35-ABA-1775-2026.odt Harish IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT BOMBAY CRIMINAL APPELLATE JURISDICTION ANTICIPATORY BAIL APPLICATION NO. 1775 OF 2026 Hanumanprasad Devilal Agrawal ...Applicant V/S. The State Of Maharashtra And Anr. ...Respondents _____________________________________________________________ Adv. R. R. Tripathi, for the Applicant. Adv. Bapu V. Holambe, APP for the Respondent – State. API - Mr. Mithun S. Bhoir, Bhiwandi Unit-2 Crime, Police Station is present. _________________________________________________________ CORAM : PRAFULLA S. KHUBALKAR, J. DATE : 16TH SEPTEMBER, 2026. P.C. :- 1. Heard learned counsel for the applicant as well as learned APP for the respondent. 2. The applicant has filed the instant application seeking pre-arrest bail in connection with Crime No. 1228 of 2025 dated 04.11.2025 registered with Narpoli Police Station, for the offence punishable under Section 318(4) read with Section 3(5) of Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), 2023. 3. The FIR is registered against three accused persons on the allegations that those persons have purchased cloth material during July, 2025 to August, 2025 from the complainant’s company and have failed to make payment of about Rs. 2,51,00,000/-. On the basis of of these 1/3 35-ABA-1775-2026.odt allegations, the offence is registered against three persons, wherein this applicant is not arraigned as an accused person. 4. Learned counsel for the applicant submits that this applicant is not named in the FIR, but has the apprehension of arrest only because one of the accused persons has given a statement that he has sold some goods to this applicant. He submits that this applicant has purchased the goods against consideration and cannot be implicated in the instant offence. 5. Apart from this, he submits that charge sheet is already filed against the other accused persons and this applicant’s involvement is not shown, on the basis of any documents. He states that there are no criminal antecedents against this applicant and considering all these aspects, this Court has granted interim protection order dated 09th July, 2026 which is not misused by the applicant. 6. Learned APP for the respondent opposed the application and submitted that the offence registered against the accused persons is with respect to cheating and breach of trust involving an amount of Rs. 2,51,00,000/-. He submits that during investigation, it is revealed that this applicant has purchased some cloths from the arrested accused persons by name Hayat Khan and therefore his involvement in the offence is apparent. However, there is no dispute that the applicant has attended the police station in accordance with interim protection order. 7. Perused the FIR and the documents placed on record. It has to be 2/3 35-ABA-1775-2026.odt noted that the applicant is not named in the FIR. Investigation in the offence is completed and charge sheet is already filed against the other accused persons. As such, only because this applicant has purchased some cloths from other accused persons, it prima facie appears that this applicant is not directly involved in the alleged offences. 8. Considering the fact that there are no criminal antecedents against this applicant and he has not misused the liberty granted by this Court by interim protection order dated 09th July, 2026, the same needs to be confirmed, subject to the condition that the applicant shall extend the cooperation during trial and shall not tamper with the prosecution witnesses or evidence in any manner. Accordingly, the interim protection granted by order dated 09th July, 2026 is confirmed. 9. The instant application is allowed and disposed of. (PRAFULLA S. KHUBALKAR, J.) 3/3