1 CGHC010278622026 2026:CGHC:31221 NAFR HIGH COURT OF CHHATTISGARH AT BILASPUR M.Cr.C(A) No.1152 of 2026 Dharmendra Kumar S/o Bheekham Sahu Aged About 34 Years R/o Ward No. 19 Kandul Tahsil And District- Balod (C.G.) ... Applicant versus State Of Chhattisgarh Through The SHO Somni District Rajnandgaon (C.G.) ... Non-applicant For Applicant : Mr. Avinash Chandu Sahu, Advocate. For Non-applicant/State : Mr. Sumit Singh, Dy. A.G. Hon'ble Shri Ramesh Sinha, Chief Justice Order On Board 22.07.2026 1. The Applicant has preferred this 2nd anticipatory bail application under Section 482 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 for grant of Anticipatory Bail, apprehending his arrest in connection with Crime No.72/2025, registered at Police Station – Somni, District SISTLA NEELIMA VISHNU PRIYA Digitally signed by SISTLA NEELIMA VISHNU PRIYA Date: 2026.07.23 10:57:09 +0530 2 Rajnandgaon (C.G.) for alleged commission of offence punishable under Sections 318(4), 319(2), 336(3), 338, 340(2) and 61(2) of BNS. 1st application was rejected on merits vide order dated 29.04.2025 passed in M.Cr.C(A) No.602/2025. 2. As per the prosecution case, on the basis of a written complaint lodged by Naresh Kumar Agrawal at Police Station Somni, the present FIR was registered. It is alleged that the complainant is the owner and in possession of agricultural land situated at Village Indawani, Patwari Halka No.60, District Rajnandgaon, comprising four khasra numbers having total area of 1.2530 hectares, which was purchased by him through registered sale deeds dated 03.11.2011, 28.02.2012 and 10.11.2014 and his name was duly recorded in the revenue records. It is alleged that subsequently, the complainant came to know that one person namely Sanjay Kumar, impersonating himself as Naresh Kumar Agrawal, prepared a forged Aadhaar card and in connivance with the present Applicant, fabricated a loan book bearing No.395793 and obtained forged signatures and seals of the Tahsildar on revenue documents, showing the complainant's land as his own. It is further alleged that the said accused, along with Rakesh Jain and Rakesh Kumar Mishra, impersonated the 3 complainant and entered into an agreement to sell the said land on 07.03.2025 before witnesses and received an amount of Rs.5,00,000/- towards consideration. Accordingly, the present offence has been registered regarding alleged impersonation, forgery and cheating in respect of the complainant's agricultural land against the present Applicant. Hence, this application. 3. Learned Counsel for the Applicant submits that the Applicant is innocent and has been falsely implicated in the present case. It is contended that the name of the Applicant has surfaced only on the basis of the memorandum statement of the co-accused and there is no allegation that the Applicant prepared any forged document, executed any agreement to sell, or received any amount from any person. It is further submitted that the alleged agreement to sell was executed by the co-accused and the Applicant has neither signed any document nor played any role in the alleged transaction. It is argued that the land in question has not been sold to any person and the dispute is essentially civil in nature. It is also submitted that the main accused namely Sanjay Kumar, has already been granted regular bail by this Court in M.Cr.C. No.6608/2025 vide order dated 21.08.2025 and the trial is likely to take quite considerable time for its conclusion, 4 therefore, the present Applicant may be granted the benefit of anticipatory bail. 4. On the other hand, learned State Counsel opposes the application. 5. I have heard learned counsel for the parties and perused the material available on record. 6. Considering the submissions advanced by learned Counsel for the parties, the material available in the case diary, the nature of allegations, the fact that the Applicant's name has surfaced during the course of investigation and the allegation that he acted in connivance with the co-accused in preparing forged documents relating to the complainant's land, the fact that the allegations involve forgery and cheating concerning valuable immovable property and further considering that the present is a second bail application and no substantial change in circumstances has been pointed out after rejection of the earlier bail application on merits, investigation is still going on and without further commenting anything on the merits of the case, this Court is not inclined to grant bail to the Applicant. 5 7. Accordingly, the Anticipatory Bail application of the Applicant – Dharmendra Kumar, filed under Section 482 of the BNSS, 2023 in connection with Crime No.72/2025, registered at Police Station – Somni, District Rajnandgaon (C.G.) for alleged commission of offence punishable under Sections 318(4), 319(2), 336(3), 338, 340(2) and 61(2) of BNS, is hereby rejected. 8. Office is directed to provide a certified copy of this order to the trial Court concerned for necessary information. Sd/- (Ramesh Sinha) Chief Justice Priya