p. 1 IN THE HIGH COURT OF ORISSA AT CUTTACK ABLAPL No.3160 of 2026 Bijaya Bagh …. Petitioner(s) Mr. Umakanta Barik, Advocate -versus- State of Odisha …. Opposite Party(s) Mr. Debraj Mohanty, AGA CORAM: JUSTICE SIBO SANKAR MISHRA Order No. ORDER 24.04.2026 01. 1. Heard. 2. The petitioner is seeking pre-arrest bail in connection with Jeypore Town P.S. Case No.103 of 2023 corresponding to G.R. Case No.375 of 2023 registered on the allegation of the offences under Sections 34/465/467/468/470/471 of I.P.C. pending in the Court of the learned S.D.J.M., Jeypore. 3. Learned counsel for the petitioner, on instruction from the petitioner, submits that, except the present bail application, no other bail application of the petitioner is pending in any other Court relating to the aforesaid F.I.R. p. 2 4. The prosecution case, in brief, is that one Manoj Pragada, IPoS, Senior Superintendent of Post Offices, submitted a written complaint before the Superintendent of Police, Koraput, on 28.03.2023. It was alleged therein that, pursuant to the declaration of results of the online recruitment process for selection to the posts of Grameen Dak Sevak Branch Postmasters/Assistant Branch Postmasters, the selected candidates were instructed to report to the office for verification of the genuineness of the educational certificates uploaded by them during the application process. It is further alleged that during verification of the original HSC certificates and mark sheets produced by the selected candidates, unusually high and unexpected percentages of marks were noticed, giving rise to suspicion regarding their authenticity. It was also observed that many of the certificates and mark sheets were purportedly issued by the Board of High School and Intermediate Education, Uttar Pradesh, showing marks in the Odia subject, which further strengthened the suspicion that p. 3 the said documents were forged and fabricated. It is alleged that due to the online selection of ineligible candidates on the basis of such fake certificates, meritorious and eligible candidates were deprived of their rightful opportunity for employment, thereby causing grave injustice. Hence, this case. 5. Learned counsel for the petitioner submits that all the co-accused persons have already granted either regular bail or anticipatory bail by this Court. Thirteen anticipatory bail orders passed vis-à-vis the other accused persons have been placed on record. 6. I have perused the said orders as well as the allegations in the F.I.R. Although the learned counsel for the State vehemently opposes the grant of bail, but in view of the orders passed by the coordinate Bench of this Court in so far as other accused persons are concerned, I am inclined to grant the petitioner anticipatory bail. Accordingly, it is directed that in the event the petitioner is arrested, he shall be released by the Arresting Officer. The release of the petitioner shall also be subject to the conditions that he shall p. 4 cooperate with the investigation and shall appear before the I.O. as and when his presence is required for the purpose of investigation. Violation of any of the conditions shall entail cancellation of bail. 7. With this observation, the ABLAPL is disposed of. (S.S. Mishra) Judge Swarna