1 CGHC010283392026 2026:CGHC:36638 NAFR HIGH COURT OF CHHATTISGARH AT BILASPUR MCRC No. 6659 of 2026 Ayush Sahu S/o Heeralal Sahu Aged About 23 Years R/o Village- Kailashpur Police Station And Tahsil Ramanujnagar District- Surajpur (C.G.) ... Applicant(s) versus State Of Chhattisgarh Through- The Station House O0cer, Police Of Police Station Surajpur, District- Surajpur (C.G.) ... Non-Applicant(s) For Applicant : Mr. Anil Kumar Gulati, Advocate. For Non-Applicant/State : Ms. Ankita Shukla, Panel Lawyer. Hon’ble Shri Ramesh Sinha, Chief Justice Order on Board 17.08.2026 1 This is the 9rst bail application 9led 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. 329/2025 registered at Police Station Surajpur, District Surajpur (C.G.), for the o=ences punishable under Sections 317(4), 318(2), 61(2)(A) and 3(5) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023. 2 As per the prosecution story in brief is that, on 04.07.2025, on the KUNAL DEWANGAN Digitally signed by KUNAL DEWANGAN 2 basis of the amount received in di=erent-di=erent bank accounts, a letter was written by the Joint Cyber Crime Coordination Team Management Information System to take appropriate action against the concerned persons, who received the amount of cyber fraud and on the basis of the said letter, Police Station Surajpur, District Surajpur registered the crime against the applicant. During the course of investigation, the police recorded the memorandum statement of the applicant and after completion of investigation, 9led the charge-sheet. In his memorandum statement, the applicant stated that he came into contact in the year 2025 with three persons, namely Jeju Das @ Tejbal Das, Akshat Agrawal and Priyanshi Singh, who asked the applicant to provide the account details and the same were to be used for the purposes of gaming. On being asked by the said persons, the applicant convinced other persons to open the accounts and thereafter handed over the said accounts to Tejbal Das. In lieu thereof, the applicant received Rs.8,000/- per account and in total received an amount of Rs.30,000/-. Upon such basis, the aforesaid crime has been registered against the applicant along with co-accused. 3 Learned counsel for the applicant submits that the applicant is innocent and has been falsely implicated in the present case. It is submitted that the applicant has not acted in the manner as alleged by the prosecution. It is further submitted that the applicant was arrested on 23.04.2025 in respect of another Crime No.40/2025 registered at Police Station Balrampur and thereafter, by way of production warrant, he was arrested in the present case on 3 12.01.2026. Learned counsel further submits that, apart from the memorandum statement of the applicant, nothing has been seized from his possession and only that part of the memorandum which leads to discovery of a fact is admissible in evidence. It is also submitted that the total fraudulent amount involved in the present case is stated to be Rs.11,91,247/-, whereas the said amount was admittedly not transferred into the bank account of the applicant. It is further submitted that the applicant is in custody since 12.01.2026, the charge-sheet has already been 9led and the trial is likely to take considerable time. He also submits that so far as the criminal antecedents of the applicant are concerned, he has two criminal antecedents of similar nature out of which in one case he has been acquitted and one case is still pending. On these grounds, he prays that the applicant may kindly be enlarged on regular bail. 4 On the other hand, learned State counsel appearing for the respondent/State opposes the bail application and submits that, during the course of investigation, details of various bank accounts were obtained, revealing multiple transactions involving substantial amounts of money routed through di=erent accounts procured by the accused from several account holders. It is submitted that the applicant, in his memorandum statement, disclosed that the bank accounts were handed over to his associates, namely Tejbal Das @ jeju, Akshat Agrawal and Priyanshi Singh. It is further submitted that the investigation revealed that the applicant facilitated cyber fraud syndicates by procuring and providing bank accounts for unlawful 9nancial gain. Learned State counsel further submits that 4 multiple suspicious transactions have been detected through the accounts connected with the applicant and that cyber-crime complaints from di=erent States have also surfaced during investigation. She further submits that the applicant has two criminal antecedents of similar nature, however, one case resulted into acquittal but one case is still pending, as such he is a habitual o=ender, he is not entitled for grant of bail. 5 In compliance of the Court's order dated 24.07.2026, the concerned Investigating O0cer has 9led his a0davit disclosing the evidence collected during the course of investigation. It has been stated therein that during investigation, details of various bank accounts were obtained and multiple transactions amounting to a substantial amount were found to have been routed through di=erent accounts procured by the accused from several account holders. It is further stated that the applicant Ayush Sahu was brought on production warrant from District Jail, Ramanujganj to District Surajpur and his memorandum statement was recorded, wherein he disclosed that the said bank accounts were handed over to his associates, namely Tejbal Das @ Teju, Akshat Agrawal and Priyanshu Singh. The Investigating O0cer has further stated that the applicant facilitated cyber fraud syndicates operating across various States by providing such bank accounts for unlawful 9nancial gain. It is further stated in the a0davit that the co-accused persons were traced during further investigation, however, due to incomplete particulars furnished by the applicant, the identity and whereabouts of Akshat Agrawal and Priyanshu Singh could not be ascertained, whereas co-accused 5 Tejbal Das @ Teju could not be apprehended despite best e=orts and is absconding. An absconding panchnama has also been prepared in that regard. The Investigating O0cer has further disclosed that, upon detailed analysis of the mule accounts, multiple transactions were found through the bank accounts of di=erent account holders and the total amount involved in such transactions was found to be approximately Rs.29,78,747/-, which was subsequently withdrawn/transferred in a suspicious manner. It is further stated that the prima facie involvement of the applicant was found in luring account holders and misusing their bank accounts for routing proceeds of cyber fraud. Details of multiple cyber-crime complaints registered in di=erent States have also been placed on record. 6 I have heard learned counsel for the parties and perused the case diary and the a0davit 9led by the Investigating O0cer. 7 Considering the submissions of learned counsel for the parties, the material available on record and the nature of allegations, this Court 9nds that the allegations against the applicant are not con9ned merely to receipt of a particular amount in his own bank account. The investigation prima facie indicates that the applicant was involved in procuring bank accounts and handing over the same to his associates for their alleged use in cyber fraud transactions and that he received 9nancial consideration for providing such accounts. The memorandum statement of the applicant itself, as relied upon by the prosecution, refers to his contact with the co-accused 6 persons and handing over of bank accounts to them in lieu of monetary consideration. It is also signi9cant that, as disclosed in the a0davit of the Investigating O0cer, the investigation has revealed multiple suspicious transactions involving substantial amounts through various bank accounts and the applicant's alleged role in facilitating the routing of proceeds of cyber fraud. The investigation has further revealed cyber-crime complaints registered in di=erent States and one of the co-accused persons is still absconding. Thus, at this stage, the role attributed to the applicant cannot be brushed aside merely on the ground that the entire fraudulent amount was not directly credited into his personal account. The submission regarding the evidentiary value of the memorandum statement and the absence of recovery from the physical possession of the applicant are matters which can appropriately be considered during the course of trial. At this stage, this Court is required to examine the prima facie material available against the applicant and the overall nature and gravity of the allegations. Considering the nature of the alleged o=ence, the manner in which the bank accounts were allegedly procured and utilised, the substantial amount involved in the transactions, the involvement of other associates and the fact that one of the co-accused is absconding and the applicant has two criminal antecedents of similar nature, however, one case resulted into acquittal, this Court is of the considered view that the applicant is not entitled to the bene9t of regular bail at this stage. 8 Accordingly, the bail application of the applicant – Ayush Sahu, involved in Crime No. 329/2025 registered at Police Station 7 Surajpur, District Surajpur (C.G.), for the o=ences punishable under Sections 317(4), 318(2), 61(2)(A) and 3(5) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023, is rejected. 9 Needless to say that the trial Court concerned is at liberty to proceed and conclude the trial expeditiously. 10 O0ce is directed to send a certi9ed copy of this order to the trial Court concerned for necessary information and compliance forthwith. Sd/- (Ramesh Sinha) Chief Justice Kunal