918 ABA-2443-2026.DOC skt IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT BOMBAY CRIMINAL APPELLATE JURISDICTION ANTICIPATORY BAIL APPLICATION NO. 2443 OF 2026 Aniket Manish Bhagat …Applicant Vs. State of Maharashtra …Respondent Mr.Shekhar Ingawale, for the Applicant. Mr.S.V. Walve, APP for the Respondent-State. CORAM: MADHAV J. JAMDAR, J. DATE : 2nd SEPTEMBER, 2026 P. C.: 1. Heard Mr. Ingawale, learned counsel appearing for the Applicant and Mr. Walve, learned APP appearing for the State. 2. By this application filed under Section 482 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023, the Applicant is seeking pre- arrest bail in connection with C.R. No. 75 of 2026 registered with Uran Police Station, Navi Mumbai for the offences punishable under Sections 3 & 4 of the Maharashtra Protection of Interest of Depositors (in Financial Establishments) Act, 1999 and Sections 3(5), 316(2) and 318(4) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023. Page 1 of 8 2nd September, 2026 918 ABA-2443-2026.DOC skt 3. The prosecution case is set out in paragraph No. 2 of order dated 4th August 2026 passed by learned Additional Sessions Judge, Panvel-Raigad below Exhibit 1 in Bail Application No. 500 of 2026, which reads as under :- “2. In nut shell of the case of the prosecution is that in August 2025, there was a large influx of villagers visiting Pravin Patil's home. Upon inquiring made with the villagers, the complainant learned that Pravin Patil was investing money in a company called Open Hands Sharing Live. That company having office in Alibaug, and that he was running his scheme using the money received from this Open Hands company. To make people invest in the scheme, Pravin Patil personally, along with his brother Vinayak Narayan Patil and sister-in-law Kamiksha Vinayak Patil, toured village Sarde telling, people that if they invested 11,000 for 15 days, they would get an additional return of 8,000, making a total payout of 19,000 in 15 days. He also showed the complainant and other villagers the records stored on his laptop, where each investment of 11,000 was ₹ 2nd September, 2026 918 ABA-2443-2026.DOC skt registered under an 'ID' containing investor details. The complainant believing the records shown on the laptop, she trusted Pravin Patil, his brother Vinayak, and sister-in-law Kamiksha, invested 26,07,000/- in cash for a total of 237 IDs in the scheme, but till date, they have not returned my invested amount or the promised extra returns. Similarly, they failed to return Rs. 3,04,59,000/- for a total of 2,769 IDs collected from 15 other individuals in our village. The complainant and other villagers tried contacting Pravin Patil, Vinayak Patil, and Kamiksha Patil but their mobile phone was switched off. Thus, the accused persons cheated and misappropriated her money. The law was set to motion after the complainant lodged a complaint and the crime was registered under the aforesaid sections.” 4. At the outset, Mr. Ingawale, learned counsel appearing for the Applicant states that this is a second Anticipatory Bail Application. The first Anticipatory Bail Application has been withdrawn after arguing the Anticipatory Bail Application for some 2nd September, 2026 918 ABA-2443-2026.DOC skt time. Mr. Ingawale, learned counsel states that when the earlier Anticipatory Bail Application was moved, the charge-sheet was not filed. Now the charge-sheet has been filed against the Accused who are arrested and therefore entire material is on record. He submits that even if entire charge-sheet is read as it is, there is no incriminating material against the present Applicant. He submitted that his name is mentioned only in the statement of witness, namely Vikrant Jagannath Gawand recorded on 22nd May 2025 (Pages 225 to 228). He submitted that if that statement is read as it is, then also there is no incriminating material against the present Applicant. He submits that main allegations are against Accused Nos. 1 to 3 and even the Applicant’s name is not mentioned in the F.I.R. The Accused Nos. 1 to 3 have been arrested and Accused No. 3 has already been released on bail on the ground that she is a lady. He submits that even if prosecution case is accepted as it is, the only statement of the witness- Vikrant Jagannath Gawand is against the Applicant and even in that statement there is nothing incriminating. 5. He submits that there are four antecedents, the details of the same are set out in the Anticipatory Bail Application and in all 2nd September, 2026 918 ABA-2443-2026.DOC skt antecedents, he has been granted bail. He submits that the antecedents are not of similar nature as the present offence. 6. Mr. Ingawale, learned counsel submits that in fact the Applicant has taken loan of Rs. 37 Lakhs from ICICI Bank for payment of investors who have invested money with Accused No. 1 through the Applicant and the Applicant is not involved in the crime. 7. On the other hand, Mr. Walve, learned APP strongly opposes the Anticipatory Bail Application. He submitted that the Applicant has acted as agent and collected the money from investors and handed over the monies to main accused Mr. Pravin Patil. He submitted that during the investigation, as per the information given by the main accused-Pravin Patil that when the main accused was not in the said village, the Applicant has gone to the residence of the Accused No.1 and collected Rs.2 Crores. He, therefore, submitted that custodial interrogation is necessary. 8. Perusal of the F.I.R. and the charge-sheet show that the main allegation, even as per the contentions of learned APP, against the present Applicant is that the Applicant has collected money from 2nd September, 2026 918 ABA-2443-2026.DOC skt the investors and handed over to the Accused No.1-Pravin Patil. The statement of co-accused-Pravin Patil which is recorded by the police states that an amount of Rs.2 Crores has been taken away by the Applicant from the house of the main accused-Pravin Patil. However, in the F.I.R. and in the charge-sheet there is no other document to substantiate the allegations made by the co-accused. There is no material on record to indicate that the Applicant has collected the money from investors and kept the same with him. 9. In any case, Mr. Ingawale, learned counsel appearing for the Applicant states that the Applicant will completely cooperate with the investigation. As the charge-sheet has been filed against the other co-accused named in the F.I.R. and thus the investigation is substantially completed, a case is made out for grant of Anticipatory Bail by imposing certain conditions. Hence, following order is passed: O R D E R i. In the event of arrest, the Applicant-Aniket Manish Bhagat be released on bail in C.R. No. 75 of 2026 registered with Uran Police Station, Navi Mumbai, on 2nd September, 2026 918 ABA-2443-2026.DOC skt executing P.R. bond of Rs.1,00,000/- and furnishing one or two local solvent sureties in the like amount. ii. The Applicant shall attend the concerned Police Station immediately on 9th, 10 and 11th September 2026 between 11.00 a.m. to 2.00 p.m. and thereafter on each Friday between 11.00 a.m. to 2.00 p.m. till filing of charge-sheet against the present Applicant and thereafter once in a month on 4th Friday between 11.00 a.m. to 2.00 p.m. and shall cooperate with the investigation. iii. The Applicant shall furnish his cell phone number and residential address to the Investigating Officer and shall keep the same updated, in case of any change thereto. iv. The Applicant shall not directly or indirectly make any inducement, threat, or promise to any person acquainted with the facts of the case so as to dissuade such a person from disclosing the facts to the Court or to any Police personnel. 2nd September, 2026 918 ABA-2443-2026.DOC skt v. The Applicant shall not tamper with the prosecution evidence and shall not contact or influence the Complainant, or any witness, in any manner. vi. The Applicant shall not leave India without taking permission from the Court. 10. The Anticipatory Bail Application is disposed of accordingly. [MADHAV J. JAMDAR, J.] 2nd September, 2026