BAIL APPLN. 4962/2025 $~10 * IN THE HIGH COURT OF DELHI AT NEW DELHI + BAIL APPLN. 4962/2025 RUPESH .....Petitioner Through: Mr. Abhinav Mukherji, Senior Advocate with Mr. Pratap Shanker, Mr. Ankit Kumar, Ms. Mamta and Ms. Archita Nigam, Advocates. versus STATE OF NCT OF DELHI .....Respondent Through: Mr. Hitesh Vali, APP. SI Habib Khan, PS ER-I, Crime. CORAM: HON’BLE MR. JUSTICE PRATEEK JALAN O R D E R % 23.03.2026 1. By way of the present application under Section 483 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 [“BNSS”], the applicant seeks regular bail in connection with FIR No.222/2025 dated 25.08.2025, registered at Police Station Crime Branch, New Delhi, for offences punishable under Sections 318(4)/316(2)/61(2) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 [“BNS”] [corresponding to Sections 420/406/120B of the Indian Penal Code, 1860]. 2. Notice was issued vide order dated 22.12.2025. The State has placed on record a status report, alongwith proof of intimation to the complainant. 3. I have heard Mr. Abhinav Mukerji, learned Senior Counsel for the applicant, and Mr. Hitesh Vali, learned Additional Public Prosecutor for This is a digitally signed order. The authenticity of the order can be re-verified from Delhi High Court Order Portal by scanning the QR code shown above. The Order is downloaded from the DHC Server on 24/03/2026 at 12:14:40 BAIL APPLN. 4962/2025 the State. The complainant is unrepresented, despite intimation as aforesaid. 4. The prosecution case, as emerging from the status report dated 03.02.2026, is as follows: a. The subject FIR was lodged on the basis of a written complaint filed by the complainant, a citizen of Nepal, on behalf of himself and eighteen other Nepali nationals. The complainant stated that in April 2024, he and his associates came into contact with one Jayakab, who claimed that he could arrange Serbian employment visas with lucrative salaries and long-term work permits. b. Jayakab gained the confidence of the victims by showing them scanned copies of employment offer letters and visas, portraying them as being issued by Serbian authorities. He then demanded an amount of €3,500 per person [approximately Rs.70,00,000/- in total], as processing charges for the nineteen victims. c. Trusting the aforesaid representations, the victims transferred the said amount through cash deposits and Nepal-based bank accounts, as instructed by Jayakab. d. Thereafter, the victims handed over their original Nepali passports to Jayakab, and travelled to Delhi from Nepal in July 2025 on his instructions. However, upon their arrival, Jayakab avoided meeting them, refused to return their passports or the money, and threatened them. e. Jayakab was arrested on 25.08.2025. In the course of investigation, he admitted his involvement, and thirteen original Nepali passports were recovered at his instance. Further, on the basis of his This is a digitally signed order. The authenticity of the order can be re-verified from Delhi High Court Order Portal by scanning the QR code shown above. The Order is downloaded from the DHC Server on 24/03/2026 at 12:14:40 BAIL APPLN. 4962/2025 disclosure statement, the applicant was arrested on 26.08.2025. f. During interrogation, the applicant admitted that he had been working with Jayakab and other associates for several years, and that they jointly operate a fake overseas visa racket targeting Nepali and Indian youths. He further disclosed that he had retained six original passports, and had received approximately Rs.15,00,000/-. g. A VIVO-X90 mobile phone was recovered at the instance of the applicant, upon examination of which incriminating WhatsApp chats and payment confirmations with the victims and the co- accused persons were found. h. During further investigation, co-accused Shammi @ Sahil was apprehended on 06.10.2025, and was found to be the person responsible for preparing the forged Serbian visas. i. The consistent testimonies of the complainant, victims, and witnesses, recorded under Section 180 of the BNSS, are corroborated by documentary and digital evidence, including CCTV footage and WhatsApp chats. No amount has been recovered, and the disclosures of the applicant, Jayakab, and Shammi @ Sahil reveal the involvement of absconding associates, against whom further is investigation is ongoing. 5. In support of the present bail application, Mr. Mukherji submitted that the investigation of the alleged offence has been completed, and the chargesheet has been filed. The only role attributed to the applicant in the present case, is that he deposited money sent by Jayakab into Jayakab’s bank account. There is no material to suggest that he was in contact with This is a digitally signed order. The authenticity of the order can be re-verified from Delhi High Court Order Portal by scanning the QR code shown above. The Order is downloaded from the DHC Server on 24/03/2026 at 12:14:40 BAIL APPLN. 4962/2025 any of the victims, or that he appropriated any amount paid by the victims to Jayakab. 6. Mr. Vali, on the other hand, submitted that the applicant was a financial facilitator of the offence, insofar as he dealt with the money paid by the victims to Jayakab. He further submitted that a mobile phone was recovered from the present applicant, which indicated that the applicant was a co-conspirator and had multiple communications with Jayakab and other accused persons. 7. Although the status report refers to conversations, call logs, payment screenshots, and deleted data on the mobile device recovered from the applicant, and suggests that these materials support contact with the victims and co-accused, Mr. Vali, upon instructions from the Investigating Officer, in the course of hearing, clearly stated that there was no material to show a direct link between the applicant and any of the victims. The applicant was also not named by the victims as a person with whom they were in contact. It was also accepted that the financial trail does not, at this stage, show that the applicant was the beneficiary of any amount paid by the victims, but that he received certain amounts from Jayakab and deposited those into Jayakab’s bank account. 8. While the allegations in the FIR are undoubtedly serious, I am of the view that the role attributed to the present applicant, and the prima facie material placed on record does not support his indefinite incarceration pending trial. The evidence having been collected by the prosecution, and the chargesheet having already been filed, there is no likelihood of tampering with the evidence. The prosecution has cited 35 witnesses, and charges have yet to be framed, making expeditious This is a digitally signed order. The authenticity of the order can be re-verified from Delhi High Court Order Portal by scanning the QR code shown above. The Order is downloaded from the DHC Server on 24/03/2026 at 12:14:40 BAIL APPLN. 4962/2025 conclusion of the proceedings unlikely. The Nominal Roll also does not show any prior criminal involvement of the applicant. 9. For the aforesaid reasons, it is directed that the applicant be released on regular bail in connection with FIR No. 222/2025 dated 25.08.2025, registered at Police Station Crime Branch, New Delhi, for offences punishable under Sections 318(4)/316(2)/61(2) of the BNS, subject to furnishing a bail bond in the sum of Rs. 50,000/-, with one surety of the like amount, to the satisfaction of the concerned Trial Court/Duty Magistrate, and further subject to the following conditions: a. The applicant shall appear before the concerned Trial Court on each and every date of hearing fixed. b. If the applicant has a passport, he shall surrender the same to the concerned Trial Court, and shall not leave the country without the prior permission of the concerned Trial Court. c. The applicant shall ordinarily reside at the address as per prison records, and shall not change the address without informing the concerned Investigating Officer [“IO”]/ Station House Officer [“SHO”]. d. The applicant shall furnish his mobile number to the concerned IO/SHO, and shall ensure that the said mobile number remains operational and switched on at all times. The mobile number shall not be changed, nor shall the phone be switched off, without prior intimation to the IO/SHO. e. The applicant shall not, directly or indirectly, contact, nor visit, nor offer any inducement, threat, or promise to any of the prosecution witnesses or other persons acquainted with the facts of the case. This is a digitally signed order. The authenticity of the order can be re-verified from Delhi High Court Order Portal by scanning the QR code shown above. The Order is downloaded from the DHC Server on 24/03/2026 at 12:14:40 BAIL APPLN. 4962/2025 f. The applicant shall not, directly or indirectly, tamper with evidence nor otherwise indulge in any act or omission that would prejudice the proceedings in the pending trial. g. The applicant shall not commit any offence during the pendency of the proceedings. 10. The application stands disposed of in the above terms. 11. It is clarified that the observations made herein are solely for the purpose of adjudication of the present bail application, and shall not be construed as an expression of opinion on the merits of the case, nor shall they prejudice the rights and contentions of the parties at any stage of the proceedings. 12. A copy of this order be sent to the concerned Jail Superintendent for information and necessary compliance. PRATEEK JALAN, J MARCH 23, 2026 ‘Bhupi/KA’/ This is a digitally signed order. The authenticity of the order can be re-verified from Delhi High Court Order Portal by scanning the QR code shown above. The Order is downloaded from the DHC Server on 24/03/2026 at 12:14:40