Gujarat High Court
Kalpeshbhai Dhanjibhai Prajapati vs State Of Gujarat on 18 July, 2025
NEUTRAL CITATION
R/CR.MA/6719/2025 CAV JUDGMENT DATED: 18/07/2025
undefined
Reserved On : 08/07/2025
Pronounced On : 18/07/2025
IN THE HIGH COURT OF GUJARAT AT AHMEDABAD
R/CRIMINAL MISC.APPLICATION NO. 6719 of 2025
(FOR ANTICIPATORY BAIL)
FOR APPROVAL AND SIGNATURE:
HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE DIVYESH A. JOSHI : Sd/-
=======================================================
Approved for Reporting Yes No
- -
=======================================================
KALPESHBHAI DHANJIBHAI PRAJAPATI
Versus
STATE OF GUJARAT
=======================================================
Appearance:
MR JAL UNWALA, Sr. Adv. with MR FB BRAHMBHATT (1016)
for the Applicant(s) No. 1
MR PK JANI, Sr. Adv. with MR RAVI P PATEL (11377) for
the Respondent(s) No. 1
MR JIMIT P SHAH (9917) for the Respondent(s) No. 1
MS SHRADDHA J BAROT (11378) for the Respondent(s) No. 1
MR HARDIK SONI, APP for the Respondent(s) No. 1
=======================================================
CORAM:HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE DIVYESH A. JOSHI
CAV JUDGMENT
1. By filing instant application, the applicant has sought anticipatory bail in the event of his arrest in connection with FIR being C.R. No.11201001250004/2025 registered with CID Crime, Gandhinagar Zone, Gandhinagar for the alleged offences as mentioned in the FIR.
2. The gist of the FIR is as under, The accused persons, in connivance with each other, have lured the complainant by giving Page 1 of 34 Uploaded by PATIL GAUTAMBHAI GOPALBHAI(HC00190) on Fri Jul 18 2025 Downloaded on : Sat Jul 19 00:21:15 IST 2025 NEUTRAL CITATION R/CR.MA/6719/2025 CAV JUDGMENT DATED: 18/07/2025 undefined attractive offers of giving 2% interest on the amount, profit and more compensation and on the assurance given by the accused, the complainant had given Rs.3,15,00,000/- through cheques/ RTGS in different Firms/ Companies/ individual accounts as instructed by the accused and pursuant thereto, the accused have entered into an agreement and also issued promissory note and after pocketing huge amount from the complainant and other persons, the accused have retracted from their statement and pocketed entire amount and thereby the accused have duped number of innocent and gullible persons to the tune of Rs.22,32,25,000/- and thereby committed alleged offences.
3. Heard learned Senior Counsel, Mr. Jal Unwala assisted by learned advocate, Mr. F.B. Brahmbhatt for the applicant, learned APP Mr. Hardik Soni for the respondent - State of Gujarat and learned Senior Counsel, Mr. P.K. Jani assisted by learned advocate, Mr. Ravi Patel with learned advocate Ms. Shraddha Barot with learned advocate, Mr. Jimit Shah for the original complainant.
4. Learned Senior Counsel, Mr. Unwala appearing for the applicant has referred to the FIR and submitted that the incident has occurred during the period between 01.01.2023 to 31.12.2023, for which, FIR has been lodged on 13.03.2025 and thus, there is gross delay in registering the FIR, wherein the applicant is shown as accused no.3. He further submitted that it is the case of the Page 2 of 34 Uploaded by PATIL GAUTAMBHAI GOPALBHAI(HC00190) on Fri Jul 18 2025 Downloaded on : Sat Jul 19 00:21:15 IST 2025 NEUTRAL CITATION R/CR.MA/6719/2025 CAV JUDGMENT DATED: 18/07/2025 undefined prosecution that the accused have given attractive offers to the complainant and other innocent persons of good returns in case they would invest their money in the properties as per their instruction and pursuant thereto, they have invested their money and initially the accused have returned back some amount to them and thereby the accused have committed alleged offences. He, however, referred to the allegations and accusation of the FIR and submitted that the accused nos.1 and 2 came in contact with the investors including the complainant and they have received the amount from them through cash and cheque in their respective accounts but the applicant has never come in contact with any investor nor the applicant has received single penny from any investor, despite the said fact, the applicant is arraigned as accused in the aforesaid commission of crime.
5. Learned Senior Counsel submitted that in fact, the applicant herein is indulged into the business of manufacturing of Red Bricks, however thereafter, he had also floated certain schemes, wherein he earned good profits, therefore, he entered into the business of real-estate. He submitted that the applicant had formed one partnership firm and with the help of other partners, they used to carry out all activities and, thereafter, they have floated numbers of schemes within the territory of Ahmedabad from the year 2021 and as stated above, Page 3 of 34 Uploaded by PATIL GAUTAMBHAI GOPALBHAI(HC00190) on Fri Jul 18 2025 Downloaded on : Sat Jul 19 00:21:15 IST 2025 NEUTRAL CITATION R/CR.MA/6719/2025 CAV JUDGMENT DATED: 18/07/2025 undefined the accused nos.1 and 2 were the partners of the partnership firm. He submitted that the accused no.1 is a Teacher, therefore, he had invested his money in the partnership firm and he also used to bring certain potential customers of the scheme and used to seat in the office of the firm.
6. Learned Senior Counsel submitted that much before registration of the FIR, the applicant herein and the partners came to know that as per the Resolution of the partnership firm, one Arpan Prajapati, who was authorized person to execute registered document in favour of the purchasers of the properties and the said Resolution is signed by all 20 partners including the accused no.1, therefore, the accused no.1 is aware about the fact that only one partner viz., Arpan Prajapati had got authority to execute the registered documents, despite the said fact, he had entered into registered agreement to sale with number of potential customers as if he was authorized by the firm to carry out the said work and on the basis of the said act of the accused no.1, the number of persons have started coming in the office to make inquiry about the status of the construction work and time to get the possession of the property. He submitted that in fact, during the interregnum period, it had come to the notice of the applicant and other partners that the accused no.1 had indulged into illegal activities by offering attractive scheme to the persons and by doing so, Page 4 of 34 Uploaded by PATIL GAUTAMBHAI GOPALBHAI(HC00190) on Fri Jul 18 2025 Downloaded on : Sat Jul 19 00:21:15 IST 2025 NEUTRAL CITATION R/CR.MA/6719/2025 CAV JUDGMENT DATED: 18/07/2025 undefined the accused no.1 had collected huge volume of amount in from those persons in the name of investment, however when the assurance given by the accused no.1 failed, the inverters started coming to the office of the firm to recover their amount and when the said fact came to the notice of the accused no.1, his family members had published notice in the daily newspaper stating that they disown themselves from the act and action of the accused no.1 and also stated that the partnership firm viz., Brahmani Developers had authorized one Arpit Prajapati to execute the agreement to sale in favour of the firm and the accused no.1 had already retired from the said firm and the partnership firm has no connection so far as the transactions done by the accused no.1 and even his share had already been given to him and in support of this submission, documents are produced on record. He submitted that however upon coming to know about the fact, all the partners have taken decision to relieve the accused no.1 from the partnership firm and accordingly, the accused no.1 was relieved from the partnership firm, copies of those documents including bank statements are produced on record.
7. Learned Senior Counsel submitted that so far as the allegations leveled against the applicant are concerned, it is alleged that when the complainant along with other persons had gone to the office of the partnership firm, the applicant herein was Page 5 of 34 Uploaded by PATIL GAUTAMBHAI GOPALBHAI(HC00190) on Fri Jul 18 2025 Downloaded on : Sat Jul 19 00:21:15 IST 2025 NEUTRAL CITATION R/CR.MA/6719/2025 CAV JUDGMENT DATED: 18/07/2025 undefined sitting there and had given assurance that whatever amount collected by the accused no.1 would be utilized in the construction business and they will yield good profit from the said investment, except this, no other role is attributed to him. He submitted that as stated above, the applicant is not beneficiary for the act and action committed by the accused no.1 and not a single penny has been received by him. He submitted that there are more than 20 partners in the partnership firm and every year, the accounts of the partnership firm had been audited and not a single amount had been credited in the account of the partnership firm of the accused, which clearly goes on to show that the applicant is not at all directly or indirect connected with the act and action committed by the accused no.1, therefore, it can safely be said that the applicant is not directly or indirectly connected or associated with the fraud committed by the accused nos.1 and 2.
8. Learned Senior Counsel submitted that after registration of the FIR, the concerned Investigating Officer had issued notice to the applicant to remain present before him for interrogation and pursuant to the said notice, the applicant had appeared before the concerned Investigating Officer for more than five occasions and during interrogation, the applicant had already supplied all the documents, which were Page 6 of 34 Uploaded by PATIL GAUTAMBHAI GOPALBHAI(HC00190) on Fri Jul 18 2025 Downloaded on : Sat Jul 19 00:21:15 IST 2025 NEUTRAL CITATION R/CR.MA/6719/2025 CAV JUDGMENT DATED: 18/07/2025 undefined demanded by the concerned IO and thus, the applicant has cooperated with the investigation and entire case of of the prosecution is based upon documentary evidence and as stated above, all the documents have already been collected by the concerned IO during the course of interrogation, therefore, custodial interrogation of the applicant is not required and all the offences are exclusively triable by the Court of Magistrate. Thus making above submissions, it is urged that the applicant may be enlarged on anticipatory bail as considering the nature of allegations, custodial interrogation at this stage is not necessary an the applicant will keep himself available during the course of investigation, trial also and will not flee from justice and is ready and willing to abide by all the conditions including imposition of conditions while releasing the applicant on anticipatory bail.
9. Learned Senior Counsel, Mr. Jani has objected the present application with a vehemence and submitted that specific name and role is mentioned in the entire body of the FIR and in fact, he is the main kingpin in the alleged commission of crime. He referred to the allegations leveled in the FIR and submitted that a systematic well designed plan had been organized by all the accused persons in connivance with each other with a sole intent to dupe innocent and gullible citizens. He submitted that the complainant is old aged lady and is Page 7 of 34 Uploaded by PATIL GAUTAMBHAI GOPALBHAI(HC00190) on Fri Jul 18 2025 Downloaded on : Sat Jul 19 00:21:15 IST 2025 NEUTRAL CITATION R/CR.MA/6719/2025 CAV JUDGMENT DATED: 18/07/2025 undefined running his laboratory at Shahibaug, who had invested her hard-earned money relying upon the assurance given by the accused. He submitted that the accused no.1 and the accused no.2 are both close relatives (sala-bnevI) and the accused no.2, Kanubhai Sakabhai is the close friend of the applicant herein, whereas the accused no.1 is a Teacher and working with the brother-in-law of the complainant. He submitted that the present applicant was initially indulged into the business of manufacturing of Red Bricks and subsequently, he entered into the business of real-estate and he is having huge chunk of land in an around Ahmedabad and, therefore, he has started construction business by floating schemes in Ahmedabad and earned good profit from the said scheme and, therefore in the year 2021, he had floated another three schemes, wherein different persons have been made partners and the accused nos.1 and 2 are also the partners in the said firm, which is known as Brahmani Developers.
10. Learned Senior Counsel submitted that the accused no.1 had initially taken small amount from the villagers residing in the territory of Kadi area and assured them that within short period time, he will earn huge profit and share the said profit i.e. 2% to 3% per month/year interest. He submitted that initially, the accused have paid amount to the investors and thereby won the confidence of the villagers and due to this, the Page 8 of 34 Uploaded by PATIL GAUTAMBHAI GOPALBHAI(HC00190) on Fri Jul 18 2025 Downloaded on : Sat Jul 19 00:21:15 IST 2025 NEUTRAL CITATION R/CR.MA/6719/2025 CAV JUDGMENT DATED: 18/07/2025 undefined accused have lured other persons including the complainant to invest the amount in their scheme and thereby the accused have duped and cheated number of persons and the said fact is clearly found out from the investigation papers. He submitted that not only that, the innocent persons have sold their silver and golden ornaments as also sold out movable and immovable properties and invested the said amount received from it in the scheme of the accused. He submitted that it is the specific case of the prosecution that it was assured that if the investor would invest Rs.10,00,000/-, in that event, he would get Rs.14,00,000/- within a period of one year. He submitted that number of persons have invested huge amount in the scheme of the accused no.1 and the accused no.1 became iconic person known in the area as change the future of people and successful entrepreneur. He submitted that in fact, the amount had been collected by other accused and the complainant had paid Rs.3,15,00,000/- in a single day and the said amount had been transmitted in different accounts of the persons, whose names were given by the accused no.1 because it was informed to the complainant that the accused nos.1 and 2 are Government servants, therefore, they cannot receive such amount in their accounts, therefore, they supplied details of other accounts, wherein the amount was deposited, however at the time of registration of the FIR, Page 9 of 34 Uploaded by PATIL GAUTAMBHAI GOPALBHAI(HC00190) on Fri Jul 18 2025 Downloaded on : Sat Jul 19 00:21:15 IST 2025 NEUTRAL CITATION R/CR.MA/6719/2025 CAV JUDGMENT DATED: 18/07/2025 undefined specific names and details of the account have been given in the FIR. He submitted that in fact, this is not the sole instant but another two FIRs have been registered against the accused no.1 by different persons. He submitted that in fact when the complainant and other persons had come to know about the fraud committed by the accused with them, they have paid visit at the office of the accused, where the applicant herein was very much present, who had given assurance to those persons that the amount would be paid to them with interest and profit and as the accused no.1 was working with the brother-in-law of the complainant and having good relations, they have relied upon the statement made by the applicant. He further submitted that however subsequently, the complainant and other witnesses have come to know about that the fact that despite execution of the agreement to sale in their favour, the accused have sold out the properties to other persons by executing sale deed and they have also received sale consideration and the said fact was also brought to the notice of the applicant but instead of taking any action, the applicant had given assurance of returning back the amount with interest and good profit, which clearly goes on to show the involvement of the applicant in the commission of crime in connivance with other accused.
11. Learned Senior Counsel submitted that this is a Page 10 of 34 Uploaded by PATIL GAUTAMBHAI GOPALBHAI(HC00190) on Fri Jul 18 2025 Downloaded on : Sat Jul 19 00:21:15 IST 2025 NEUTRAL CITATION R/CR.MA/6719/2025 CAV JUDGMENT DATED: 18/07/2025 undefined very serious crime organized by the accused in connivance with each other with a sole intent to dupe the innocent and gullible persons, therefore at the time of registration of the FIR, the provision of the GPID Act was invoked, therefore, the investigation is required to be carried out with utmost care and caution. Here in the present case on hand, the Investigating Officer used to write letters to the accused and collected certain information and after recording the statement of the accused, the co-accused was arrested, however, despite the fact that there are ample material and evidence available with the IO, the applicant has not been arrested and here in the present case, a statement is made that on number of occasions, he was interrogated by the IO and thereby cooperated with the investigation, therefore, his custodial interrogation of the applicant is not required, however as stated above, not only the complainant and other persons but also other number of persons have been duped by the accused and interrogation in that direction is required to be carried. It is, therefore, urged that as prima facie involvement of the applicant is found out, the applicant is not entitled for any relief as prayed for, therefore, the present application may be rejected.
12. Learned APP Mr. Soni for the respondent - State of Gujarat has also vehemently objected the present application and contended that prima facie Page 11 of 34 Uploaded by PATIL GAUTAMBHAI GOPALBHAI(HC00190) on Fri Jul 18 2025 Downloaded on : Sat Jul 19 00:21:15 IST 2025 NEUTRAL CITATION R/CR.MA/6719/2025 CAV JUDGMENT DATED: 18/07/2025 undefined involvement of the applicant is found out from the investigation papers collected so far. He referred to entire sequence of incident of events narrated by the complainant in a very graphical manner and submitted that specific role is attributed to the applicant herein. He submitted that it was the modus operandi of the accused to dupe the innocent and gullible persons and as a part of it, they have lured the persons by giving attractive offers, whose statements have been recorded, wherein they have stated in a very categorically terms that the applicant was sitting in the office of the firm and the applicant had given assurance to those witnesses that their amount would be repaid with interest and profit and relying upon his assurance, those persons have waited for some time and, thereafter having come to know about the fraud committed by the accused with them, the present FIR has been lodged.
13. Learned APP submitted that during the course of investigation, the statements of number of witnesses have been recorded by the concerned Investigating Officer. He, however, referred to the statement of one witness viz., Ramanpuri Goswami, who is the prime witness in the present case and in the statement of said witness, he has narrated entire facts of the case as to how the amount was transmitted from one place to other and for one transaction, he used to receive around Rs.5,000-6,000/- and as per their procedure, the Page 12 of 34 Uploaded by PATIL GAUTAMBHAI GOPALBHAI(HC00190) on Fri Jul 18 2025 Downloaded on : Sat Jul 19 00:21:15 IST 2025 NEUTRAL CITATION R/CR.MA/6719/2025 CAV JUDGMENT DATED: 18/07/2025 undefined said witness used to go to the place of the applicant for handing over the amount received from the persons and after handing over the same amount, he used to take signature in the diary maintained by them and during the course of investigation, it has come to the notice that around 45-50 times, the said witness had gone to the house of the applicant for handing over the amount. He, therefore, submitted that while executing such crime, the applicant had taken due care and caution to see that not a single monetary transaction takes place in his account and, therefore, he had never come in direct contact with the investors. He further submitted that in fact, other witnesses, who are the victims and who have been duped by the applicant, have also submitted application in the form of the complaint before the concerned Police Station and pursuant thereto, the applicant was called by the police.
14. Learned APP further submitted that so far the contention with regard to the cooperation in the investigation by the applicant by giving his statement and also by providing documents is concerned, it may not be considered at this stage on the ground that under the guise of non- crediting amount in his personal account and/or forming of partnership, the applicant has taken benefit of situation, however considering the allegations and accusation leveled in the FIR and as the investigation is at crucial stage, the Page 13 of 34 Uploaded by PATIL GAUTAMBHAI GOPALBHAI(HC00190) on Fri Jul 18 2025 Downloaded on : Sat Jul 19 00:21:15 IST 2025 NEUTRAL CITATION R/CR.MA/6719/2025 CAV JUDGMENT DATED: 18/07/2025 undefined discretionary relief may not be exercised in favour of the applicant, therefore, the present application may not be entertained.
15. In counter to the arguments canvassed by learned APP for the respondent - State as well as learned Senior Counsel for the original complainant, learned advocate, Mr. Brahmbhatt submitted that in fact, the applicant herein has also filed an affidavit with a sole intent to bring correct facts on record and by the said affidavit, it is stated that the said witness, Ramnpuri Goswami upon which reliance has been placed by the concerned IO, is not genuine person and in fact, he had duped the original accused no.1 and much before registration of the FIR, the accused no.1 had written a letter to the Hon'ble Chief Minister as well as Hon'ble Home Minister with a request to register FIR against the said witness as he duped the accused no.1, however subsequently, settlement was arrived at between the parties and in fact, he had admitted his guilt in the presence of number of persons and the documents signed by the said witness are also placed on record. It is, therefore, submitted that the reliance placed by learned APP upon the statement of said witness is misconceived, therefore, this Hon'ble Court may exercise the discretion in favour of the applicant by releasing him on anticipatory bail.
16. Having heard the learned advocates appearing for the parties and perusing the investigation papers, Page 14 of 34 Uploaded by PATIL GAUTAMBHAI GOPALBHAI(HC00190) on Fri Jul 18 2025 Downloaded on : Sat Jul 19 00:21:15 IST 2025 NEUTRAL CITATION R/CR.MA/6719/2025 CAV JUDGMENT DATED: 18/07/2025 undefined it is equally incumbent upon the Court to exercise its discretion judiciously, cautiously and strictly in compliance with the basic principles laid down in a plethora of decisions of the Hon'ble Apex Court on the point. It is well settled that, among other circumstances, the factors to be borne in mind while considering an application for bail are (i) the nature and gravity of the accusation; (ii) the antecedents of the applicants including the fact as to whether he has previously undergone imprisonment on conviction by a Court in respect of any cognizable offence; (iii) the possibility of the applicants to flee from justice; and (iv) where the accusation has been made with the object of injuring or humiliating the applicants by having him so arrested. Though at the stage of granting bail an elaborate examination of evidence and detailed reasons touching the merit of the case, which may prejudice the accused, should be avoided.
17. It is required to be noted that normal procedure prescribed for curtailing the right to life & liberty, is that the investigating officer can arrest the accused even without warrant. No doubt this Court has extraordinary power to protect an innocent person. However, this power has to be exercised by the Courts with due circumspection. It is required to be noted that the grant of anticipatory bail at the stage of investigation Page 15 of 34 Uploaded by PATIL GAUTAMBHAI GOPALBHAI(HC00190) on Fri Jul 18 2025 Downloaded on : Sat Jul 19 00:21:15 IST 2025 NEUTRAL CITATION R/CR.MA/6719/2025 CAV JUDGMENT DATED: 18/07/2025 undefined may frustrate the investigating agency in interrogating the accused and in collecting the useful information and also the materials which might have been concealed.
18. There is no substantial difference between Sections 482 and 483 of BNS, 2023 so far as appreciation of the case as to whether or not a bail is to be granted, is concerned. However, neither anticipatory bail nor regular bail can be granted as a matter of rule. The anticipatory bail being an extraordinary privilege should be granted only in exceptional cases. The judicial discretion conferred upon the court has to be properly exercised after proper application of mind to decide whether it is a fit case for grant of anticipatory bail. Parameters for grant of anticipatory bail in a serious offence are required to be satisfied and further while granting such relief, the court must record the reasons therefore. Anticipatory bail can be granted only in exceptional circumstances where the court is prima facie of the view that the applicant has falsely been enroped in the crime and would not misuse his liberty. In this regard, a useful reference can be made to the decisions of the Hon'ble Supreme Court in case of D.K. Ganesh Babu Vs. P.T. Manokaran & Ors., reported in (2007) 4 SCC 434; in case of State of Maharashtra & Anr. Vs. Mohd. Sajid Husain Mohd. S. Husain & Ors., reported in (2008) 1 SCC 213; and in case of Union Page 16 of 34 Uploaded by PATIL GAUTAMBHAI GOPALBHAI(HC00190) on Fri Jul 18 2025 Downloaded on : Sat Jul 19 00:21:15 IST 2025 NEUTRAL CITATION R/CR.MA/6719/2025 CAV JUDGMENT DATED: 18/07/2025 undefined of India Vs. Padam Narain Aggarwal & Ors., reported in (2008) 13 SCC 305.
19. Having heard learned advocates appearing for the parties and having considered the allegations leveled in the FIR, it is found out that the accused have hatched conspiracy to offer attractive scheme to the innocent and gullible persons of good returns against their investment and relying upon their statement, the accused have pocketed huge volume of amount from the innocent and gullible persons to the tune of Rs.22,32,25,000/- and, thereafter, they have retracted from their statement of giving profit on their investment, which resulted into registration of the FIR. I have considered the affidavit filed by the concerned Investigating Officer opposing the bail application preferred by the accused before the learned Judge concerned, which clearly goes on to show that strong apprehension has been shown with regard to tampering of the evidence and hampering of the witnesses. I have also gone through the findings given and conclusion arrived at by the learned Judge while rejecting the bail application.
20. Though the contentions have been made by learned Senior Counsel for the applicant that the applicant is innocent and he has nothing to do with the alleged commission of crime and he is wrongly involved in the commission of crime and the real accused are the original accused nos.1 Page 17 of 34 Uploaded by PATIL GAUTAMBHAI GOPALBHAI(HC00190) on Fri Jul 18 2025 Downloaded on : Sat Jul 19 00:21:15 IST 2025 NEUTRAL CITATION R/CR.MA/6719/2025 CAV JUDGMENT DATED: 18/07/2025 undefined and 2, the said submissions are contrary to the investigation papers gathered so far. On the contrary, the investigation carried out so far clearly goes on to show the involvement of the applicant in the commission of crime. It is found out from the record that all the accused are connected to each other and their modus operandi to cheat the innocent person is clearly spelt out. On examination of the investigation papers supplied by learned APP during the course of hearing, it is found out that right from the inception, it was the intention of the accused to cheat the persons and initially, they have paid certain amount to them and by doing so, they won their confidence and, thereafter taking advantage of the situation, they have defrauded the persons and thereby pocketed huge volume of amount under the guise of investment but that was the systematic racket of the accused to cheat number of persons. Not only that, as pointed out by learned APP, the amount reaches upto Rs.100.00 crores, which the accused have pocketed and thus, this is a huge scam of the accused, therefore, custodial interrogation of the applicant is required.
21. I have also considered the statement of one Ramanpuri Goswami, copy of which is provided during the course of hearing. As per the submission of learned APP, he is the prime witness, whereas as per the submission of learned Page 18 of 34 Uploaded by PATIL GAUTAMBHAI GOPALBHAI(HC00190) on Fri Jul 18 2025 Downloaded on : Sat Jul 19 00:21:15 IST 2025 NEUTRAL CITATION R/CR.MA/6719/2025 CAV JUDGMENT DATED: 18/07/2025 undefined advocate for the applicant, the said witness is not reliable and his statement cannot be relied upon. However on examination of the said statement, it is found out that the said witness has narrated the entire incidents of events in a very graphical manner and as to how the amount was travelled from one place to other. This being an application for anticipatory bail, I am conscious about the fact that the detailed examination and discussion of material is required to be avoided, otherwise, it would affect the case of the accused at the time of trial. Therefore, I restrain myself from elaborating the said statement, however, I must say that the role of the applicant is clearly spelt out from the statement of said witness.
22. Moreover, the applicants have also been charged with the offence under the provisions of the GPID Act, and the exercise of power under Section 482 of the BNSS, 2023 (Section 438 of the Cr.P.C.) is inapplicable in the offences under the provisions of the GPID Act. In this regard let me refer to and rely upon the decision of this Court in the case of Geetaben Manishkumar Shah Vs. State of Gujarat while deciding Special Criminal Application No.212 of 2018 on 15.03.2028, wherein in Para-44, this Court has observed as under;
"44. The entire argument inviting me to specifically decide whether a court of a Designated Judge, for a certain purpose, is a court of Magistrate or a court of Session Page 19 of 34 Uploaded by PATIL GAUTAMBHAI GOPALBHAI(HC00190) on Fri Jul 18 2025 Downloaded on : Sat Jul 19 00:21:15 IST 2025 NEUTRAL CITATION R/CR.MA/6719/2025 CAV JUDGMENT DATED: 18/07/2025 undefined revolves round a mistaken belief that a Designated Judge has to be one or the other, and must fit in the slot of a Magistrate or a Court of Session. Such an approach would strangulate the functioning of the court and must be eschewed. Shorn of all embellishment, the court of a Designated Judge is a court of original criminal jurisdiction. As a court of original criminal jurisdiction in order to make it functionally oriented some powers were conferred by the statute setting up the court. Except those specifically conferred and specifically denied, it has to function as a court of original criminal jurisdiction not being hide bound by the terminological status description of Magistrate or a Court of Session. Under the Code, it will enjoy all powers which a court of original criminal jurisdiction enjoys save and except the ones specifically denied. Without causing any violence to the words of section 17(2) of the Act, 2003, the plain reading of the same would indicate that the Court of the original criminal jurisdiction has been denuded of the power to grant anticipatory bail to an accused under section 438 of the Cr.P.C. To put it in other words, the power to grant anticipatory bail appears to have Page 20 of 34 Uploaded by PATIL GAUTAMBHAI GOPALBHAI(HC00190) on Fri Jul 18 2025 Downloaded on : Sat Jul 19 00:21:15 IST 2025 NEUTRAL CITATION R/CR.MA/6719/2025 CAV JUDGMENT DATED: 18/07/2025 undefined been specifically denied to the court of the original criminal jurisdiction."
23. It goes without saying that the alleged offence of misappropriating crores of rupees of the complainant as well as the other gullible people is quite grave in nature. Hence, while it is extremely important to protect the personal liberty of a person, it is equally incumbent upon me to analyze the seriousness of the offence and determine if there is a need for custodial interrogation.
24. The FIR in criminal case is a vital and valuable piece of evidence though may not be substantive piece of evidence. The object of insisting upon prompt lodging of the FIR in respect of the commission of an offence is to obtain early information regarding the circumstances in which the crime was committed, the names of actual culprits and the part played by them as well as the names of eye-witnesses present at the scene of occurrence. If there is a delay in lodging the FIR, it looses the advantage of spontaneity, danger creeps in of the introduction of coloured version, exaggerated account or concocted story as a result of large number of consultations/ deliberations. Undoubtedly, the promptness in lodging the FIR is an assurance regarding truth of the informant's version. A promptly lodged FIR reflects the first hand account of what has actually happened, and who was responsible for the Page 21 of 34 Uploaded by PATIL GAUTAMBHAI GOPALBHAI(HC00190) on Fri Jul 18 2025 Downloaded on : Sat Jul 19 00:21:15 IST 2025 NEUTRAL CITATION R/CR.MA/6719/2025 CAV JUDGMENT DATED: 18/07/2025 undefined offence in question.
25. It is well settled that an application preferred for anticipatory bail is an exceptional remedy to be granted in exception cases. The parameters and considerations governing the grant of anticipatory bail have been explained by the Hon'ble Supreme Court in number of cases. At this stage, I would like to rely upon the law laid down by the Hon'ble Supreme Court in the case of (i) State Rep. by the CBI V/s Anil Sharma reported in 1997 (7) SCC 187,
(ii) Adri Dharan Das V/s State of W.B. reported in 2005 (4) SCC 303 (iii) P. Chidambaram V/s Directorate of Enforcement reported in AIR 2019 SC 4198, wherein the Hon'ble Supreme Court has held held as follows:
"The legislative intent behind the introduction of Section 438 CrPC is to safeguard the individual's personal liberty and to protect him from the possibility of being humiliated and from being subjected to unnecessary police custody. However, the court must also keep in view that a criminal offence is not just an offence against an individual rather the larger societal interest is at stake. Therefore, a delicate balance is required to be established between the two rights - safeguarding the personal liberty of an individual and the societal interest.
Ordinarily, arrest is a part of Page 22 of 34 Uploaded by PATIL GAUTAMBHAI GOPALBHAI(HC00190) on Fri Jul 18 2025 Downloaded on : Sat Jul 19 00:21:15 IST 2025 NEUTRAL CITATION R/CR.MA/6719/2025 CAV JUDGMENT DATED: 18/07/2025 undefined procedure of the investigation to secure
not only the presence of the accused but several other purposes. There may be circumstances in which the accused may provide information leading to discovery of material facts and relevant information. Grant of anticipatory bail may hamper the investigation. It may frustrate the investigating agency in interrogating the accused and in collecting the useful information and also materials which might have been concealed. Success in such interrogation would elude if the accused knows that he is protected by the order of the court. Grant of anticipatory bail, particularly in economic offences would definitely hamper the effective investigation. Pre-arrest bail is to strike a balance between the individual's right to personal freedom and the right of the investigating agency to interrogate the accused as to the material so far collected and to collect more information which may lead to recovery of relevant information. In this view, it cannot be said that refusal to grant anticipatory bail would amount to denial of the rights conferred upon the appellant/applicant under Article 21 of the Constitution of India.
Consequently, power under Section 438 Page 23 of 34 Uploaded by PATIL GAUTAMBHAI GOPALBHAI(HC00190) on Fri Jul 18 2025 Downloaded on : Sat Jul 19 00:21:15 IST 2025 NEUTRAL CITATION R/CR.MA/6719/2025 CAV JUDGMENT DATED: 18/07/2025 undefined CrPC being an extraordinary remedy, has to be exercised sparingly; more so, in cases of economic offences. Economic offences stand as a different class as they affect the economic fabric of the society. The privilege of the pre-arrest bail should be granted only in exceptional cases. The judicial discretion conferred upon the court has to be properly exercised after application of mind as to the nature and gravity of the accusation; possibility of the applicant fleeing justice and other factors to decide whether it is a fit case for grant of anticipatory bail. Grant of anticipatory bail to some extent interferes in the sphere of investigation of an offence and hence, the court must be circumspect while exercising such power for grant of anticipatory bail. Section 438 CrPC is to be invoked only in exceptional cases where the case alleged is frivolous or groundless. Anticipatory bail is to be granted as a matter of rule and it has to be granted only when the court is convinced that exceptional circumstances exist to resort to that extraordinary remedy".
Having regard to nature of allegations and stage of investigations, held investigating agency must be given sufficient freedom in process of Page 24 of 34 Uploaded by PATIL GAUTAMBHAI GOPALBHAI(HC00190) on Fri Jul 18 2025 Downloaded on : Sat Jul 19 00:21:15 IST 2025 NEUTRAL CITATION R/CR.MA/6719/2025 CAV JUDGMENT DATED: 18/07/2025 undefined investigation. Appellant not entitled to anticipatory bail as the same would hamper the investigation".
26. In case of Pratibha Manchanda and another Vs. State of Haryana and another reported in (2023) 8 SCC 181, the Hon'ble Apex Court in Paragraph No.21, observed as under:-
"21. The relief of anticipatory bail is aimed at safeguarding individual rights. While it serves as a crucial tool to prevent the misuse of the power of arrest and protects innocent individuals from harassment, it also presents challenges in maintaining a delicate balance between individual rights and the interests of justice. The tight rope we must walk lies in striking a balance between safeguarding individual rights and protecting public interest. While the right to liberty and presumption of innocence are vital, the court must also consider the gravity of the offence, the impact on society, and the need for a fair and free investigation. The court's discretion in weighing these interests in the facts and circumstances of each individual case becomes crucial to ensure a just outcome."
27. In State of M.P. & Anr. Vs. Ram Kishna Balothia & Anr., reported in AIR 1995 SC 1198, the Hon'ble Supreme Court has considered the nature of the Page 25 of 34 Uploaded by PATIL GAUTAMBHAI GOPALBHAI(HC00190) on Fri Jul 18 2025 Downloaded on : Sat Jul 19 00:21:15 IST 2025 NEUTRAL CITATION R/CR.MA/6719/2025 CAV JUDGMENT DATED: 18/07/2025 undefined right of anticipatory bail and observed as under:
"We find it difficult to accept the contention that Section 438 of the Code of Criminal Procedure is an integral part of Article 21. In the first place, there was no provision similar to Section 438 in the old Criminal Procedure Code..... Also anticipatory bail cannot be granted as a matter of right. It is essentially a statutory right conferred long after the coming into force of the Constitution. It cannot be considered as an essential ingredient of Article 21 of the Constitution. And its non-application to a certain special category of offences cannot be considered as violative of Article 21."
28. At this stage, it is required to be noted that as this application has been preferred under the provisions of Section 482 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 for grant of anticipatory bail, I court would like to refer the decision of the Hon'ble Supreme Court in the case of Siddharam Satlingappa Mhetre Vs. State of Maharashtra & Ors.,, reported in (2011) 1 SCC 694, more particularly Paragraph Nos.14 & 112, which read as under :-
"14. It is clear from the Statement of Objects and Reasons that the purpose of incorporating Section 438 in the Cr.P.C. was to recognize the importance of personal Page 26 of 34 Uploaded by PATIL GAUTAMBHAI GOPALBHAI(HC00190) on Fri Jul 18 2025 Downloaded on : Sat Jul 19 00:21:15 IST 2025 NEUTRAL CITATION R/CR.MA/6719/2025 CAV JUDGMENT DATED: 18/07/2025 undefined liberty and freedom in a free and democratic country. When we carefully analyze this section, the wisdom of the legislature becomes quite evident and clear that the legislature was keen to ensure respect for the personal liberty and also pressed in service the age-old principle that an individual is presumed to be innocent till he is found guilty by the court.
112. The following factors and parameters can be taken into consideration while dealing with the anticipatory bail: The nature and gravity of the accusation and the exact role of the accused must be properly comprehended before arrest is made; the antecedents of the applicant including the fact as to whether the accused has previously undergone imprisonment on conviction by a Court in respect of any cognizable offence; The possibility of the applicant to flee from justice; The possibility of the accused's likelihood to repeat similar or the other offences. Whereas the accusation have been made only with the object to injuring or humiliating the applicant by arresting him or her. Impact of grant of anticipatory bail particularly in cases of large magnitude affecting a very large number of people.Page 27 of 34 Uploaded by PATIL GAUTAMBHAI GOPALBHAI(HC00190) on Fri Jul 18 2025 Downloaded on : Sat Jul 19 00:21:15 IST 2025
NEUTRAL CITATION R/CR.MA/6719/2025 CAV JUDGMENT DATED: 18/07/2025 undefined The courts must evaluate the entire available material against the accused very carefully. The court must also clearly comprehend the exact role of the accused in the case."
29. The Hon'ble Supreme Court in the case of Sumitha Pradeep Vs. Arun Kumar C.K. & Anr., reported in 2022 SCC OnLine SC 1529 held that merely because custodial interrogation was not required by itself could not be a ground to grant anticipatory bail. The first and the foremost thing the Court hearing the anticipatory bail application is to consider is the prima facie case against the accused. The relevant extract of the judgment is reproduced hereinbelow:-
"It may be true, as pointed out by learned counsel appearing for Respondent No.1, that charge-sheet has already been filed. It will be unfair to presume on our part that the Investigating Officer does not require Respondent No.1 for custodial interrogation for the purpose of further investigation. Be that as it may, even assuming it a case where Respondent No.1 is not required for custodial interrogation, we are satisfied that the High Court ought not to have granted discretionary relief of anticipatory bail. We are dealing with a matter wherein the original complainant (appellant herein) has come before this Page 28 of 34 Uploaded by PATIL GAUTAMBHAI GOPALBHAI(HC00190) on Fri Jul 18 2025 Downloaded on : Sat Jul 19 00:21:15 IST 2025 NEUTRAL CITATION R/CR.MA/6719/2025 CAV JUDGMENT DATED: 18/07/2025 undefined Court praying that the anticipatory bail granted by the High Court to the accused should be cancelled. To put it in other words, the complainant says that the High Court wrongly exercised its discretion while granting anticipatory bail to the accused in a very serious crime like POCSO and, therefore, the order passed by the High Court granting anticipatory bail to the accused should be quashed and set aside. In many anticipatory bail matters, we have noticed one common argument being canvassed that no custodial interrogation is required and, therefore, anticipatory bail may be granted. There appears to be a serious misconception of law that if no case for custodial interrogation is made out by the prosecution, then that alone would be a good ground to grant anticipatory bail. Custodial interrogation can be one of the relevant aspects to be considered along with other grounds while deciding an application seeking anticipatory bail. There may be many cases in which the custodial interrogation of the accused may not be required, but that does not mean that the prima facie case against the accused should be ignored or overlooked and he should be granted anticipatory bail. The first and foremost thing that the court Page 29 of 34 Uploaded by PATIL GAUTAMBHAI GOPALBHAI(HC00190) on Fri Jul 18 2025 Downloaded on : Sat Jul 19 00:21:15 IST 2025 NEUTRAL CITATION R/CR.MA/6719/2025 CAV JUDGMENT DATED: 18/07/2025 undefined hearing an anticipatory bail application should consider is the prima facie case put up against the accused. Thereafter, the nature of the offence should be looked into along with the severity of the punishment. Custodial interrogation can be one of the grounds to decline custodial interrogation. However, even if custodial interrogation is not required or necessitated, by itself, cannot be a ground to grant anticipatory bail."
30. Thus while taking into consideration the ratio laid down by the Hon'ble Supreme Court in the case of Siddharam Satlingappa Mhetre (supra) as also ratio laid down in other decisions as stated above, I have gone through the contents of the FIR, which is placed on record and also considered the affidavit of the investigating officer filed before the learned Judge concerned opposing the bail application preferred by the applicants. Upon going through the contents of the FIR, it appears that prima facie case is made out against the applicants and material collected so far suggests the involvement of the applicant in the commission of crime.
31. Now coming back to the case on hand, it is found out from the allegations levelled in the FIR and the materials placed on record that very serious allegations of misappropriation of crores of rupees have been made against the applicant.
Page 30 of 34 Uploaded by PATIL GAUTAMBHAI GOPALBHAI(HC00190) on Fri Jul 18 2025 Downloaded on : Sat Jul 19 00:21:15 IST 2025NEUTRAL CITATION R/CR.MA/6719/2025 CAV JUDGMENT DATED: 18/07/2025 undefined Moreover, the present case also falls within the category of economic offences and the amount involved in the present case is quite huge and it is trite law that in economic offences, benefit of pre-arrest bail should not be extended in favour of the accused in a casual manner. Further, there is a bar under Section 17(2) of the GPID Act in granting pre-arrest bail to the accused charged with under the provisions of the said Act. Further, the offence as alleged is also non- bailable and punishable with life imprisonment. Thus considering the above stated aspects as well as the precedent cited above, in my view, at this stage, custodial interrogation of the applicants is very much necessary.
32. At this stage, it may be noted that as held in catena of decisions, the economic offences constitute a class apart and need to be visited with a different approach in the matter of bail. The economic offences having deep-rooted conspiracies and involving huge loss of public funds need to be viewed seriously and considered as grave offences affecting the economy of the country as a whole and thereby posing serious threat to the financial health of the country. Undoubtedly, economic offences have serious repercussions on the development of the country as a whole. In this regard, I would like to place reliance upon the decisions of the Hon'ble Supreme Court in case of Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy Vs. Page 31 of 34 Uploaded by PATIL GAUTAMBHAI GOPALBHAI(HC00190) on Fri Jul 18 2025 Downloaded on : Sat Jul 19 00:21:15 IST 2025 NEUTRAL CITATION R/CR.MA/6719/2025 CAV JUDGMENT DATED: 18/07/2025 undefined Central Bureau of Investigation, reported in (2013) 7 SCC 439, in case of Nimmagadda Prasad Vs. Central Bureau of Investigation, reported in (2013) 7 SCC 466, in case of Gautam Kundu Vs. Directorate of Enforcement (Prevention of Money- Laundering Act), Government of India Through Manoj Kumar, Assistant Director, Eastern Region, reported in (2015) 16 SCC 1, in case of State of Bihar & Anr., Vs. Amit Kumar @ Bachcha Rai, reported in (2017) 13 SCC 751. The Supreme Court taking a serious note with regard to the economic offences had observed as back as in 1987 in case of in case of State of Gujarat Vs. Mohanlal Jitamalji Porwal & Anr., reported in (1987) 2 SCC 364 as under:-
"5. The entire community is aggrieved if the economic offenders who ruin the economy of the State are not brought to books. A murder may be committed in the heat of moment upon passions being aroused. An economic offence is committed with cool calculation and deliberate design with an eye on personal profit regardless of the consequence to the community. A disregard for the interest of the community can be manifested only at the cost of forfeiting the trust and faith of the community in the system to administer justice in an even- handed manner without fear of criticism from the quarters which view white collar Page 32 of 34 Uploaded by PATIL GAUTAMBHAI GOPALBHAI(HC00190) on Fri Jul 18 2025 Downloaded on : Sat Jul 19 00:21:15 IST 2025 NEUTRAL CITATION R/CR.MA/6719/2025 CAV JUDGMENT DATED: 18/07/2025 undefined crimes with a permissive eye unmindful of the damage done to the National Economy and National Interest..."
33. It is required to be noted at this stage that the Hon'ble Supreme Court in catena of judicial pronouncements have observed that a court may reject an anticipatory bail application when custodial interrogation is deemed necessary for a thorough investigation, even if the applicant argues that such interrogation is not required. Further, while custodial interrogation can be a factor in denying anticipatory bail, it is not the sole determinant, and courts will also consider other factors related to the severity of the offense and the need for a comprehensive investigation.
34. In view of above discussion and considering the materials produced before this Court, I am of the considered opinion that there seems to be a prima facie involvement of the present applicant in the commission of the alleged offence. Therefore, I am of the considered opinion that at the initial stage of the investigation of the offence, grant of anticipatory bail in favour of the applicant is likely to hamper the investigation and investigating agency is likely to lose an opportunity to exploit all the fact situation, probabilities or opportunities which the Agency may get during the custodial interrogation of a person, and therefore, keeping in mind all the Page 33 of 34 Uploaded by PATIL GAUTAMBHAI GOPALBHAI(HC00190) on Fri Jul 18 2025 Downloaded on : Sat Jul 19 00:21:15 IST 2025 NEUTRAL CITATION R/CR.MA/6719/2025 CAV JUDGMENT DATED: 18/07/2025 undefined factors, no interference is required at this stage. Therefore, I do not find any exceptional ground to exercise its discretionary jurisdiction under Section 482 of the BNSS to grant anticipatory bail and it is settled proposition of law that power exercisable under Section 482 BNSS, 2023 to be exercised with caution in exceptional cases.
35. Hence, the present application seeking for anticipatory bail is hereby rejected.
36. Needless to say that observations and findings made hereinabove are limited to the decision of these pre-arrest bail applications and shall not influence any other proceedings arise from impugned FIR.
Sd/-
(DIVYESH A. JOSHI, J.) Gautam Page 34 of 34 Uploaded by PATIL GAUTAMBHAI GOPALBHAI(HC00190) on Fri Jul 18 2025 Downloaded on : Sat Jul 19 00:21:15 IST 2025