1 CGHC010330382026 2026:CGHC:38375 NAFR HIGH COURT OF CHHATTISGARH AT BILASPUR MCRCA No.1421 of 2026 Lalbihari Yadav S/o Shri Ramnath Yadav Aged About 26 Years Occupation Service, Supervisor, Composite Liquor Shop, Wadrafnagar, Distt. Balrampur Ramanujganj, Chhattisgarh, R/o Village Premnagar, P.S. Basantpur, Distt. Balrampur Ramanujganj, Chhattisgarh. ... Applicant versus State Of Chhattisgarh Through Police Station Basantpur, Distt. Balrampur Ramanujganj, Chhattisgarh. .... Non-applicant For Applicant : Mr. Akath Kumar Yadav, Advocate. For Non-applicant/State : Mr. SS Baghel, G.A. Hon'ble Shri Ramesh Sinha, Chief Justice Order On Board 31.08.2026 1. The Applicant has preferred this anticipatory bail application under Section 482 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 for grant of Anticipatory Bail, apprehending his SISTLA NEELIMA VISHNU PRIYA Digitally signed by SISTLA NEELIMA VISHNU PRIYA Date: 2026.09.01 11:35:58 +0530 2 arrest in connection with Crime No.105/2026, registered at Police Station – Basantpur, District Balrampur Ramanujganj (C.G.) for alleged commission of offences punishable under Sections 316(5) and 318(4) of BNS. 2. As per the case of prosecution, complainant Abhishek Rajwade, Shop In-charge, CSD Wadrafnagar, conducted physical verification of the liquor stock and related records of the Composite Liquor Shop, Wadrafnagar, for the period from 01.05.2026 to 19.06.2026. During the said verification, it was allegedly found that the Applicant, while working as the Shop Supervisor, had collected an amount of Rs.7,59,720/- from the sale of liquor but had failed to deposit the said amount in the bank account, thereby allegedly causing wrongful loss to the Government. Based on these allegations, the present FIR was registered against the Applicant for the offences punishable under the aforementioned Sections. 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 submitted that the alleged irregularities relate to the period from 01.05.2026 to 11.06.2026, whereas the Applicant had, prior to registration of the present FIR, 3 submitted a written complaint dated 23.06.2026 against the complainant/Shop In-charge Abhishek Rajwade, District Coordinator Anand Kumar and former District Coordinator Aditya Gupta, alleging financial irregularities, illegal collection and misappropriation of the shop’s funds through online and offline transactions and had also informed the authorities regarding non-functional CCTV cameras at the shop and expressed apprehension of his false implication. It is further submitted that the present FIR was lodged on 04.07.2026, shortly after the said complaint and therefore, appears to be a counterblast to the Applicant’s complaint. He further submits that the Applicant possesses documents and call recordings relating to the alleged financial transactions and despite material indicating that an amount of Rs.68,000/- from the Government collection was transferred online to the private bank account of the then District Coordinator, the role of the concerned officials was not fairly investigated and the Applicant alone was made an accused. It is also submitted that the alleged offence is based primarily on documentary and electronic evidence, there is a considerable delay in lodging the FIR, as the alleged period of occurrence ended on 19.06.2026 whereas the FIR was registered only on 04.07.2026. It is lastly submitted that the Applicant has no 4 criminal antecedents and trial is likely to take considerable time for its conclusion, therefore, he may be granted the benefit of anticipatory bail. 4. Per contra, learned State Counsel opposes the bail application and submits that serious allegations of misappropriation of Government funds have been levelled against the Applicant and that his role in the alleged offence is still under investigation. It is further submitted that the investigation is at a nascent stage and custodial interrogation of the Applicant may be required. 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 levelled against the Applicant, the allegation of misappropriation of an amount of Rs.7,59,720/- and the fact that the investigation is still in progress and custodial interrogation of the Applicant may be required, without further commenting anything on the merits of the case, this Court is not inclined to extend the benefit of anticipatory bail to the Applicant. 5 7. Accordingly, the Anticipatory Bail application of the Applicant – Lalbihari Yadav, filed under Section 482 of the BNSS, 2023 in connection with Crime No.105/2026, registered at Police Station – Basantpur, District Balrampur Ramanujganj (C.G.) for alleged commission of offences punishable under Sections 316(5) and 318(4) 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