1 CGHC010207852026 2026:CGHC:28994 NAFR HIGH COURT OF CHHATTISGARH AT BILASPUR MCRC No. 4924 of 2026 Jaiprakash Sriwas S/o Santosh Sriwas Aged About 28 Years R/o Village Kuriyari, P.S. Shivrinarayan, District Janjgir-Champa, Chhattisgarh. ... Applicant(s) versus State Of Chhattisgarh Through S.H.O. P.S. City Kotwali Balodabazar, District Balodabazar-Bhatapara, Chhattisgarh. ... Non-Applicant(s) For Applicant : Mr. Ravindra Sharma, Advocate. For Non-Applicant/State : Mr. Nitansh Jaiswal, Dy. Govt. Advocate. Hon’ble Shri Ramesh Sinha, Chief Justice Order on Board 10.07.2026 1 This is the first bail application filed under Section 483 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 for grant of regular bail to the applicant who has been arrested in connection with Crime No.381/2026, registered at Police Station – City Kotwali Baloda Bazar, District – Baloda Bazar-Bhatapara (C.G.) for the offences punishable under Sections 318(4), 319(2) of the B.N.S., 2023 and Section 66(D) of the Information Technology Act. 2 Case of the prosecution, in brief, is that on the basis of the complaint received from the Police Headquarters, Nava Raipur KUNAL DEWANGAN Digitally signed by KUNAL DEWANGAN 2 regarding suspected mule bank accounts being used in cyber fraud cases, an inquiry was conducted in respect of Bank Account No. 12511100008495 maintained with DCB Bank. During the inquiry, it was found that the said bank account was held in the name of the present applicant, namely Jai Prakash Shrivas, and during the period from 01.02.2024 to 31.01.2025, suspicious transactions amounting to ₹1,00,02,99,000/- were found to have been carried out through the said account. It was further revealed that the said transactions were connected with 07 different online cyber fraud cases registered in various parts of the country having different acknowledgement numbers on the National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal. On the basis of the aforesaid facts, Crime No.381/2026 was registered at Police Station City Kotwali Baloda Bazar against the present applicant for the aforesaid offences and investigation was commenced. During the course of investigation, it was alleged that the applicant had provided his bank account to the co-accused persons for the purpose of receiving and transferring the proceeds of cyber fraud and had facilitated the commission of the alleged offence. 3 Learned counsel for the applicant submits that the present applicant is innocent and has been falsely implicated in the present case. He submits that the applicant has not committed any offence as alleged and has no role in the alleged cyber fraud transaction. He further submits that the applicant has been implicated only on the basis of the allegation that his bank account bearing Account No. 12511100008495 was used for receiving certain amounts related to 3 online fraud transactions. It is contended that the applicant had opened the said bank account and due to financial hardship, the same was handed over to the co-accused persons for a small monetary consideration of about Rs.5,000/- to Rs.10,000/-. He further submits that the applicant had no knowledge regarding the alleged fraudulent activities being carried out through the said account and he has not received any amount from the alleged cyber fraud transactions. Learned counsel further submits that no incriminating article or amount has been seized from the possession of the present applicant and there is no direct evidence available on record to establish his involvement in the alleged offence. He further submits that the applicant is in judicial custody since 06.05.2026 and the investigation has substantially been completed therefore, no further custodial interrogation of the applicant is required. Therefore, considering the period of detention and the aforesaid facts and circumstances, learned counsel prays that the applicant may be enlarged on regular bail. 4 On the other hand, learned State Counsel appearing for the State opposes the bail application and submits that sufficient material is available on record to prima facie establish the involvement of the present applicant in the alleged offence. He submits that during investigation it was found that the bank account bearing Account No. 12511100008495, belonging to the present applicant, was being used as a mule account for routing proceeds of cyber fraud. He further submits that a huge amount of Rs.1,00,02,999/- was found to have been transacted through the said account during the 4 period from 01.02.2024 to 31.01.2025 and the said transactions are linked with seven different online fraud cases from various parts of the country. He further submits that the applicant had deliberately provided his bank account to the co-accused persons for commission of cyber fraud and received commission in lieu thereof. Considering the nature and gravity of the offence involving large- scale cyber fraud and the huge amount involved, learned State Counsel prays for rejection of the bail application. 5 I have heard learned counsel appearing for the parties and perused the case diary. 6 Taking into consideration the facts and circumstances of the case, nature and gravity of the allegations levelled against the present applicant, material available on record and the fact that the bank account of the applicant bearing Account No. 12511100008495 was found to have been used for routing proceeds of cyber fraud, wherein a huge amount of Rs.1,00,02,999/- was transacted within a period of one year and the said transactions are connected with seven online fraud cases from different parts of the country, this Court is of the considered view that the allegations against the applicant are serious in nature. The contention of the learned counsel for the applicant that the account was provided only for a small consideration of Rs.5,000/- to Rs.10,000/- and that he had no knowledge regarding the transactions cannot be accepted at this stage, as the investigation has revealed suspicious and substantial financial transactions through the said account. The offence alleged involves organized cyber fraud affecting several victims and huge 5 financial transactions, which cannot be viewed lightly. Therefore, considering the nature and gravity of the offence and the material collected during investigation, this Court is not inclined to enlarge the applicant on bail. 7 Accordingly, the bail application of the applicant – Jaiprakash Sriwas, involved in Crime No.381/2026, registered at Police Station – City Kotwali Baloda Bazar, District – Baloda Bazar- Bhatapara (C.G.) for the offences punishable under Sections 318(4), 319(2) of the B.N.S., 2023 and Section 66(D) of the Information Technology Act, is rejected. 8 Needless to say that the trial Court concerned is at liberty to proceed and conclude the trial expeditiously. 9 Office is directed to send a certified copy of this order to the trial Court concerned for necessary information and compliance forthwith. Sd/- (Ramesh Sinha) Chief Justice Kunal