1 2025:CGHC:25887 NAFR HIGH COURT OF CHHATTISGARH AT BILASPUR CRA No. 1062 of 2025 Awdhesh Kumar Singh S/o Late Shivaji Singh Aged About 70 Years R/o Village Champanagar, Post Office- Banaili, District- Purnea, Bihar, Distt.- Balrampur Ramanujganj (C.G.) ... Appellant versus State Of Chhattisgarh Through Police Station- Ramanujganj Distt.- Balrampur-Ramanujganj (C.G.) ... Respondent For Appellant : Mr. Sudhir Sharma, Advocate. For Respondent : Mr. Ajay Pandey, Govt. Advocate Hon’ble Smt. Justice Rajani Dubey, J Order on Board 19/06/2025 This appeal is filed against the order dated 29.4.2025 passed by Sessions Judge, Balrampur at Ramanujganj whereby the bail application under Section 482 of BNSS, 2023 has been rejected. The appellant has been arrested in connection with Crime No.158/2017 registered at Police Station–Ramanujganj, Distt. Balrampur- 2 Ramanujganj for the offence under Sections 420/34 of IPC and 10 of Protection of Depositors Interest Act, 2005. 02. Case of the prosecution, in brief, is that in the year 2007 the appellant along with other co-accused persons established branch of Sun Plant Agrl Ltd. and Business Ltd. Company where Ajit Kumar and Sunil Kundu were working as agent and Mukesh Kumar was working as Branch Manager. The accused persons fraudulently obtained money from several persons on the allurement of doubling the invested amount in five years but no such return was given to them. 03. Learned counsel for the appellant submits that the appellant is an innocent person and has been falsely implicated in this crime. The appellant is a 70 years old person having no criminal background. Neither the appellant received any amount from the complainant nor did he have any knowledge about forgery. SEBI in its investigation found that main accused Vijay Kumar Rai and Girja Shankar being Managing Director and Branch Manager embezzled the money of the customers and hence recovery proceedings were commenced against them. This Court granted bail to co-accused Vijay Kumar Ray vide order dated 17.1.2020 passed in MCRC No.7308/2019. Further, on 5th September, 2022 the main Accused Girja Shankar Kumar has been granted bail by Hon’ble Supreme Court in Criminal Appeal No.1428/2022/SLP (Crl.) No.5980/2021 and on 21.7.2023 the co- ordinate bench of this Court granted bail to co-accused Amit Kumar Choudhury in MCRC No.3408/2023. Therefore, the present appellant 3 also deserves to be released on bail. 04. On the other hand, learned counsel appearing for the State opposes the instant appeal. 05. Considering the facts and circumstances of the case, the nature of allegation against the appellant, the fact that he is 70 years old, he has no criminal antecedents and that main accused Girja Shankar, Amit Kumar Choudhury and Vijay Kumar Ray have been granted bail by the Hon’ble Supreme Court and this Court respectively, and conclusion of the trial is likely to take some time, this Court is of the opinion that present is a fit case to release the appellant on bail. Accordingly, the appeal is allowed and the impugned order dated 29.4.2025 is hereby set aside. 06. It is directed that on appellant executing a personal bond for a sum of Rs.1 lac with one local surety to the satisfaction of the concerned trial Court, he shall be released on bail. He shall appear before the concerned trial Court on all such dates as are given to him by the said Court till final disposal of the case. Sd/ (Rajani Dubey) Judge Khan MOHD AKHTAR KHAN Digitally signed by MOHD AKHTAR KHAN Date: 2025.06.19 16:24:59 +0530