Anticipatory bail granted where applicant is not named in FIR and lacks prior criminal antecedents.

The applicant, a manager at a Mahindra tractor showroom, was accused of conspiring with the principal accused, Sarvesh Tiwari, to defraud the complainant, Fede.

Tiwari allegedly misled the complainant into signing loan documents as a borrower for a tractor worth ₹8,83,136 while representing that the complainant was merely a guarantor.

It is alleged that the applicant colluded with Tiwari to facilitate the financing and obtain five blank cheques from the complainant under false pretenses.

The applicant filed for anticipatory bail, arguing that his name was absent from the FIR, he was implicated solely via a memorandum statement of a co-accused, and no charge-sheet had been submitted against him.

Whether the applicant is entitled to anticipatory bail under the Bhartiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023, considering the nature of the allegations and the absence of his name in the FIR.

The court applied Section 482 of the Bhartiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), 2023, regarding the grant of anticipatory bail.

The substantive offenses involved were Sections 420 (cheating) and 120(B) (criminal conspiracy) of the Bhartiya Nyay Sanhita (BNS), 2023.

The court also considered the legal significance of the absence of criminal antecedents and the weight of memorandum statements in bail proceedings.

The court examined the prosecution's allegations of fraud alongside the applicant's defense of false implication.

It noted that the applicant's name was not mentioned in the FIR and that his involvement was primarily suggested by the memorandum statement of a co-accused.

The court further took into account that the applicant had no prior criminal record.

By weighing the lack of direct mention in the initial report against the circumstantial nature of the evidence provided at this stage, the court determined that the applicant’s apprehension of arrest justified the protection of anticipatory bail.

It directed that in the event of arrest, the applicant shall be released upon executing a personal bond and one surety, subject to the conditions that he: (a) does not influence witnesses; (b) ensures a fair and expeditious trial; (c) appears before the trial court on all dates; (d) submits verified Aadhaar details; and (e) refrains from committing similar offenses.