Grant of Regular Bail on Grounds of Parity and Completion of Chargesheet in Financial Fraud Cases

The Applicant filed a second bail application under Section 483 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), 2023.

He was arrested on 28.06.2025 in connection with Crime No. 378/2025 for allegedly inducing the complainant to invest Rs. 19,43,000/- on the false pretext of doubling the money through the share market.

The Applicant’s earlier bail application was rejected on merits on 09.12.2025.

The Applicant sought bail on the grounds of parity, noting that several co-accused (Diwakar Avsariya, Anita Devi Sahu, Kumari Kusum Rani Sahu, Chandraprakash, and Leeladhar Prasad) had already been granted bail.

1. Whether the Applicant is entitled to the grant of regular bail during the pendency of the trial on the grounds of parity and the duration of pre-trial detention?

The Court applied the provisions governing regular bail under Section 483 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), 2023.

The substantive charges were registered under Sections 318(4) (Cheating), 316(5) (Criminal Breach of Trust), 318(3), 3(5) (Common Intention), and 111 (Organized Crime) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), 2023.

The court relied on the principle of parity in bail jurisprudence and the constitutional consideration of pre-trial detention duration vs. the likely time for trial conclusion.

The Court evaluated the application by balancing the seriousness of the allegations with the procedural status of the case. It noted that the Applicant had been in custody since June 2025 and that the charge sheet had already been filed.

Crucially, the Court observed that five other co-accused persons, facing similar allegations in the same crime number, had been granted bail by coordinate benches or the same Court between October 2025 and April 2026.

The Court reasoned that since the trial was likely to take a considerable amount of time and parity was established with released co-accused, further incarceration was not warranted.

The holding is contingent upon several conditions: the Applicant must not seek unnecessary adjournments, must appear personally at key trial stages like framing of charges and recording of Section 351 BNSS statements, and must comply with Section 269 and Section 209 of the BNS regarding presence and non-abscondence.