Chattisgarh High Court
Gopal Singh Samund vs State Of Chhattisgarh on 6 May, 2026
1
2026:CGHC:21237
NAFR
HIGH COURT OF CHHATTISGARH AT BILASPUR
MCRCA No. 571 of 2026
Gopal Singh Samund S/o Lokeshwar, Aged About 30 Years R/o House No.
341, Ward No. 1 Nayapara, Narayanpur, District- Narayanpur (C.G.)
... Applicant
versus
State of Chhattisgarh Through Police Station Narayanpur, District- Narayanpur
(C.G.)
... Non-applicant
For Applicant : Mr. Shivank Mishra, Advocate.
For Non-Applicant/State : Mr. Soumya Rai, Dy. Govt. Advocate.
Digitally
signed by Hon'ble Mr. Ramesh Sinha, Chief Justice
ABHISHEK
ABHISHEK SHRIVAS
SHRIVAS Date: Order on Board
2026.05.07
06.05.2026
15:41:55
+0530
1. This first anticipatory bail application under Section 482 of the Bhartiya
Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 has been filed by the applicant, who is
apprehending his arrest in connection with Crime No. 0021/2026
registered at Police Station - Narayanpur, District - Narayanpur (C.G.)
for the offences punishable under Sections 3(5), 316(5), 318(4), 336(3),
338, 340(2) of the Bhartiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023.
2. As per the case of the prosecution, the Branch Manager of Punjab
National Bank, namely Manish Kumar Soni, lodged an FIR on
23.02.2026, inter alia, alleging that the applicant, who is working as an
Office Assistant at Punjab National Bank, along with co-accused Tilak
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Ram Mandavi, who is a recovery agent and also the husband of Sumitra
Mandavi, who runs a BC Centre, and Ram Karan Sahu, who also runs a
BC Centre, along with other persons, committed offences of fraud,
cheating, and forgery by activating dormant/inoperative bank accounts
through the deposit of ₹1/- in each such account and thereafter
fraudulently withdrawing money from those dormant/inoperative accounts
by forging the KYC and Aadhaar documents of the account
holders/depositors of the Bank. It is further alleged that a fraud
amounting to Rs. 30,67,500/- was committed during the period from
17.08.2024 to 23.02.2026, which came to light through the internal audit
report of the Bank.
3. Learned counsel for the applicant submits that the applicant is innocent
and has been falsely implicated in this case. He submits that a
"Dormant/Inoperative Account" is an account in which there has been no
customer-induced transaction for a continuous period of 24 months, and
in order to revive such dormant/inoperative account, re-KYC through the
branch of the Bank via biometric channel is mandatory. He further
submits that for carrying out KYC, the Bank is required to adhere to a
specific KYC Policy formulated under the guidance and supervision of
the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), in order to prevent fraudulent practices
under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) guidelines and to
comply with Anti-Money Laundering norms. It is submitted that there
exists a specific procedure for supervision and verification in the KYC
process, and only designated officials are entrusted with such
verification. No other employee of the Bank is authorized to perform KYC
formalities. The applicant is a Class-IV employee who was appointed as
a Peon in the subordinate category in the year 2016 and has not been
promoted till date. Though the designation of his post has now been
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changed to "Office Assistant," he continues to discharge the same duties
and functions. He also submits that the applicant is merely an Office
Assistant (Class-IV employee) in the Bank and has no access to any
banking software, bank accounts, or technical rights such as a User ID. It
is, therefore, impossible for the applicant to access information relating to
dormant accounts, activate such accounts, or carry out KYC formalities.
A Business Correspondent may act as a correspondent for various
banks and is not limited to a specific bank, as alleged in the FIR. Such correspondents work on a commission basis and are not permanent employees of the Bank. They are entrusted only with limited functions relating to the expansion of banking services in remote and rural areas and are not authorized to perform KYC or re-KYC functions. The functions of a Recovery Agent are limited to recovery of loans and recovery from NPA accounts, and they are not entrusted with performing KYC or re-KYC functions. With an intention to harass and pressurize the applicant, when the applicant's mother, namely Smt. Pushpa Sahare, visited the Bank on 17.12.2025 to deposit an amount of Rs. 5,00,000/-, the said amount, despite having been duly handed over to the banking officials, was not credited to her account. Consequently, she filed a complaint before the Branch Manager on 10.02.2026 and thereafter lodged a complaint before the Superintendent of Police, District Narayanpur, on 24.02.2026. She also filed an RTI application before Punjab National Bank seeking CCTV footage dated 17.12.2025 from 06:00 PM to 07:30 PM. He submits that the applicant was subsequently suspended from service after being falsely implicated by the bank officials on allegations of fraudulent transfer of money from dormant and DEAF accounts of the Bank. There is no cogent evidence available on record to substantiate the allegations against the applicant. The applicant 4 performs only ancillary office duties and has no access to banking software, customer accounts, or any system-based operations. It is, therefore, technically impossible for the applicant to activate dormant accounts or carry out any KYC-related formalities. Dormant/inoperative accounts can only be activated by authorized bank officials through the CBS system after due verification and approval. In view of the above, grounds he prays for grant of anticipatory bail to the applicant.
4. On the other hand, learned State Counsel appearing for the non-
applicant/State opposes the anticipatory bail application of the present applicant. He submits that, vide order dated 20.04.2026, this Court had directed the State Counsel to verify whether the applicant is suffering from HIV or not. The said fact has been duly verified, and it has been confirmed that the applicant is indeed suffering from HIV. The relevant medical documents of the applicant have also been annexed with the present bail application.
5. I have heard learned counsel for the parties and perused the case diary.
6. Considering the aforesaid facts and circumstances of the case, particularly the verified medical condition of the present applicant, who is suffering from HIV, as supported by the medical documents placed on record, this Court is inclined to extend the benefit of anticipatory bail to the applicant on medical grounds. This Court is conscious of the fact that the case of the present applicant stands on a distinct footing from that of the other co-accused persons, as the present application is being considered and allowed solely in view of the applicant's medical condition
7. Accordingly, the instant MCRCA is allowed and it is directed that in the event of arrest of the applicant - Gopal Singh Samund, on executing a 5 personal bond and one surety in the like sum to the satisfaction of the arresting Officer, she shall be released on bail on the following conditions:-
(a) he shall not directly or indirectly make any inducement, threat or promise to any person acquainted with the facts of the case so as to dissuade him from disclosing such fact to the Court.
(b) he shall not act in any manner which will be prejudicial to fair and expeditious trial.
(c) he shall appear before the trial Court on each and every date given to him by the said Court till disposal of the trial.
(d) the applicant and the surety shall submit a copy of his adhaar card along with a coloured postcard full size photo having printed the adhaar number on it, which shall be verified by the trial Court.
(e) he shall not involve himself in any offence of similar nature in future.
Sd/ Sd/-
(Ramesh Sinha)
CHIEF JUSTICE
Abhishek