38 ba 855 of 2026.odt IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT BOMBAY CRIMINAL APPELLATE JURISDICTION BAIL APPLICATION NO. 855 OF 2026 Akash Vinayak Bhure Age : 59 years, Occu.:---- Residing at Nanekarwadi, Taluka – Khed, Chakan, Pimpari Chinchwad, District : Pune. (The Applicant at present in Yerwada Jail, Pune) .. Applicant Versus The State of Maharashtra Through Investigating Officer In C.R. No. 0755 of 2023, registered with Chakan Police Station, Pimpari Chinchwad, Pune. .. Respondent ....................  Mr. Chaitanya Mulawkar a/w. Mr. Nilesh Waghmode, Advocate for Applicant.  Mr. Amit A. Palkar, A.P.P. for the Respondent – State.  Mr. Akshay Munjaji Mote, PSI Chakan South Police Station, present. ................… CORAM : MILIND N. JADHAV, J. DATE : AUGUST 11, 2026 P. C. : 1. Heard Mr. Maulawkar learned Advocate for the Applicant and Mr. Palkar, learned APP for the Respondent – State. 1 of 5 RAJESHRI PRAKASH AHER Digitally signed by RAJESHRI PRAKASH AHER Date: 2026.08.12 15:44:23 +0530 38 ba 855 of 2026.odt 2. The Applicant is arraigned as Accused No.3. The case of the prosecution stems on the fact that the complainant was accosted by Accused Nos. 1, 2, 4, 5 and 6, two days prior to the actual incident and Rs. 20,000/- was robbed from the complainant; that is what the complainant has stated in the First Information Report (“FIR”, for short). Two days thereafter, he received a call from Accused Nos. 3 and 4 seeking an extortion demand of Rs. 1 crore. When the complainant interacted and responded to them and informed that he did not have that much amount, he was threatened with dire consequences and threats. Therefore, the complainant agreed to arrange and give them Rs.12 lakhs. However, in the meanwhile, complainant approached the law enforcement agencies and the police thereafter set up a trap to nab the accused persons. 3. The complainant informed Accused Nos. 3 and 4 that he would drop the money in the dustbin of an ATM in the nearby area, as informed by them, and the same could be collected by them. When this modus operandi was executed, Accused No.3, namely Akash Bhure, who is the Applicant before this Court, was asked by the other accused persons to go and collect the said bag from the dustbin of the ATM. When he approached the ATM, at that time, Accused No. 3 was 2 of 5 38 ba 855 of 2026.odt nabbed, and he disclosed the name of Accused No. 1 being the person who had orchestrated the aforesaid crime and told him to retrieve the bag. Thereafter, all the other accused persons were also apprehended. 4. The role attributed to the Applicant before the Court was to the extent of he having gone to collect the plastic bag of money, which was dropped into the dustbin of the ATM. That apart, the learned Advocate has also drawn my attention to the fact that Accused Nos. 3 and 4, who had principally made the extortion calls over a period of more than two days and, thereafter, attempted to kidnap the Complainant for one and half hours and kept him in an open field, have already been released on bail. Their bail orders are placed before the Court. Three of the other accused persons have been released by this Court, whereas one them has been released by the trial Court. Applicant has no antecedents. Prima facie, it is seen that the role of the present Applicant is far lesser than that of Accused Nos. 3 and 4, who have already been released on bail. In that view of the matter, an arguable case is made out by the learned Advocate for Applicant for grant of present Application on parity. The Application stands allowed. The Applicant is therefore released on bail. 5. In view of the above the following order is passed:- 3 of 5 38 ba 855 of 2026.odt :: O R D E R :: (i) Applicant is directed to be immediately released from prison in connection with Crime No. 0755 of 2023; (ii) Applicant is directed to be released on bail on furnishing P.R. Bond of Rs. 50,000/- (Rs. Fifty Thousand only), with one surety of the like amount; (iii) Applicant shall report to the Investigating Officer at Chakan Police Station, once every month on the first Monday between 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.; (iv) Applicant shall co-operate with the conduct of trial and attend the Trial Court on all dates, unless specifically exempted and will not take any unnecessary adjournments, if he does so, it will entitle the prosecution to apply for revocation of this order; (v) Applicant shall not leave the State of Maharashtra without prior permission of the Trial Court; (vi) Applicant shall not influence any of the witnesses or tamper with the evidence in any manner; (vii) Applicant shall keep the Investigating Officer informed of his current address and mobile contact number and / or change of residence or mobile details, if any, from time to time, as applicable; and 4 of 5 38 ba 855 of 2026.odt (viii) Any infraction of the conditions shall entail cancellation of bail granted to the Applicant. 6. Bail Application is allowed and disposed of in the above terms. Rajeshri Aher [ MILIND N. JADHAV, J. ] 5 of 5