1 CGHC010331772026 2026:CGHC:38373 NAFR HIGH COURT OF CHHATTISGARH AT BILASPUR MCRCA No.1400 of 2026 Sagir Ahmad S/o Late Basir Ahmad Aged About 38 Years R/o Village Anirudhpur, P.S. Ramchandrapur, District- Balrampur- Ramanujganj (C.G.) ... Applicant versus State Of Chhattisgarh Through Police Station Gandhinagar, District- Sarguja (C.G.) .... Non-applicant For Applicant : Dr. Sudeep Agrawal, Advocate. For Non-applicant/State : Mr. Sangharsh Pandey, 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.142/2026, registered at Police Station – Gandhinagar, District Sarguja (C.G.) for alleged commission of offences punishable under Sections 318(4) & 316(5) of BNS. 2. As per the prosecution case, in brief, on the basis of a written complaint submitted by Arun Kumar Sharaf, it is alleged that the Applicant/accused, while working as a Credit Verification Officer (CVO)/Service Provider at IndusInd Bank, M.G. Road Branch, Ambikapur, during the period from 10.03.2024 to 06.01.2025, unauthorisedly collected cash amounts from various two-wheeler loan account holders directly without issuing valid receipts and allegedly misappropriated a total amount of Rs.7,50,390/-, thereby committing cheating and criminal breach of trust. The investigation is stated to be incomplete and the Applicant’s direct and serious involvement with the alleged criminal intent has surfaced during investigation. 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 Applicant is neither an employee nor an official of IndusInd Bank, M.G. Road Branch, Ambikapur and has not collected any amount from 3 the bank or its customers. He further submits that the FIR is belated, as the alleged period of offence is from 10.03.2024 to 06.01.2025, whereas the FIR was registered only on 13.03.2026, which indicates that the allegations are an afterthought. It is lastly submitted that the Applicant has no 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 the Applicant was working as a Credit Verification Officer of the Bank and had received amounts from various loan account holders, which he allegedly failed to deposit with the Bank, therefore, he is not entitled to be given the benefit of anticipatory bail. 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 that while working as a Credit Verification Officer, he received amounts from various loan account holders which were allegedly not deposited with the Bank and the fact 4 that the investigation is still in progress, without further commenting on the merits of the case, this Court is not inclined to extend the benefit of anticipatory bail to the Applicant. 7. Accordingly, the Anticipatory Bail application of the Applicant – Sagir Ahmad, filed under Section 482 of the BNSS, 2023 in connection with Crime No.142/2026, registered at Police Station – Gandhinagar, District Sarguja (C.G.) for alleged commission of offences punishable under Sections 318(4) & 316(5) 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