JUDGMENT : VIRENDER SINGH, J. 1. Applicant-Neetu Devi has filed the present application, under Section 483 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 (hereinafter referred to as ‘BNSS’), with a prayer to release her, on bail, in case arising out of FIR No. 266 of 2023, dated 19th October, 2023, registered with Police Station Balh, District Mandi, H.P. under Sections 420 and 120-B of the Indian Penal Code (hereinafter referred to as ‘IPC’) and Sections 21 and 23 of the Banning of Unregulated Deposit Scheme Act, 2019 (hereinafter referred to as ‘Act’). 2. The applicant has sought the relief of bail, on the ground that she has been arrested by the police, in the said case, whereas, no evidence is available against her. 3. According to the applicant, she is a respectable citizen, having deep roots in the society. As per the applicant, her custodial interrogation is not required by the police, in this case. 4. The applicant is stated to be in judicial custody since 19th November, 2023. According to the applicant, she is having two minor children and both are suffering from medical problem. 5. Apart from this, the applicant has given certain undertakings, for which, she is ready to abide by, in case, ordered to be released on bail. 6. The applicant has earlier moved application, under Section 439 CrPC, before the Court of learned Special Judge, Shimla, however, her bail application has been dismissed, vide order, dated 3rd January, 2024. After the dismissal of the said bail application, the applicant has approached this Court by way of CrMP (M) No.143 of 2024, which has been dismissed as withdrawn on 16th January, 2024 and CrMP (M) No.194 of 2024, which has been dismissed on 29th February, 2024. Thereafter, the applicant again filed bail application before the learned Special Judge, Shimla, which has been dismissed on 6th April, 2024. After the dismissal of the said bail application, the applicant has again approached this Court by way of CrMP (M) No.903 of 2024, which has been dismissed on 31st May, 2024. Thereafter, the applicant has approached the Hon’ble Supreme Court, by way of Special Leave to Appeal (Criminal) No.18115/2024, however, the same was dismissed as withdrawn on 24.04.2025. Thereafter, the applicant has again approached the learned trial Court, however, her application, has been dismissed vide order dated 24.07.2025. 7. Thereafter, the applicant has approached the Hon’ble Supreme Court, by way of Special Leave to Appeal (Criminal) No.18115/2024, however, the same was dismissed as withdrawn on 24.04.2025. Thereafter, the applicant has again approached the learned trial Court, however, her application, has been dismissed vide order dated 24.07.2025. 7. Now, the applicant has filed the present application, on the ground of changed circumstances, as, according to her, the investigation, in the present case, is complete and the police has submitted the report, under Section 173 (2) CrPC, before the Competent Court of Law. There are total 66 witnesses and till date, even charges have not been framed against the applicant. 8. All these facts have been highlighted to show that the chances of commencement and conclusion of the trial, against the applicant, in near future, are not so bright. This has been argued, in the light of the maximum punishment, provided for the sentence, for which, she has been arrested, in the present case. 9. Apart from this, the learned counsel appearing for the applicant, has given certain undertakings, on behalf of the applicant, for which, the applicant is ready to abide by, in case, she is ordered to be released on bail, during the pendency of the trial. 10. On the basis of the factual position, as mentioned, in the application, a prayer has been made to allow the bail application and release the applicant on bail, during the pendency of the trial. 11. In addition to this, it has also been prayed that even, on the ground of parity also, the applicant is entitled for the relief of bail, as, the other accused persons, in this case, have already been released by this Court, vide order, dated 10th January, 2024, passed in CrMPs(M) No. 3231, 3232, 3202 & 3209 of 2023 and 11 of 2024. 12. When put to notice, the police has filed the status report, disclosing therein, that on 19th October, 2024, Rajesh Saini son of Dev Raj Saini moved a complaint, disclosing therein, that he has been cheated of Rs.12,60,390/- by Ramesh Chauhan, Rohit, Rajinder Sood, Santosh Kumar and Vineet Kumar through qtrade9.com, qfx.co.in and QFX Trade Limited Company. 12.1. According to him, in the year 2002, Rohit and Ramesh came to him and explained him about the QFX Trade Limited Company. 12.1. According to him, in the year 2002, Rohit and Ramesh came to him and explained him about the QFX Trade Limited Company. According to them, their company is investing the amount in FOREX (online digital platform) and they used to get 5% return of the amount invested. 12.2. Being impressed from them, he has deposited a sum of Rs. 12,60,390/- in the account given by them, bearing Account No. 520481028803179, of Union Bank of India, Ner Chowk and Account No. 203915140000019 of Union Bank of India, Ner Chowk. At the insistence of Rohit and Ramesh Chauhan, he has held a meeting with the Directors of the Company, namely, Rajinder Sood, resident of Jogindernagar, Santosh Kumar and Vineet Kumar. The above named persons are stated to be receiving the money from the people on the pretext of good returns and they used to cheat the people. They have also established their office in Ner Chowk. The complainant, as well as, other persons have been apprised about the investment plan of 11 months. Thereafter, they have assured the return by way of cheque. On their assurance, a number of persons have invested huge amount. The amount invested by the complainant was used by them, but, no amount has been returned to him. They have given him post dated cheques, but, the account, out of which, those cheques were issued, was found to be blocked. 12.3. He has further alleged, in the complaint, that they had collected the money by cheating and alluring them to return good amount. Rajinder Sood, resident of Jogindernagar, Santosh Kumar and Vineet Kumar have introduced themselves as Directors of the Company. 12.4. On the basis of above facts, he has requested that action be taken against Ramesh Chauhan having mobile No. 77194-94553; Rohit, resident of Karsog, having mobile No. 98576-40014; Rajinder Sood, resident of Jogindernagar, having mobile No. 82195-08987; Santosh Kumar and Vineet Kumar, having mobile No.97366-66666 and other persons, who are involved, in this case. 12.5. On the basis of above facts, the police registered the FIR under Section 420 read with Section 34 IPC. Thereafter, the bank record, as disclosed by the complainant, was perused. When, the record was perused, it was found that from Account No. 520481028803179 of Union Bank of India, belonging to the complainant, a sum Rs. 12.5. On the basis of above facts, the police registered the FIR under Section 420 read with Section 34 IPC. Thereafter, the bank record, as disclosed by the complainant, was perused. When, the record was perused, it was found that from Account No. 520481028803179 of Union Bank of India, belonging to the complainant, a sum Rs. 2,00,000/- was credited in the account of QFX Trade Limited Company on 28th July, 2022 and thereafter, on 10th October, 2022, Rs. 5,06,340/- was transferred in the said account. 12.6. Apart from this, the mother of the complainant Smt. Sarswati Devi from Account No. 0911000100115496, Punjab National Bank, on dated 30th July, 2022, has transferred a sum of Rs. 2,00,000/- and on 10th October, 2022 a sum of Rs. 1,00,000/- was also transferred. From the account maintained in the name of Mansa Clothing Gallery Proprietor MR, owned by the complainant, on 25th October, 2022, a sum of Rs. 2,54,000/- was found to be transferred. As such, a total sum of Rs. 12,60,340/- were found invested in the QFX Trade Limited Company. 12.7. On 26th October, 2023, complainant Rajesh Saini has produced the printed QFX Trade Limited Investment Plan Booklet, containing seven pages. The said booklet was got prepared by Rajinder Kumar Sood, Ramesh Chauhan and Rohit to allure good returns on the investment in QFX Trade Limited. In this booklet, the information with regard to the investment plans and QFX Trade Limited has also been mentioned. In the booklet, the Company has also apprised the investors/customers about the investment plan of 11 months having 5% monthly return. 12.8. In the company owned by the above persons, thousands of people have invested the amount. The complainant and other thousands of people, with the hope of getting good returns, through the scheme mentioned in the booklet, have been cheated. The said booklet was taken into possession by the police. 12.9. The complainant has also disclosed that the Directors of the Company namely, Rajinder Kumar Sood, Santosh Kumar and Vineet Kumar, in connivance with Rohit and Ramesh Chauhan, had opened offices at various places to allure the investors to invest the amount and one of such offices has been opened at Fourlane Nagchala near Shani Mandir, Tehsil Balh, District Mandi, H.P. The Head office of the QFX Trade Limited is stated to be at 4th Floor, Block-A, North View Park, Chandigarh Road Zirakpur. There, the above named persons used to convene meetings with the proposed investors. They also used to hatch the plan as to how to extract money from the investors. 12.10. Consequently, on 30th October, 2023, the office of the Company at Nagchala and head office at Zirakpur were searched and the articles, which were found there, were taken into possession. The statements of the witnesses were recorded under Section 161 CrPC. 12.11. During investigation, it was found that the QFX Trade Company was having three Directors, namely, Rajinder Kumar Sood, Vineet Kumar Bhatia and Santosh Kumar. Apart from them, in the office of the Company, Mohammad Shakil, Dinesh Kumar Chopra and Chander Mohan, were also working. They also used to hold meetings with the Directors and allure the people to invest the money, as per plan. 12.12. During investigation, Yugam Bhardwaj and his father Praveen Bhardwaj were also associated in the investigation of the case. As per investigation, the said Company was having 10 bank accounts in IDFC bank, 4 bank accounts in Yes Bank and one bank account in IndusInd Bank. The record of these bank accounts was obtained and it was found that in the said accounts, there are transactions of crores of rupees. The investigation is stated to be going on. 12.13. During investigation, when the online website i.e. www.thecompanycheck.com was checked, 10 companies were found registered in the name of Director Rajinder Kumar, 5 companies in the name of Director Vineet Kumar and 2 companies and in the name of Santosh Kumar. Rajinder Kumar Sood is the Director in 10 companies and out of those companies, in three companies, Vineet Kumar was the Additional Director and in two companies, Santosh Kumar was the Additional Director and in remaining two companies, Vineet Kumar was the Director. In the above named persons, 12 companies were found registered, out of which, in 10 companies, Rajinder Kumar Sood is the Director and in the five companies, wife of Rajinder Kumar Sood namely, Neetu Devi (applicant) is the Additional Director and authorized signatory. 12.14. Thereafter, the correspondences were made with the Registrar of Companies-cum-Official Liquidator regarding the Director identification Number and Company Identification Number. 12.15. On 4th November, 2023, Mr. Ankit Kumar was associated in the investigation. 12.14. Thereafter, the correspondences were made with the Registrar of Companies-cum-Official Liquidator regarding the Director identification Number and Company Identification Number. 12.15. On 4th November, 2023, Mr. Ankit Kumar was associated in the investigation. According to him, he is the Data Entry Operator in the QFX Trade Limited and he used to download the IDs of the investors from the Company’s website. He used to keep the said record, as per directions of Rajinder Kumar Sood, in the website qtrade.com. The Master Administrator (Technical) of the company are Rajinder Kumar Sood and Dinesh Kumar Chopra. They have created a link http://qtrade9.com/QPRIME@ADMIN/Index. php?page=welcome. The user and password of the same was prepared by Dinesh Kumar Chopra and apart from this person, Rajinder Kumar Sood and Dinesh Kumar Chopra were having the access to the said link. Later on, the said password was found to be changed. According to the police, the same has either been changed by Rajinder Kumar Sood or Dinesh Kumar Chopra. Ankit Kumar has downloaded the data of the investors in the pen drive and handed over the same to the police. The person who has designed the software i.e. Aman Deep Singh, son of Tarlok Singh, was also associated in the investigation of the case, who has disclosed that Dinesh Kumar Chopra in the month of November, 2022 came to their company and requested him to get the performance of the company improved. 12.16. In nut-shell, it is the case of the police that the QFX Trade Company, through its introducing brokers, in connivance with the Directors and other persons, had hatched a conspiracy and got the money of the persons invested in the Unregulated Deposit Scheme. The Directors of the company had fled away from the country and the introducing brokers had promoted the scheme by holding meetings with the proposed investors. 12.17. It has been stated in the status report that had the introducing brokers been not motivated the investors to invest the money in the Unregulated Deposit Scheme, then, the offence could have not been committed. 12.18. On the basis of further investigation and the evidence, so collected, the police has arrested accused-Ramesh Chand, Kewal Krishan, Chaman Lal and Jitender Kumar @ Joolie on 27th November, 2023. Initially, they were remanded to police custody. Their statements, under Section 27 of the Indian Evidence Act, were recorded. 12.18. On the basis of further investigation and the evidence, so collected, the police has arrested accused-Ramesh Chand, Kewal Krishan, Chaman Lal and Jitender Kumar @ Joolie on 27th November, 2023. Initially, they were remanded to police custody. Their statements, under Section 27 of the Indian Evidence Act, were recorded. During investigation, their mobile phones were also taken into possession. 12.19. As per the status report, the record, from the Registrar of Companies, pertaining to QFX Company, was obtained, according to which, it was found that the applicant was Co-Director and authorized signatory, in five companies, alongwith main accused-Rajinder Kumar Sood, who is the husband of the applicant. The details of these companies are: (i) QFX Pragati Ka Sathi Foundation (ii) Q24 Live Private Limited (iii) Q Vegetal Pvt. Limited (iv) Sood Properties Private Limited (v) Sood Entertainment Private Limited 12.20. As per the stand of the police, in the bank accounts, of these five companies, of the applicant, there were transactions of crores of rupees. From the personal bank account of applicant-Neetu Devi, according to the police, with effect from 7th December, 2021 to 30th November, 2023, a sum of Rs. 92,51,046/- was deposited and a sum of Rs. 92,41,368/- was withdrawn. As such, she was arrested on 19th November, 2023 and was produced before the learned designated Court, from where, she was remanded to police custody. 12.21. During interrogation, she has disclosed that her husband, Rajinder Kumar Sood, has purchased a pent house, i.e. Flat No. 1303, Tower 4, Royal City Ziarkpur. The said premises was identified, from where, the applicant has got recovered copies of agreements, cheque book in the name of Director Vineet Kumar and a stamp of QFX Pragati Ka Sathi Foundation. Those articles were taken into possession. As per the documents, the pent house was purchased by the husband of the applicant, for a sum of Rs. 70,00,000/-. 12.22. As per the stand of the police, out of the arrested accused pers ons, Ramesh Chand, Chaman Lal, Jitender Kumar, Chander Mohan, Kewal Krishan and Dinesh Kumar Chopra have been released on bail, by this Court. 12.23. It is the further case of the police that the charge-sheet has been filed, before the Court of learned Special Judge, Shimla on 05.01.2024. 12.24. 12.23. It is the further case of the police that the charge-sheet has been filed, before the Court of learned Special Judge, Shimla on 05.01.2024. 12.24. Lastly, it has been apprehended that in case, the applicant is released on bail, she may affect or create hurdle in the investigation, as, she is the wife of main accused-Rajinder Kumar Sood. The applicant is Co- Director and authorized signatory in five companies. She has induced the people to invest in their company. 12.25. According to the police, the other three Directors, namely, Rajinder Kumar Sood (husband of applicant), Vineet Kumar and Santosh Kumar, have fled away from the country and in case, the applicant is released on bail, she may destroy the evidence and may allure the witnesses to depose in her favour. 13. On the basis of the above facts, a prayer has been made to dismiss the bail application. 14. In this case, apprehensions, which have been expressed by the police, are that her husband, Rajinder Kumar, along with two other directors, have fled away from the country. According to the police, in case, the applicant is also released, she may also be not available for the trial and allure the witnesses to depose in her favour. 15. The applicant has been arrested on 19.11.2023. Meaning thereby, more than two years have been elapsed and till date, the learned trial Special Judge, has not even framed the charges against the applicant. The print out of the case history, annexed with the application, shows that the case was listed for consideration on charge on twelve occasions. 16. Considering the fact that there are total 66 witnesses, which, certainly will take sufficient long time. Hence, keeping in view the fact that the applicant is in judicial custody, for the last more than two years, coupled with the fact that trial has not yet been commenced, this Court is of the view that the custody of the applicant would be nothing, but, pre-trial, punishment, which is prohibited under the law, as, the punishment can only be inflicted after full fledged trial. It is the golden principle of criminal jurisprudence that the accused is presumed to be innocent, until proven guilty. 17. It is the golden principle of criminal jurisprudence that the accused is presumed to be innocent, until proven guilty. 17. So far as the apprehension, which has been expressed by the police, qua the factum of absconding the husband of the applicant, along with two other directions, is concerned, for the alleged act of her husband, as well as, other two directors, the applicant cannot be penalized vicariously, as the status report is totally silent about the steps, taken by the Police to nab the above three persons. 18. Moreover, maximum punishment provided for the offences punishable under Section 420 is seven years and the applicant is in judicial custody for the last more than two years, as such, this Court is of the view that the applicant is able to make out a case for releasing her on bail. 18.1 Consequently, the applicant is ordered to be released on bail in case in case FIR No. 266 of 2023, dated 19th October, 2023, registered with Police Station Balh, District Mandi, H.P., under Sections 420 and 120-B of the IPC and Sections 21 and 23 of the Act, on her furnishing personal bail bond, in the sum of Rs.5,00,000/- with two sureties of the like amount, to the satisfaction of learned trial Court. This order, however, shall be subject to the following conditions: a) That the applicant shall regularly attend the trial Court on each and every date of hearing and if prevented by any reason to do so, seek exemption from appearance by filing appropriate application; b) That the applicant shall not tamper with the prosecution evidence nor hamper the investigation of the case in any manner whatsoever; c) That the applicant shall not make any inducement, threat or promises to any person acquainted with the facts of the case so as to dissuade them from disclosing such facts to the Court or the Police Officer; d) That the applicant shall not leave the territory of India without the prior permission of the Court. 18.2 Any of the observations, made hereinabove, shall not be taken as an expression of opinion, on the merits of the case, as these observations, are confined, only, to the disposal of the present bail application. 19. 18.2 Any of the observations, made hereinabove, shall not be taken as an expression of opinion, on the merits of the case, as these observations, are confined, only, to the disposal of the present bail application. 19. It is made clear that the respondent-State is at liberty to move an appropriate application, in case, any of the bail conditions, is found to be violated by the applicant. 20. The Registry is directed to forward a soft copy of the bail order to the Superintendent of Jail, Model Central Jail, Kanda, through e-mail, with a direction to enter the date of grant of bail in the e-prison software. 21. In case, the applicant is not released within a period of seven days from the date of grant of bail, the Superintendent of Jail, Model Central Jail, Kanda, is directed to inform this fact to the Secretary, DLSA, Shimla. The Superintendent of Jail, Model Central Jail, Kanda, is further directed that if the applicant fails to furnish the bail bonds, as per the order passed by this Court, within a period of one month from today, then, the said fact be submitted to this Court.