched between him and a number of co-accused people…the possibility of applicant/accused tampering with the evidence or intimidating the prosecution witnesses cannot be ruled out. Therefore, no case for grant of anticipatory bail is made out. The application is accordingly dismissed. Nothing expressed herein above shall tantamount to expression of opinion on merits of the case,” held the court.