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Rajasthan High Court - Jaipur

Urn: Crlmb / 9131U / 2026Amar Singh ... vs State Of Rajasthan (2026:Rj-Jp:22204) on 22 May, 2026

      [2026:RJ-JP:22204]

              HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE FOR RAJASTHAN
                          BENCH AT JAIPUR

        S.B. Criminal 2nd Miscellaneous Bail Application No. 5102/2026

      Amar Singh Rathore S/o Shri Bhagirath Singh, Aged About 42
      Years, R/o 1134/47, Ward No. 47, Pratap Nagar, Lohakhan,
      Police Station Civil Lines, Ajmer, Rajasthan (Presently Confined
      In Central Jail, Jodhpur).
                                                                               ----Petitioner
                                             Versus
      State Of Rajasthan, Through Pp
                                                                             ----Respondent


      For Petitioner(s)            :     Mr. Vikas Kabra
      For Respondent(s)            :     Mr. Vijay Singh Yadav, PP
                                         Mr. Ashok, Dy.SP, SOG (IO), present
                                         in person



                  HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE ASHOK KUMAR JAIN

                                              Order

Date of conclusion of arguments                                 :         08/05/2026
Date on which the judgment was reserved :                                 08/05/2026
Whether the full order or only the
operative part is pronounced                                    :         Full Judgment
Date of pronouncement                                           :         22/05/2026

      1.    The present second bail application under Section 483 of

            BNSS      is   filed   by    the     applicant-accused            Amar     Singh

            Rathore S/o Shri Bhagirath Singh seeking bail in respect

            of a criminal case registered as FIR No.32/2019 dated

            23.08.2019 registered at P.S. SOG District - Jaipur, for the

            offence under Sections 420, 406, 409, 467, 468, 471, 477A

            and 120B IPC and 65 of IT Act.

      2.    Learned counsel for the applicant submits that the applicant

            has    been     falsely      implicated        in       the    matter   and   the

            investigation against him is complete and he is no more

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      required in investigation. He further submits that there are

      no    chance      of     fleeing     of   applicant       accused    from    the

      jurisdiction of this Hon'ble Court. The applicant does not

      have any criminal antecedents. He also submits that the

      applicant undertakes not to repeat offence and cooperate

      with trial, which will take time.

3.    Learned        counsel     for     petitioner      submits    that   first   bail

      application of petitioner was dismissed on 15.03.2024 and

      thereafter he has preferred SLP before Hon'ble Supreme

      Court and a liberty was granted to him to file a fresh bail

      application for grant of bail before the trial court. He

      submitted that pursuant to liberty granted to him, a fresh

      bail application was filed before learned trial court, which

      was dismissed on 25.03.2026 and now the petitioner is

      before     this   Hon'ble        Court.       He   further    submitted      that

      petitioner was arrested on 13.11.2022 and since then he is

      in custody. He also submitted that the period of custody is

      more than three years and six months and considering the

      charges, period of custody is too much; therefore, on the

      ground of custody alone, the petitioner is entitled to be

      released on bail.

4.    Learned counsel for petitioner, while relying upon order

      dated 31.01.2026 passed in Criminal Case No. 285/2024,

      submitted that still the matter is at the stage of framing of

      charge and the trial court has not framed the charge, which

      has resulted into delay in trial and on this basis he is entitled

      for bail. He also referred order dated 30.01.2026 passed in

      Bail Application No. 15138/2025, Shaitan Singh versus

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      State of Rajasthan, and submitted that identically placed

      Shaitan Singh was granted bail by a coordinate Bench of this

      Hon'ble Court on the ground that trial has been delayed and

      accused has right of speedy trial as guaranteed under Article

      21 of Constitution of India. He also submitted that even

      accused Yashopad Singh and Girdhar Singh were released on

      bail by a coordinate Bench of this Hon'ble Court on

      30.05.2023. He also referred order dated 17.12.2024 and

      submitted        that    this   Hon'ble       Court      had dismissed     bail

      application of Devi Singh, but Hon'ble Supreme Court has

      allowed the bail of Devi Singh. He further referred order

      dated 22.08.2023 and submitted that Vasudev Singh and

      Ummed Singh were also granted bail by a coordinate Bench

      of   this      Hon'ble    Court.      He     also     referred   order   dated

      15.03.2024 and submitted that Rajendra Singh, Ram Singh,

      Jaswant Singh and Girdhar Singh were granted bail by

      coordinate Bench of this Hon'ble Court. He further referred

      order dated 12.04.2023 and submitted that Kevalchand,

      Gautam and Dinesh were granted bail by this Hon'ble Court.

5.    Learned counsel has further submitted that the maximum

      allegation upon the petitioner is that he worked as CEO of

      the Society, but that too only for a limited period. He also

      submitted that the cooperative society worked under the

      directions of the Board and the entire responsibility vested

      with the Board and present petitioner is not individually

      responsible for any of the acts approved by the Board, and

      he is just a paid employee of the society and having no

      interest in society.

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6.    Aforesaid contentions             were       opposed by learned Public

      Prosecutor, who referred to report received from SOG and

      submitted that present petitioner was working as CEO and

      he is an important and responsible person for day-to-day

      operations of Sanjivani Credit Cooperative Society. He

      further submitted that total ₹1100 crores were distributed as

      bogus loans and in distributing said loans, 60,000 forged

      loan applications were prepared. He also submitted that the

      acts    of     present    petitioner         are   serious           in   nature   and

      maximum         punishment         prescribed         is      life    imprisonment;

      hence, he is not entitled to be released on bail.

7.    On the basis of complaint regarding irregularities and

      illegalities     committed        by     Sanjivani         Credit         Cooperative

      Society, SOG has inquired into the matter and during

      pendency of investigation, it came to the notice that after

      opening 237 branches, the Society had collected ₹953 crores

      from 2,21,147 investors/depositors. The Society had created

      bogus loan accounts and thereby advanced ₹1100 crores to

      60,000 bogus persons. The SOG has found that Vikram

      Singh and his family members were systematically involved

      in syphoning off the money in clandestine manner from the

      society. The material available on record indicates that in the

      year 2017-18, the present petitioner worked as CEO and

      during his tenure, loans amounting to ₹393 crores were

      sanctioned and distributed. Police has also filed charge-sheet

      and presently the matter is pending at the stage of framing

      of charge. The first bail application of the present petitioner




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      was dismissed by a coordinate Bench of this Court on

      15.03.2024.

8.    The petitioner approached the Hon'ble Supreme Court by

      filing SLP (Criminal) Diary No. 20528/2025 and the same

      was dismissed on 08.05.2025. While dismissing the SLP, the

      Hon'ble Supreme Court granted liberty to the petitioner to

      file a fresh bail application for grant of bail before the trial

      court raising all the pleas and contentions. The petitioner

      thereafter filed a fresh bail application before the trial court,

      which came to be dismissed on 25.03.2026. The material

      available on record indicates that the petitioner is facing

      charge under Section 409 IPC as well, and the maximum

      punishment prescribed is life imprisonment. A list submitted

      by SOG indicates that 25 criminal cases were registered

      against the petitioner and in some of them, the petitioner

      has not been arrested as investigation is still in progress. A

      copy of order-sheet dated 31.01.2026 indicates that the

      accused had filed an application for clubbing/consolidating

      12 criminal cases together. The said application was disposed

      of on 31.01.2026, which means that the trial has also been

      delayed        by    the     accused           themselves.      Therefore,   the

      prosecution cannot be held responsible for the delay.

9.    It is expected of the trial court, which is seized with the

      matter, to expedite the trial and to keep in mind that the

      accused has a right of speedy trial. In case any accused is in

      custody for quite some time, say six months or more in a

      Magistrate triable case, then the matter should be given

      sufficient     priority      so    that     the     accused     may    not   face

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      unnecessary detention during trial. There is no doubt that

      Shaitan Singh was released on bail by this Court. We agree

      with the proposition that personal liberty is a priceless

      treasure of a human being and is basically a natural right.

      Section 346 of BNSS mandates that a trial be conducted

      expeditiously,      ideally       on        a   day-to-day      basis,    and

      unwarranted or unreasonable requests for adjournment

      should be refused.

10.   Ultimately, Shaitan Singh, who was an employee of the

      Society and was in custody since 20.09.2019, was granted

      bail. Similarly, other accused persons namely Yashopad,

      Girdhar Singh, Vasudev Singh, Ummed Singh, Kewalchand,

      Gautam Singh, Dinesh, Rajendra Singh, Ram Singh, Jaswant

      Singh were granted bail by a coordinate Bench of this Court.

      Another accused Devi Singh was granted bail by the Hon'ble

      Supreme Court after dismissal of his bail application on

      15.03.2023. In the present case, the first bail application of

      the present petitioner was dismissed on 15.03.2023 along

      with Devi Singh. Devi Singh was granted bail by the Hon'ble

      Supreme Court on 17.12.2024, whereas the bail application

      of the present petitioner was dismissed on 08.05.2025.

      However, the petitioner was granted liberty to file a fresh bail

      application on the grounds raised by him.

11.   Learned counsel for petitioner has contended that the

      petitioner was merely an employee of the Society and had

      no role in sanctioning loans to any person. Admittedly, the

      petitioner was working as the Chief Executive Officer (CEO)

      during the period 2017-18. The investigating agency has

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      inquired into the matter and prepared a report showing that

      loans amounting to ₹393 crores were sanctioned and

      distributed during the tenure of the petitioner. The CEO is

      the principal executive officer of the Society/Bank and

      therefore, he cannot claim that he is not a responsible

      person. When a loan is sanctioned to a bogus or fictitious

      person,        then   certainly        the      sanctioning     authority    is

      responsible for sanction of such type of loan. The claim of

      the petitioner that he was merely a paid employee is not

      tenable.

12.   The case of the petitioner is distinguishable from that of

      other accused persons who were granted bail, as the

      petitioner had a major role to play along with the Directors

      and principal stakeholders, therefore, the petitioner cannot

      claim parity with those who have already been enlarged on

      bail. The pace of trial is very slow as till January, charges

      had not been framed. Therefore, it is appropriate to direct

      the trial court to expedite not only the framing of charges

      but also to fix the matter on a day-to-day basis.

13.   Considering the gravity of allegations, as also the role and

      involvement of the present petitioner, I am not inclined to

      grant bail to the petitioner on any of the grounds advanced

      by learned counsel for the petitioner.

14. The trial court is directed to expedite the trial and fix the matter on day-to-day basis. The trial court is further directed not to adjourn the matter except in cases of grave urgency. The trial court is also directed to conclude the trial as early (Uploaded on 26/05/2026 at 02:05:05 PM) (Downloaded on 26/05/2026 at 11:19:12 PM) [2026:RJ-JP:22204] (8 of 8) [CRLMB-5102/2026] as possible, preferably within a period of two years from the date of receipt of copy of this order.

15. Thus, the second bail application preferred by Amar Singh Rathore under Section 483 of BNSS is hereby dismissed.

16. Office is directed to send a copy of this order to learned trial court through e-mail.

(ASHOK KUMAR JAIN),J 23/PREETI VALECHA/663 (Uploaded on 26/05/2026 at 02:05:05 PM) (Downloaded on 26/05/2026 at 11:19:13 PM) Powered by TCPDF (www.tcpdf.org)