Nafr High Court
Case Details
1 2025:CGHC:40980 NAFR HIGH COURT OF CHHATTISGARH AT BILASPUR MCRC No. 3982 of 2025 Sukhdev Sahu S/o Ramjitan Sahu Aged About 22 Years, R/o Kailashpur, Police Station- Ramanujganj, District- Balrampur Ramanujganj (C.G.) versus --- Applicant State Of Chhattisgarh Through- Police Station- Balrampur, District- Balrampur Ramanujganj (C.G.) For Applicant For Respondent/State : : RAJSHEKHAR SONI Digitally signed by RAJSHEKHAR SONI --- Respondent
Legal Reasoning
After having perused the case diary and upon due consideration of the material available on record, it is disclosed that FIR was registered at Police Station – Balrampur, on the basis of information received by the OfÏce of the Superintendent of Police, Balrampur, regarding investigation into multiple mule accounts opened in various commercial banks. Analysis of information obtained from the Cyber Crime Coordination Centre, Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India, local bank branches, and the Cyber Cell disclosed that account No. 1427018440898043 with Utkarsh Small Finance Bank, Balrampur Branch, held by accused Soieb Khan, was opened and operated, in criminal conspiracy with other associates, for the purpose of transacting money obtained through cyber frauds. The said account was found to have been deliberately maintained for 5. 6. 6 facilitating and concealing illicit funds known to be dishonestly obtained through fraudulent and deceptive means. 7. Scrutiny of the statement of account revealed an illegal transactions of Rs. 8,22,146/- was found in the said bank account. Upon interrogation, the account holder accused Soieb Khan failed to provide any satisfactory explanation about the same. Consequently, the Crime under Sections 317(2), 317(4), 317(5), 318(4) and 61(2) (a) of the BNS was registered against the said accused, and investigation was initiated. The memorandum statements of the accused Soieb Khan was recorded, and in the statement of accused Soieb Khan, the name of the co-accused namely Sachin Saini @ Bittu was also come into light. On the basis of this information, the said co-accused, along with seven others, was apprehended from a rented premises in Baidhan with the assistance of Baidhan Police. From their possession, articles used in the purchase and sale of mule accounts and in online gaming/betting offences such as laptops, mobile phones, forged SIM cards, forged bank passbooks, cheque books, and a Thar vehicle were also seized at the spot. 8. On interrogation, eight accused persons admitted to using mule accounts for betting and gambling transactions, and the articles used in the commission of the offence were seized accordingly. The accused persons, namely Sachin Kumar, Ayush Kumar Sahu, Rajesh Sonkar, Prashant Singh, Mukesh Jaiswal, Sukhdev Sahu, Deepak Yadav, and Abhishek Jaiswal, confessed their involvement and were arrested, with due intimation given to their family members by the Police. Thereafter, the absconding accused Nitesh Puri was later arrested, and such recoveries were also made on the basis of his 7 memorandum statement. The investigation indicates that the applicants, in furtherance of common intention and in active participation with co-accused, went under the criminal conspiracy and committed the offence of cyber fraud. 9. Considering the gravity of the offences, the organized and premeditated nature of the criminal acts and the magnitude of illicit transactions, this Court is of the considered view that it is not a fit case to enlarge the applicants on regular bail. 10. Accordingly, this first bail application of applicants – Sukhdev Sahu, Rajesh Sonkar, Abhishek Jaiswal, Nitesh Puri and Soieb Khan involved in Crime No. 40/2025 registered at Police Station – Balrampur, District – Balrampur-Ramanujganj (C.G.) for the offence punishable under Sections 317(2), 317(4), 317(5), 318(4) and 61(2) (A) of the BNS, is rejected at this stage. 11. Needless to say that the concerned trial Court is at liberty to proceed with the trial and conclude the same, expeditiously. 12. OfÏce is directed to send a certified copy of this order to the trial Court concerned for necessary information and compliance forthwith. (Ramesh Sinha) Chief Justice Sd/- Rajshekhar
Arguments
Mr. Hemant Kesharwani, Advocate. Ms. Ankita Shukla, Panel Lawyer, as well as Mr. Jitendra Shrivastava, Govternment Advocate. Along with MCRC No. 5917 of 2025 Rajesh Sonkar S/o Shri Raju Sonkar, Aged About 25 Years R/o Mungeli Ambedkar Ward No. 13, Police Station Mungeli, District - Mungeli (C.G.) Versus ---Applicant State Of Chhattisgarh Through The Station House OfÏcer, Police Station Balrampur, District - Ramanujganj (C.G.) For Applicant For Respondent/State : : --- Respondent Mr. Prashant Singh, Advocate. Ms. Ankita Shukla, Panel Lawyer, as well as Mr. Jitendra Shrivastava, Govternment Advocate. Along with MCRC No. 6204 of 2025 Abhishek Jaiswal S/o Shri Brijnandan Jaiswal Aged About 22 Years R/o- Village- Chandani Biharpur, Mohali, Police Station And Tahsil- Chandani Biharpur, District Surajpur (C.G.) ---Applicant 2 Versus State Of Chhattisgarh Through The Station House OfÏcer, Through Police Station- Balrampur, District- Balrampur-Ramanujganj (C.G.) For Applicant For Respondent/State : : --- Respondent Mr. Shivendu Pandya, Advocate. Ms. Ankita Shukla, Panel Lawyer, as well as Mr. Jitendra Shrivastava, Govternment Advocate. Along with MCRC No. 6040 of 2025 Nitesh Puri S/o Kailash Puri Aged About 25 Years R/o Village- Khajuri, Shivpur, Police Station- Pratappur, District- Surajpur, Chhattisgarh. Versus ---Applicant State Of Chhattisgarh Through - In Charge Police Station Balrampur, District- Balrampur Ramanujganj (C.G.) For Applicant For Respondent/State : : --- Respondent Mr. Hemant Kesharwani, Advocate. Ms. Ankita Shukla, Panel Lawyer, as well as Mr. Jitendra Shrivastava, Govternment Advocate. Along with MCRC No. 4168 of 2025 Soieb Khan S/o Abdul Sahban Ansari Aged About 21 Years R/o Amtahi, Police P.S. - Samripath, District Balrampur-Ramanujganj, Chhattisgarh Versus ---Applicant State Of Chhattisgarh Through - S.H.O. Of Police Station - Balrampur, District Balrampur-Ramanujganj, Chhattisgarh For Applicant For Respondent/State : : ---- Non-applicant Mr. Sachin Nidhi, Advocate. Ms. Ankita Shukla, Panel Lawyer, as well as Mr. Jitendra Shrivastava, Govternment Advocate. 3 Hon'ble Shri , Chief Justice Ramesh Sinha Order on Board 13.08.2025 1. This is the First bail application filed under Section 483 of the Bhartiya Nagrik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 for grant of regular bail to the applicants arrested in connection with Crime No. 40/2025 registered at Police Station – Balrampur, District – Balrampur- Ramanujganj (C.G.) for the offence punishable under Sections 317(2), 317(4), 317(5), 318(4) and 61(2)(A) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 (BNS). 2. Case of the prosecution, in brief, is that by the letter of Superintendent of Police, Balrampur, to Police Station Balrampur, District Balrampur-Ramnujganj (C.G.) regarding opened the mule account in the some commercial bank in the different name of the persons to which the aforesaid bank, the mule account was inquired by the Cyber Crime Coordination Centre portal under the Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India. The aforesaid inquiry by the Cyber Cell and found that under situated the Police Station District Balrampur-Ramnujganj (C.G.) Utkarsh Small Bank, Branch Balrampur, Balrampur of Account No. 1427018440898043 Account holder Soieb Khan along with his friend has been made criminal conspiracy and received the monetary benefit. It is alleged that the the aforesaid accounts allegedly used mule accounts for transferring, withdrawing and laundering proceeds of cyber crime. Upon investigation, it was found that said accounts were held in names of multiple individuals including the applicants along with other co- accused. Further, the Cyber Crime Coordination Centre portal found the total fraud of Rs. 8,22,146/- in ill-legal transaction of the aforesaid 4 mule account. On the information of the Police Station Balrampur, District – Balrampur-Ramnujganj (C.G.) registered the F.I.R. against the Soieb Khan and after investigation, there are other co-accused has been implicated on the basis other co-accused memorandum. Hence, this application. 3. Learned counsel appearing for the applicant submits that the applicant is innocent and has been falsely implicated in the present case. It is further submitted that the charge-sheet has been submitted in this case. It is further submitted that no custodial interrogation of the applicants is required and they undertake to cooperate with the trial proceedings and abide by all conditions imposed by this Court. The applicant is in jail since 23.04.2025, 23.04.2025, 23.04.2025, 13.07.2025 and 23.04.2025, and the conclusion of the trial shall take quite long time. Therefore, he prays for grant of bail. 4. On the other hand, learned State counsel opposes the bail application and submits that from the perusal of the case-diary it transpires that the Police registered the crime on 16.04.2025, and it is alleged in FIR that on direction of higher authorities the Police investigated about mule account, and during the course of investigation it is found that the co-accused Soieb Ansari was having mule bank account and Rs. 8,22,146/- suspicious transaction has been found on the said bank account, on the basis of the memorandum statement of Soieb Ansari, other accused persons have been arrested. It is further submitted that the accused namely Sukhdev Sahu is said to have monitoring the online cyber fraud and is involved in online fraud through Telegram and used various bank accounts for illegal money transfers, and the participation of the accused namely Soieb Ansari is for selling his 5 bank account of Utkarsh Finance Bank which was linked with the phone nuber of co-accused Sachin Saini for Rs. 1,000/-, and from the possession of the Soieb Ansari, seizure of passbook of Utkarsh Finance Bank and whatsapp chat wth Sachin Saini has also been made, and the role of the applicant namely Rajesh Sonkar is for monitoring the online cyber fraud and seizrue of Laptop, 2 mobile, 11 debit card and credit card, 15 passbooks of different banks, and Rs. 88,000/- has also been made from him, and the accused Nitesh Puri and Abhishek Jaiswal are also said to have committing cyber fraud in collusion with the co-accused persons by transacting illegal money obtained through cyber fraud. As such, the bail application deserves to be rejected. I have heard learned counsel for the parties and perused the case diary.