1 CGHC010138072026 2026:CGHC:30216 NAFR HIGH COURT OF CHHATTISGARH AT BILASPUR MCRC No. 3217 of 2026 Vijay Kumar Ahke, S/o Late Shri Atar Singh Ahke, Aged About 43 Years Resident of 108/9-A Shukla Colony Partapur Road Bhairavganj P.S. and District- Seoni (M.P.) Presently Residing At - House No.94 Sewing Park, Avanti Vihar P.S. Telibandha District- Raipur (C.G.) ... Applicant versus State of Chhattisgarh Through- Station House Officer, Economic Offences Wing (EOW) Anti Corruption Bureau (ACB) Raipur District- Raipur (C.G.) ... Non-Applicant For Applicant : Mr. Pragalbha Sharma, Advocate. For Non-Applicant/State : Mr. Sumit Singh, Deputy Advocate General. Hon’ble Mr. Ramesh Sinha, Chief Justice Order on Board 16.07.2026 1. This is the first bail application filed under Section 483 of the BNSS for grant of regular bail to the applicant who has been arrested in connection with Crime No. 67/2025 registered at Police Station – ACB/EOW, Raipur District- Raipur (C.G.) for the offence punishable under Sections 316(5), 318(4), 338, 336(6), and 340(2) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), 2023, and Section 13(1)(a) read with Section 13(2) of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988 (as amended in 2018). 2. As per the prosecution case, a written complaint was lodged by Shri Praveen Anil Kandulna, Chief Manager, State Bank of India (SBI), PREETI KUMARI Digitally signed by PREETI KUMARI Date: 2026.07.16 16:05:06 +0530 2 Specialised Currency Administration Branch (SCAB), Byron Bazar, Raipur. It is alleged that the applicant, while posted as the Chief Branch Manager at SCAB, Raipur, misused his official position and misappropriated public funds amounting to Rs. 2,78,25,491.96/- between 28.08.2024 and 11.06.2025. It is alleged that he manipulated the Branch General Ledger (BGL) internal accounts, namely, the Suspense Adhoc, Suspense Others, and ATM Access Cash accounts, by generating forged computer-based "Queue" transactions in the Core Banking System and processing them in Batch Mode. To evade the bank's High Value Transfer Web-Based Alert system, each transaction was allegedly kept below Rs. 5,00,000/-, and to avoid detection under the 30-day reconciliation mechanism, old entries were allegedly rolled over by altering their dates and nature. It is further alleged that, through 74 such transactions, the applicant transferred the misappropriated funds to the SBI account of his wife, Smt. Preeti Marskole, without her knowledge, after linking his own mobile number to her account to receive OTPs. One transaction was also allegedly credited to his own salary account. Thereafter, the applicant allegedly transferred the funds to his personal HDFC Bank account and invested the entire amount in the share market, including cryptocurrency through Delta Exchange and commodities/options through the Dhan App. According to the prosecution, although the applicant subsequently deposited Rs. 18,47,768/- back into the SCAB BGL account, the bank suffered a net financial loss of Rs. 2,59,77,724.96/-. 3. Learned counsel for the applicant submits that the applicant has been falsely implicated in the present case. It is further submitted that the charge-sheet has been filed. It is also submitted that the entire case of the prosecution rests on documentary and electronic evidence, including server logs, vouchers, and bank statements. All relevant laptops, mobile 3 phones, and physical vouchers have already been seized by the EOW. Hence, there is no possibility of the applicant tampering with the evidence. further, the prosecution has listed 31 witnesses in the charge-sheet, till date no prosecution witness has been examined. He also submits that the applicant has no previous criminal antecedents, and the applicant has been in judicial custody since 18.12.2025. Since the conclusion of the trial is likely to take considerable time, it is prayed that the applicant be enlarged on regular bail. 4. On the other hand, learned State counsel opposes the prayer for grant of bail to the applicant and submits that the charge-sheet has already been filed. He further submits that as per the material available on record, the allegation against the applicant/accused is that, while posted as the Chief Manager at the Specialised Currency Administration Branch (SCAB), State Bank of India, Byron Bazar, Raipur, he misled his subordinate staff and prepared forged Queue (Q) entries in the BGL account of SCAB. In batch mode, he inserted his wife's bank account along with various legitimate accounts, thereby causing government/public funds to be transferred into his wife's bank account. Thereafter, he linked his own mobile number to the said account and, through net banking, transferred the amount to his own account maintained with HDFC Bank. It is alleged that he subsequently invested the entire amount in the share market, thereby causing a financial loss of more than Rs.2.5 crore to the SCAB Branch, Byron Bazar. Having regard to the position held by the applicant/accused at the relevant time, the facts and circumstances of the case, and the nature and gravity of the offence, the applicant is not entitled for grant of bail. Therefore, it is prayed that the bail application of the applicant be rejected. 5. I have heard learned counsel for the parties and perused all of the 4 documents taken on record. 6. Considering the facts and circumstances of the case, the submissions advanced by learned counsel for the parties, and upon perusal of the case diary and other material available on record, this Court finds that the applicant, while posted as the Chief Manager of the Specialised Currency Administration Branch (SCAB), State Bank of India, Byron Bazar, Raipur, is alleged to have misappropriated public funds exceeding Rs.2.5 crore by abusing his official position, the allegations pertain to a serious bank fraud involving the misuse of public money, having regard to the nature and gravity of the offence and the prima-facie material available on record, this Court is not inclined to extend the benefit of bail to the applicant. Accordingly, the bail application deserves to be and is hereby rejected. 7. Accordingly the bail application of the applicant, namely, Vijay Kumar Ahke involved in Crime No. 67/2025 registered at Police Station – ACB/EOW, Raipur District- Raipur (C.G.) for the offence punishable under Sections 316(5), 318(4), 338, 336(6), and 340(2) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), 2023, and Section 13(1)(a) read with Section 13(2) of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988 (as amended in 2018), 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. Sd/- (Ramesh Sinha) Chief Justice Preeti