Punjab-Haryana High Court
Satbir Singh vs State Of Haryana on 13 January, 2026
CRM-M--60800-2025 1
IN THE HIGH COURT OF PUNJAB AND HARYANA AT
CHANDIGARH
102/3 CRM-M-60800-2025
Satbir Singh
....Petitioner
V/s
State of Haryana
....Respondent
Date of decision: 13.01.2026
Date of Uploading : 14.01.2026
1
CORAM: HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE SUMEET GOEL
Present: Mr. Gautam Dutt, Senior Advocate with
Ms. Radhika Mehta, Advocate and
Ms. Sukhsharan Sra, Advocate and
Mr. Amtaj Sidhu, Advocate for the petitioner.
Ms. Mahima Yashpal, Senior DAG Haryana.
*****
SUMEET GOEL, J. (Oral)
1. Present petition has been filed on behalf of the petitioner seeking grant of anticipatory/pre-arrest anticipatory/pre arrest bail under Section 482 of BNSS, 2023 in FIR No.23 No.23 dated 12.08.2025, registered for offences punishable under Sections 120-B, 120 166, 167,, 201, 218, 406, 409, 420, 467, 468, 471 IPC and Sections 7, 2, 13(1)(a) read with 13(2) of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988, at Police Station ACB, Faridabad, District Anti Corruption Bureau, Faridabad.
2. The present FIR arises during investigation of earlier FIR No. 11 dated 24.03.2022 at PS SV ACB Faridabad, wherein it was found that 13 fake work orders related to laying of interlocking tiles on the berm of RMC Road, Tigaon Road, Ballabgarh were fraudulently prepared in the name of Satbir tbir Singh, Contractor, on 27.11.2018. It has been alleged that the 1 of 10 ::: Downloaded on - 15-01-2026 06:31:30 ::: CRM-M--60800-2025 2 original estimates of these works, totaling about Rs. 72.75 lakh, were illegally revised within 20 days on 08.12.2018 to about Rs.12.18 crore crores by officials of Municipal Corporation Farida Faridabad bad (MCF) in connivance with the contractor. Payments were released even though no such work orders were ever officially issued and no work was actually executed. Furthermore, verification erification of the dispatch register and records of other MCF divisions confirmed ed that these work orders were forged and dispatch numbers were fake. The fake work orders were processed and payments were approved by MCF officials, including Executive Engineer Prem Raj Singh, Superintendent Vinod Kumar, OIA Vishal Kaushik, RSA Naveen K Kumar, umar, Joint Director Audit Hargulal, Smt. Sashi Arya, Clerk Naveen Ratra, and others, who abused their official positions. It has been further alleged that payments ayments were released in favour of the Satbir Singh (petitioner herein) despite the fact that no such such work orders were ever officially issued and no work was actually executed. Verification of dispatch registers and official records revealed that the work orders were forged and dispatch numbers were fake. It has further been alleged that the petitioner petitioner,, in conspiracy with public servants, caused a wrongful loss of ₹12,18,71,165/- to the Government exchequer and corresponding wrongful gain to himself.
himself Accordingly, the instant has been registered and investigation ensued.
3. Learned senior counsel forr the petitioner has iterated that the petitioner has been falsely implicated and that no work was executed by him on the basis of any forged document. Learned senior counsel has further iterated that the petitioner acted bona fide on the basis of work orders ers and approvals issued by the officials of the Municipal Corporation Corporation.. According 2 of 10 ::: Downloaded on - 15-01-2026 06:31:30 ::: CRM-M--60800-2025 3 to learned counsel the petitioner cannot be held responsible for any internal irregularities committed by the public servants. Learned senior counsel has further submitted that hat the entire case is based on documentary evidence.
evidence Learned senior counsel has further asserted that the petitioner ha has already been arrested in the earlier FIR(s)
(s) and was already in custody and hence there is no justification for his custodial interrog interrogation ation as the entire case is based on documentary evidence already in possession of the investigating agency. Learned senior counsel has asserted that the petitioner shall fully cooperate with the investigation agency is willing to join the investigation as and when require, shall not tamper with evidence or influence any witness and shall abide by all the conditions imposed in case he is enlarged on pre-
pre arrest bail. On strength of these submissions, the grant of concess concession ion of anticipatory bail is entreated for.
4. Per contra,, learned State counsel has opposed the grant of anticipatory bail to the petitioner by arguing that the allegations against the petitioner disclose his active and conscious participation in a well pplanned lanned criminal conspiracy, involving forgery of public records, fraudulent enhancement of work estimates and illegal siphoning of public funds. Learned State counsel has iterated that the fake work orders were prepared in the name of the petitioner and payments payments were released to him despite the fact that no work was actually executed. It is argued that grant of anticipatory bail at this stage would seriously prejudice the ongoing investigation. Referring to the reply dated 10.12.2025 filed by way of affidavit vit of Deepak Kumar, HPS, Dy. Superintendent of Police State Vigilance and Anti Corruption Bureau, Faridabad Range, Faridabad Faridabad,, learned 3 of 10 ::: Downloaded on - 15-01-2026 06:31:30 ::: CRM-M--60800-2025 4 State counsel has submitted that during the course of investigation, it has been revealed that the work orders were never issued by the competent MCF division, the dispatch numbers were fake and the alleged execution of work is contradicted by official records. The alleged uploading of photographs on the Work Monitoring System is itself under investigation and appears to be manipulated to create false evidence. According to learned State, the investigation conducted so far has revealed sufficient incriminating material indicating the active involvement of the petitioner in the commission of the offence. Learned State counse counsell has emphasized that the petitioner was the principal beneficiary of the embezzled amount and his custodial interrogation is essential to trace the money trail, recover proceeds of crime and unearth the larger conspiracy involving other accused.
accused Furthermore, learned State counsel has submitted that the plea of multiple Furthermore, FIRs is misconceived as each FIR relates to distinct forged work orders discovered at different stages of investigation. Considering the nature of allegations, if armed with a protective or order, der, the petitioner may influence the witnesses & may impede the ongoing investigation. Accordingly, a prayer has been made for the dismissal of the instant petition.
5. I have heard the learned counsel for the rival parties and have gone through the available available record of the case.
6. It would be apposite to refer herein to a judgment of the Hon'ble Supreme Court titled as Devinder Kumar Bansal vs. The State of Punjab, 2025 INSC 320, relevant whereof reads as under:
"21. The parameters for grant of anticipatory bail in a serious offence like corruption are required to be satisfied. Anticipatory bail can be granted only in exceptional circumstances where the Court is prima facie 4 of 10 ::: Downloaded on - 15-01-2026 06:31:30 ::: CRM-M--60800-2025 5 of the view that the applicant has been falsely enroped in the crime or the t allegations are politically motivated or are frivolous. So far as the case at hand is concerned, it cannot be said that any exceptional circumstances have been made out by the petitioner accused for grant of anticipatory bail and there is no frivolity inn the prosecution.
22. In the aforesaid context, we may refer to a pronouncement in Central Bureau of Investigation v. V. Vijay Sai Reddy reported in (2013)
7 Scale 15,, wherein this Court expressed thus:
"28. While granting bail, the court has to keep in mind the nature of accusation, the nature of evidence in support thereof, the severity of the punishment which conviction will entail, the character of the accused, circumstances which are peculiar to the accused, reasonable possibility of securing the presence of the accused at the trial, reasonable apprehension of the witnesses being tampered with, the larger interests of the public/State and other similar considerations. It has also to be kept in mind that for the purpose of granting bail, the Legisl Legislature ature has used the words "reasonable grounds for believing" instead of "the evidence"
which means the Court dealing with the grant of bail can only satisfy it as to whether there is a genuine case against the accused and that the prosecution will be able tto o produce prima facie evidence in support of the charge. It is not expected, at this stage, to have the evidence establishing the guilt of the accused beyond reasonable doubt."
23. The presumption of innocence, by itself, cannot be the sole consideration n for grant of anticipatory bail. The presumption of innocence is one of the considerations, which the court should keep in mind while considering the plea for anticipatory bail. The salutary rule is to balance the cause of the accused and the cause of pub public lic justice. Over solicitous homage to the accused's liberty can, sometimes, defeat the cause of public justice.
24. If liberty is to be denied to an accused to ensure corruption free society, then the courts should not hesitate in denying such liberty. Where overwhelming considerations in the nature aforesaid require denial of anticipatory bail, it has to be denied. It is altogether a different thing to say that once the investigation is over and charge charge-sheet sheet is filed, the court may consider to grant regular gular bail to a public servant - accused of indulging in corruption.
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25. Avarice is a common frailty of mankind and Robert Walpole's famous pronouncement that all men have their price, notwithstanding the unsavoury cynicism that it suggests, is not very far from truth. As far back as more than two centuries ago, it was Burke who cautioned: "Among a people generally corrupt, liberty cannot last long". In more recent years, Romain Rolland lamented that France fell because there was corruption without indignation.
ation. Corruption has, in it, very dangerous potentialities. Corruption, a word of wide connotation has, in respect of almost all the spheres of our day to day life, all the world over, the limited meaning of allowing decisions and actions to be influenced not by the rights or wrongs of a case but by the prospects of monetary gains or other selfish considerations.
26. If even a fraction of what was the vox pupuli about the magnitude of corruption to be true, then it would not be far removed from the truth, trut that it is the rampant corruption indulged in with impunity by highly placed persons that has led to economic unrest in this country. If one is asked to name one sole factor that effectively arrested the progress of our society to prosperity, undeniably it is corruption. If the society in a developing country faces a menace greater than even the one from the hired assassins to its law and order, then that is from the corrupt elements at the higher echelons of the Government and of the political parties.
parties."
7. As per the case put forth in the FIR in question, indubitably, serious allegations have been levelled against the petitioner petitioner,, who is a Government Contractor.
Contractor As per the case set up in the FIR, serious allegations have been levelled against the petitio petitioner, ner, who is alleged to be the direct beneficiary of forged work orders and fraudulent payments. The allegations pertain to grave economic offences involving criminal conspiracy, forgery of public records and misappropriation of public funds exceeding ₹12 12 crores. Such offences, by their very nature, have a deep-
deep rooted impact on the economy and public confidence in governmental institutions. From the material collected during investigation, prima facie, facie it emerges that the work orders were forged in the nname ame of the petitioner and 6 of 10 ::: Downloaded on - 15-01-2026 06:31:30 ::: CRM-M--60800-2025 7 payments were released to him without execution of any work. At this stage, the contention that the petitioner acted bona fide cannot be accepted. Whether the petitioner had knowledge of the forged nature of the work orders and acted acted with criminal intent is a matter to be determined after thorough investigation and trial. The argument that custodial interrogation is unnecessary as the case is based on documentary evidence is also without merit. In cases involving economic offences offences, forgery and conspiracy, the custodial interrogation often becomes indispensable to trace the flow of money, recover the misappropriated funds and identify other conspirators. The plea of false implication raised by the petitioner involves disputed questions ons of fact which cannot be adjudicated upon at the stage of anticipatory bail.
8. Anticipatory bail is an extraordinary remedy and is not meant to be granted as a matter of course. Considering the nature and gravity of the allegations, the magnitude of the the alleged loss to the public exchequer, the role attributed to the petitioner as the beneficiary of the crime and the necessity of custodial interrogation for a fair and effective investigation, this Court is of the considered opinion that the petitioner does not deserve the concession of anticipatory bail. The settled position of law is that economic offences and corruption cases are to be viewed with greater circumspection while considering pre-arrest pre bail. At this stage, the material collected during investigation cannot be brushed aside as vague or baseless. The argument that the entire case rests on documentary evidence and, therefore, the custodial interrogation of the petitioner is unnecessary is also without merit. In the considered opinion of this this Court iin n cases involving forgery, 7 of 10 ::: Downloaded on - 15-01-2026 06:31:30 ::: CRM-M--60800-2025 8 manipulation of official records, electronic data, audit processes and conspiracy among multiple accused, the custodial interrogation often becomes indispensable to ascertain the knowledge and intent of the accused and trace race the money trail.
trail
9. The plea raised by the petitioner regarding multiple FIRs and alleged overlap cannot be conclusively examined at this stage. The prosecution case is that the impugned FIR pertains to a separate set of forged work orders, which came to light during further investigation. Whether the FIR(s) FIR arise out of the same transaction or constitute distinct offences is a mixed question of law and fact which requires detailed examination at the stage of trial.
trial The stand of the investigating agency before this Court is that the custodial interrogation of the petitioner is necessary to trace the money trial, identify the role of other accused and to unearth the larger conspiracy. Furthermore, the plea of false implication raised by the petitioner petitioner is a disputed question of fact and involves appreciation of evidence, which cannot be adjudicated upon at this stage. The same can only be adjudicated upon the conclusion of the investigation or during the course of trial. In the considered opinion ooff this Court, granting anticipatory bail at this stage may likely to hamper the on on-going going investigation. No cause nay plausible cause has been shown, at this stage, from which it can be deciphered that the petitioner ha has been falsely implicated into the present pr FIR. Furthermore, the Court below has already declined the plea of the petitioner after considering the relevant factors, including the manner in which the name of the petitioner surfaced during investigation. It is befitting to mention here that while considering a plea for 8 of 10 ::: Downloaded on - 15-01-2026 06:31:30 ::: CRM-M--60800-2025 9 grant of anticipatory bail, the Court has to equilibrate between safeguarding individual rights and protecting societal interests. The Court ought to reckon with the magnitude and nature of the offence; the role attributed to the t accused; the need for fair and free investigation as also the deeper and wide impact of such alleged iniquities on the society. At this stage, there is no material on record to hold that prima facie case is not made out against the petitioner. The material material which has come on record and preliminary investigation, appear to be established a reasonable basis for the accusations. Thus, it is not appropriate to grant anticipatory bail to the petitioner, as it would necessarily cause impediment in effective investigation.
estigation. In State v. Anil Sharma, (1997) 7 SCC 187 : 1997 SCC (Cri) 1039,, the Hon'ble Supreme Court held as under : (SCC p. 189, para 6) "6. We find force in the submission of CBI that custodial interrogation is qualitatively more elicitation-oriented oriented than questioning a suspect who is well-ensconced ensconced with a favourable order under Section 438 of the Code. In a case like this, effective interrogation of a suspected person is of tremendous advantage in disinterring many useful informations and also materialss which would have been concealed. Success in such interrogation would elude if the suspected person knows that he is well protected and insulated by a pre pre-arrest arrest bail order during the time he is interrogated. Very often interrogation in such a condition w would ould reduce to a mere ritual. The argument that the custodial interrogation is fraught with the danger of the person being subjected to third third-degree degree methods need not be countenanced, for, such an argument can be advanced by all accused in all criminal cases.
s. The Court has to presume that responsible police officers would conduct themselves in task of disintering offences would not conduct themselves as offenders.
offenders."
10. It is well settled that anticipatory bail is an extraordinary remedy and is not mean to be be granted as a matter of course. In the present case, the investigation is still at a crucial stage and the grant of anticipatory 9 of 10 ::: Downloaded on - 15-01-2026 06:31:30 ::: CRM-M--60800-2025 10 bail at this juncture will impede the fair and effective investigation. Considering the nature and seriousness of the allega allegations, tions, the specific role assigned, the stage of investigation as also the necessity of custodial interrogation for verification of facts,, this Court is of the considered opinion that the petitioner does do not deserve the concession of anticipatory bail in the th factual milieu of the case in hand.
11. In view of the prevenient ratiocination, it is ordained thus:
(i) The instant petition is devoid of merits and is hereby dismissed.
(ii) Nothing said hereinabove shall be deemed to be an expression of opinion upon upon merits of the case/investigation.
(iii) Pending application(s), if any, shall also stand disposed off.
(SUMEET GOEL) JUDGE January 13, 2026 Ajay Whether speaking/reasoned: Yes/No Whether reportable: Yes/No 10 of 10 ::: Downloaded on - 15-01-2026 06:31:30 :::