Nafr High Court
Case Details
1 2025:CGHC:40980 NAFR HIGH COURT OF CHHATTISGARH AT BILASPUR MCRC No. 4086 of 2025 Prashant Singh S/o Late Janak Singh Aged About 23 Years Occupation Driver, Caste Kshatriya, R/o Dutta Colony Namnakala, P/s Gandhinagar, Tehsil Ambikapur, District - Sarguja (C.G.) versus --- Applicant State Of Chhattisgarh Through Staion House OfÏcer, Police Station Balrampur District - Balrampur - Ramanujganj (C.G.) RAJSHEKHAR SONI Digitally signed by RAJSHEKHAR SONI For Applicant For Respondent/State : : --- 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 received from the Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre, Ministry of Home Affairs, 5. 6. 5 Government of India, the local bank branches and the Cyber Cell revealed that one account bearing No. 5596214280 in the Central Bank of India, Balrampur Branch in the area of Police Station Balrampur, held by accused Nandan Kumar Rajak, was being used in conspiracy with other associates, for the receipt of funds derived from cyber fraud. It is alleged that the said account was deliberately opened and operated for the purpose of receiving and facilitating procedure of cyber crime, with full knowledge that such property constituted dishonest gains obtained through fraudulent or deceptive means, and was thereafter retained, concealed and expended. 7. Scrutiny of the statement of account revealed transactions of illicit funds from various unknown sources, for which no satisfactory explanation could be furnished by the account holder, Nandan Kumar Rajak (Accused). Further investigation established that, apart from the above account, the said accused had also opened and operated accounts in Chhattisgarh Gramin Bank (A/c No. 077098098217), HDFC Bank (A/c No. 50100707056736), State Bank of India (A/c No. 42894162608), and Canara Bank (A/c No. 110174902620), which were utilized for transactions of funds obtained through cyber fraud. Consequently, offences under Sections 317(2), 317(4), 317(5), 318(4), and 61(2)(A) of the BNS were registered against accused Nandan Kumar Rajak and unknown persons. 8. During the course of investigation, the memorandum statement of accused Nandan Kumar Rajak was recorded, and the passbook of the said Central Bank account was seized. Further, accused persons namely Sachin Kumar Saini @ Bittu, Rajesh Sonkar, Ayush Kumar Sahu, Prashant Singh, Mukesh Jaiswal, Sukhdev Sahu, Deepak 6 Yadav, and Abhishek Jaiswal were apprehended from a rented premises in Baidhan, Madhya Pradesh, with the assistance of Baidhan Police. From their possession, various articles used in the commission of offences relating to mule account purchase and sale, and online gaming/betting operations were seized such as laptops, mobile phones, forged SIM cards, forged bank passbooks and cheque books, a Thar vehicle, and other materials. Their memorandum statements confirmed the conspiracy of the accused persons in the crime in question as well as the use of mule accounts in betting and gambling activities. The said articles, including the four-wheeler Thar vehicle, mobile phones, laptops, and documents, were produced by them and seized in the presence of witnesses with videography. The aforesaid accused were formally arrested, and their families were informed. During the course of investigation, one absconding accused, Nitesh Puri, was subsequently arrested, and recoveries were made based on his 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 – Prashant Singh, Abhishek Jaiswal, Nandan Kumar Rajak, Sukhdev Sahu and Nitesh Puri involved in Crime No. 41/2025 registered at Police Station – Balrampur, District – Balrampur-Ramanujganj (C.G.) for the 7 offence punishable under Sections 318(4), 317(2), 317(4), 317(5) 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
Ms. Hamida Siddiqui, Advocate. Ms. Ankita Shukla, Panel Lawyer, as well as Mr. Jitendra Shrivastava, Govternment Advocate. Along with MCRC No. 6302 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 Chhattisgarh Versus ---Applicant State Of Chhattisgarh Through The Station House OfÏcer, Through Police Station Balrampur, District - Balrampur-Ramanujganj Chhattisgarh --- Respondent For Applicant For Respondent/State : : Mr. Shivendu Pandya, Advocate. Ms. Ankita Shukla, Panel Lawyer, as well as Mr. Jitendra Shrivastava, Govternment Advocate. 2 Along with MCRC No. 6107 of 2025 Nandan Kumar Rajak S/o Uday Baitha Aged About 20 Years R/o Gram Bardar, Police Station Balrampur, District - Balrampur (C.G.) 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. 6179 of 2025 1 - Sukhdev Sahu Son Of Ramjitan Sahu Aged About 23 Years Resident Of Village Kailashpur, Police Station Ramanujganj, District Surajpur, Chhattisgarh. 2 - Nitesh Puri Son Of Kailash Puri Aged About 25 Years Resident Of Village Khajuri, Shivpur, Police Station Pratappur, District Surajpur, Chhattisgarh Versus ---Applicants State Of Chhattisgarh Through In Charge Police Station Balrampur, District – Balrampur-Ramanujganj (C.G.) For Applicant For Respondent/State : : ---- Non-applicant Mr. Hemant Kesharwani, Advocate. Ms. Ankita Shukla, Panel Lawyer, as well as Mr. Jitendra Shrivastava, Govternment Advocate. 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. 41/2025 3 registered at Police Station – Balrampur, District – Balrampur- Ramanujganj (C.G.) for the offence punishable under Sections 318(4), 317(2), 317(4), 317(5) and 61(2)(A) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 (BNS). 2. Case of the prosecution, in brief, is that some unidentified persons were involved in online fraud through Telegram and used various bank accounts for illegal money transfers. Two bank accounts- one in State Bank of India (A/c No. 4289416260845) and another in Canara Bank (A/c No. 110174902620)- allegedly linked to the applicant, Prashant Singh, were found to have received such transactions, the applicants, Nandan Kumar Rajak, Abhishek Jaiswal, Sukhdev Sahu and Nitesh Puri, were also having multiple bank accounts wherein suspicious transactions have been found. The applicants are alleged to have allowed his bank accounts to be used in these activities. The offence of cyber fraud is registered against the applicants and they were arrested by the Police. 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, 17.04.2025 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 4 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 Shoaib 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 Shoaib Ansari, other accused persons have been arrested. It is further submitted that the accused namely Prashant Singh is said to have monitoring the online cyber fraud, and the participation of the accused namely Nandan Kumar Rajak is helping to open bank accounts of Gramin Bank and to link them with the number given by co-accused Sachin Saini, and the accused Nandan Kumar Rajak was found to have account No. 077098098217 in Chhattisgarh Gramin Bank, account No. 50100707056736 in HDFC Bank, account No. 42894162608 in State Bank of India and account No. 110774902620 in Canara Bank was opened and used for 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.