1 2025:CGHC:53674 NAFR HIGH COURT OF CHHATTISGARH AT BILASPUR MCRCA No. 1578 of 2025 1 - Rohit Singh Tomar S/o Late Omprakash Singh Tomar Aged About 31 Years R/o Villa, Colony Bhatagaon, Police Station Purani Basti, Raipur, District- Raipur, Chhattisgarh. 2 - Divyansh Singh Thakur S/o Anil Singh Aged About 25 Years R/o Village- Korra Kanjas, District- Pratapgarh, (U.P.). ... Applicants versus State Of Chhattisgarh Through- Station House Officer, Police Station Purani Basti, Raipur, District- Raipur, Chhattisgarh. ... Non-applicant For Applicants : Mr. S.C. Verma Senior Advocate with Mr. Sajal Kumar Gupta Advocate. For Non-applicant/State : Dr. Saurabh Pande, Dy. Adv. General and Mr. Jitendra Shirvastava, Govt. Advocate. Hon'ble Shri Ramesh Sinha, Chief Justice Order On Board 03.11.2025 1. The applicants have preferred the Second anticipatory bail application under Section 482 of the Bhartiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 for grant of Anticipatory Bail, apprehending their arrest in connection with Crime No.264/2025, registered at Police Station – Purani Basti, District – Raipur (C.G.) for the alleged commission of offence punishable under Sections 384, 506, 34 of BNS and Section 4 of the C.G. Protection of Debtors, Act 1937. VAIBHAV SINGH Digitally signed by VAIBHAV SINGH Date: 2025.11.06 19:42:22 +0530 2 2. The earlier bail application of the applicants have been rejected on merits by this Hon’ble Court vide order dated 19.09.2025 passed in MCRCA No. 1357 of 202 on technical ground. 3. The prosecution case, in brief, is that in connection with Crime No. 332/2025 registered at Police Station Telibandha, Raipur, the police had conducted a raid at the residence of absconding accused Rohit Singh Tomar for offences under Sections 296, 115(2), 351(2), and 3(5) of the BNS, 2023, and thereafter, during investigation, another offence came to light, leading to registration of Crime No. 264/2025 at Police Station Purani Basti, District Raipur, for offences under Sections 384, 506, 34 of the BNS and Section 4 of the Chhattisgarh Protection of Debtors Act, 1937. Upon alleged non-cooperation from the family members of the accused, a search warrant was obtained, and during the search conducted on 03.06.2025, various incriminating materials such as property documents, signed blank cheques, and stamp papers were seized. The investigation revealed that accused Rohit Singh Tomar, along with Virendra and Divyansh Tomar, was running an illegal money-lending racket wherein the accused persons advanced loans at exorbitant interest rates, compelled borrowers to sign blank documents, and upon default, threatened them and forced transfer of their properties at undervalued rates. It was further found that the interest amounts were funneled through accounts of their associates and family members to conceal the illegal transactions. On the basis of the material collected and statements of victims, a fresh FIR was registered against the present applicant and other co- accused persons, namely Shubhra Singh Tomar, Banti Sahare, Jitendra Dewangan, and Bhavna Tomar, for offences punishable under 3 Sections 308(2), 111(1) of the BNS, 2023, and Section 4 of the Chhattisgarh Protection of Debtors Act, 1937, and the investigation is still in progress. 4. Learned counsel for the applicants submits that the applicant are innocent and have been falsely implicated in the instant case and has not committed any offence as alleged by the complainant. The nephew of the applicant possesses a valid money lender’s license issued by the competent authority, a copy of which is annexed as Annexure A/6, and therefore the invocation of Section 4 of the Chhattisgarh Protection of Debtors Act, 1937, is wholly misconceived. There is a high possibility of delay in trial, and the continued incarceration of the applicant will serve no fruitful purpose. No incriminating evidence or material is available against the applicant except for the alleged statement recorded during the investigation of Crime No. 332/2025, on the basis of which the present false implication has been made. The applicant has been implicated only to harass him and his family members and to exert undue pressure upon them, without there being any material to show his involvement or conspiracy with the co-accused in the alleged offence. The entire investigation appears to be motivated, malicious, and politically influenced, carried out to satisfy the ego and directions of certain highly placed officials and political persons of the State. The police authorities have also allegedly acted in a barbaric and unconstitutional manner by torturing the wife of the applicant and humiliating the family members without any legal justification, even though the alleged offence in the first Crime No. 332/2025 was bailable in nature. Every procedure of law has been grossly violated, and the entire family of 4 the applicant has been falsely roped in by the police. Considering the peculiar facts and circumstances of the case, the applicant humbly prays that a proper investigation be conducted under the supervision of this Hon’ble Court. The applicants are ready and willing to cooperate fully with the investigation and to abide by all conditions and directions that may be imposed by this Hon’ble Court, hence, he prays to enlarge the applicants on bail. 5. On the other hand, learned State counsel opposes the anticipatory bail application of the present applicants and submits that after recovery of incriminating articles, efforts were made to trace the applicants, however, despite best efforts, they could not be found, and the investigation is still in progress. He further submits that the bail application and submits that the applicant, along with other co- accused persons, is involved in running an organized illegal money- lending racket. During the raid, incriminating materials such as property documents and signed blank cheques were seized, indicating the applicant’s active role. It is further submitted that the accused exploited borrowers by charging exorbitant rates of interest and coercing them to transfer their properties. He further submits that applicant No. 1 Rohit Singh Tomar has 16 criminal antecedents, the particulars of which are mentioned as under:- S. No. Crime No. / Year Police Station Sections Invoked Current Status / Remarks 1 189/2015 Kotwali, Raipur Sections 376, 294, 506, 377 IPC Charge-sheet filed vide Challan No. 194/15 dated 23.08.2015; Criminal Case No. 14318/2015 5 S. No. Crime No. / Year Police Station Sections Invoked Current Status / Remarks registered. 2 302/2016 Kotwali, Raipur Sections 323, 506, 34 IPC Charge-sheet filed vide Challan No. 266/16 dated 17.12.2016; Criminal Case No. 23613/2016 registered. 3 288/2017 Purani Basti, Raipur Sections 294, 506, 34 IPC — 4 56/2018 Rajendr a Nagar, Raipur Sections 294, 323, 506, 34 IPC Charge-sheet filed (details mentioned above in chart). 5 121/2018 Purani Basti, Raipur Sections 386, 507 IPC Charge-sheet filed vide Challan No. 75/18 dated 27.05.2018; Criminal Case No. 3044/2018 registered. 6 215/2019 Kotwali, Raipur Sections 327, 384, 506-B, 34 IPC Charge-sheet filed vide Challan No. 178/19 dated 14.06.2019; Criminal Case No. 5967/2019 registered. 7 216/2019 Kotwali, Raipur Sections 384, 327, 323, 294, 506-B, 34 IPC Charge-sheet filed vide Challan No. 181/19 dated 19.06.2019; Criminal Case No. 6115/2019 registered. 8 124/2019 Kabir Nagar, Raipur Sections 384, 34 IPC Charge-sheet filed vide Challan No. 194/15 dated 23.08.2015; (also referred above). 9 134/2019 Devend ra Nagar, Raipur Sections 384, 34 IPC Charge-sheet filed vide Challan No. 155/19 dated 30.11.2019; Criminal Case No. 12808/2019 6 S. No. Crime No. / Year Police Station Sections Invoked Current Status / Remarks registered. (Earlier Case No. 14318/2015 also registered.) 10 154/2023 Purani Basti, Raipur Sections 294, 323, 506 IPC — 11 93/2024 Teliban dha, Raipur Sections 427, 307, 34 IPC Charge-sheet filed vide Challan No. 144/24 dated 31.03.2024; Criminal Case No. 6832/2024 registered. 12 332/2025 Teliban dha, Raipur Sections 296, 115(2), 351(2) BNS — 13 230/2025 Purani Basti, Raipur Sections 308(2), 111(1) BNS and Section 4 of the Chhattisgarh Protection of Debtors Act, 1937 — 14 231/2025 Purani Basti, Raipur Sections 308(2), 111(1) BNS and Section 4 of the Chhattisgarh Protection of Debtors Act, 1937 — 15 253/2025 Purani Basti, Raipur Sections 294, 506, 34 IPC — 16 264/2025 Purani Sections 384, — 7 S. No. Crime No. / Year Police Station Sections Invoked Current Status / Remarks Basti, Raipur 506, 34 IPC and Section 4 of the Chhattisgarh Protection of Debtors Act, 1937 6. Learned counsel for the State further submits that the applicant No. 1 is habitual offenders and during the investigation, it was revealed through the District Magistrate, Raipur, that the arms licences issued to applicant No. 1 and co-accused Rohit Tomar were cancelled in 2013 due to their involvement in criminal activities. Hence, there exists prima facie material against the applicants, and since the matter is still under investigation, they are not entitled to the grant of anticipatory bail. 7. I have heard learned counsel for the parties and perused the case diary. 8. Considering the facts and circumstances of the case, the submissions of the learned counsel for the parties, the nature of the dispute, and the material available in the case diary, it is noted that applicant No. 2 Divyansh Singh has already been granted regular bail by this Hon’ble Court in MCRC No.6198/2025 vide order dated 19.09.2025, without expressing any opinion on the merits of the case, I am inclined to grant anticipatory bail to the present applicant. 8 9. Accordingly, the instant MCRCA is allowed and it is directed that in the event of arrest of the applicant No.2. – Divyansh Singh Thakur, on executing a personal bond and one surety in the like sum to the satisfaction of the arresting Officer, he 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. 10. So far as the bail application filed by applicant No. 1 Rohit Singh Tomar, is concerned, on perusal of the case diary, it appears that the applicant, along with other co-accused persons, was involved in running an organized illegal money-lending racket. During the course of investigation in connection with Crime No. 332/2025 and Crime No. 264/2025, incriminating materials such as property documents, signed blank cheques, and stamp papers were seized from the possession of the accused persons, which prima facie indicate his active involvement in the alleged illegal activities. The investigation further reveals that the accused were advancing loans at exorbitant rates of interest, compelling borrowers to sign blank documents, and thereafter coercing them to 9 transfer their properties at undervalued rates. It has also come on record that applicant No. 1, Rohit Singh Tomar, has 16 criminal antecedents, as mentioned above, including five cases of similar nature registered against him. Moreover, the arms licence issued to the applicant was cancelled by the District Magistrate, Raipur, in the year 2013 on account of his involvement in criminal activities. Considering the gravity of the offence, the nature of the allegations, and the fact that the investigation is still in progress, this Court does not find it proper to grant the benefit of anticipatory bail to applicant No. 1. 11. Accordingly, the bail application filed on behalf of applicant No.1, Rohit Singh Tomar is, rejected. Sd/- (Ramesh Sinha) Chief Justice vaibhav