Neutral Citation No. - 2025:AHC:85329 Court No. - 68 Case :- CRIMINAL MISC. BAIL APPLICATION No. - 5611 of 2025 Applicant :- Mohd Jawed Akhtar Opposite Party :- State of U.P. Counsel for Applicant :- Charlie Prakash,Kamal Krishna Roy,Ramesh Kumar Counsel for Opposite Party :- G.A. Hon'ble Ashutosh Srivastava,J. Heard Sri Prabal Pratap Singh, holding brief of Sri K. K. Roy, learned counsel for the applicant, Sri Arimardan Yadav, learned AGA for the State-Respondent and perused the record. The present bail application has been moved on behalf of accused- applicant, Mohd Jawed Akhtar, seeking enlargement on bail in Case Crime No. 162 of 2024, under Sections 318(4), 338, 336(3), 340(2) of the B.N.S. and Section 66 of I.T. Act, Police Station Colonelganj, District Kanpur Nagar. Brief facts of the case are that the accused-applicant runs a Madarsa in the name of Madarsa Qasemul-Utoom Foundation. It is alleged that the Bank Account of Madarsa is being operated by the accused-applicant. On 25.12.2024, a notice was issued to the accused-applicant under Section 35(3) of B.N.S. related to Case No. 11196040240050/2024, under Sections 318(4), 54, 61(2) of the B.N.S. and Section 66-D of the Informant Technology Act via Whatsapp. The Investigating Officer, Cyber Crime, Vadodara City, Gujarat, called the applicant for recording of statement on 27.12.2024 and thereafter the applicant was sent to jail on 28.12.2024. Learned counsel for the applicant argued that the accused- applicant is innocent and he has been falsely implicated in this case crime number. It is argued that when the Bank Account of the Madrasa was not being operated properly even after several attempts, the applicant taken out the statement of account, then the applicant came to know about the fraudulent transaction of Rs. 32,50,000/- from the bank account of the Madarsa. The applicant/accused immediately gave an application to the Cyber Police Station and also gave an application to the Police Commissioner on 17.12.2024. But no action has been taken on that application. It is argued that the accused-applicant informed the local police station about the notice issued to him but the local police station did not taken any action on the application given by him rather the police illegally sent the applicant to jail on 28.12.2024 without conducting a detailed investigation. He further submits that the Bank Account is in the name of Madarsa and not in the name of the accused-applicant. He submits that no amount has been recovered either from the physical possession of the applicant or from the premises of the Madarsa. Learned counsel for the applicant further submits that the applicant himself has not transferred the alleged amount of Rs. 32,50,000/- from anyone's account to his own account. He further submits that according to the Article 20(2) of the Constitution of India, a person cannot be punished or prosecuted more than one for the same crime. The applicant has not prepared any forged documents nor he has commuted forgery in connivance with anyone. He submits that since the money has been transferred through the cheque as such it is not a case of fraud of cyber crime. The applicant is languishing in jail since 28.12.2024. The applicant has no criminal antecedent and there is no likelihood of his fleeing from course of justice or tampering with evidence in case of release on bail. Hence, the bail has been prayed for. Per contra, learned A.G.A. has supported the order passed by the Sessions Court and vehemently opposed the prayer for grant of bail to the applicant and submits that the allegations involved are very serious in nature. He further submits that in case the applicant is released on bail, he will again indulge in similar activities and will misuse the liberty of bail. In the light of the facts and circumstances of the present case, it would be inappropriate to discuss the evidence in depth at this stage because it is likely to influence the trial of the accused. But, from the perusal of the evidences, collected during investigation so far, prima-facie, the involvement of the accused in the present case cannot be ruled out. No reason is found to falsely implicate the applicant/accused. Therefore, there is no good ground to release the applicant-accused on bail at this stage. All the contentions raised by the learned counsel for the applicant pertain to the merits of the case and the same cannot be considered while considering application for grant of bail. This court is unable to form an opinion at this stage that the accused has not committed an offence. In the ultimate conclusion, considering the facts and circumstances of the case, gravity of the offence, severity of punishment, in my opinion, no case for bail is made out. Accordingly, the bail application is hereby rejected. It is clarified that the observations made regarding the bail application is limited to the decision of the bail application and any observations made herein shall not effect the trial of the case. Order Date :- 20.5.2025 pks Digitally signed by :- PAWAN KUMAR SINGH High Court of Judicature at Allahabad