Bhisham v. State of Haryana

IN Bhisham

State of H

Date of d Date of U

CORAM Present:

SUMEET

¶1seeking g 2023 in F under Sec 61(2), 30 Vigilance

¶2the basis after the d Bank, the settlemen However, of ₹80,00 ₹60,000/- THE HIGH COURT OF PUN CHANDIG

V/s Haryana

decision: 23.07.2026 Uploading : 23.07.2026 M: HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE Mr. Parminder Singh-I, Adv Ms. Mahima Yashpal Singla, ***** T GOEL, J. (Oral) Present petition has been grant of anticipatory/pre-arrest b FIR No.10 dated 03.06.2026 r ctions 7, 7-A of Prevention of C 08(2) of BNS at Police Stati e & Anti Corruption Bureau, Har As per the prosecution case, of a complaint made by Rama death of his father, who had ob e complainant approached bank e t of the loan account and issuan , the said Mukesh Rani allegedly 00/- for processing the settlem . It has been further alleged th

NJAB AND HARYANA AT ARH

CRM-M-35804-2026

....Petitioner

....Respondent SUMEET GOEL vocate for the petitioner. , Senior DAG Haryana. filed on behalf of the petition bail under Section 482 of BNS registered for offences punisha Corruption Act, 1988 and Sectio ion ACB Ambala, District St ryana. the FIR in question was lodged an. It has been alleged therein t btained a vehicle loan from HD employee namely Mukesh Rani nce of a 'No Objection Certificat y demanded an illegal gratificati ment, which was later reduced hat the Mukesh Rani provided

ner SS, able ons tate on hat FC for te'. ion

mobile nu complaina complaina and tainte complaina caught re currency investigat accepted t the petitio

¶3petitioner connectio Learned employed settling t According Sales Man the servic been furt petitioner of allegat accused M complaina Objection complaina umber and name of the present p ant to make payment to him. ant had approached the Vigilan ed currency notes amounting to ant. During the trap proceedin ed-handed while accepting th notes were recovered from her tion, Mukesh Rani allegedly dis the amount at the instance of th oner came to be nominated in the Learned counsel for the r has been falsely implicated into on with the alleged demand or counsel has further iterated th d with HDFC Bank and, theref the loan account of the dece g to learned counsel, the petiti nager with HDFC Life Insuranc ce in September, 2024, much pri ther contended that there is n r ever demanded any money fro ion(s) regarding demand of illeg Mukesh Rani, who was dealin ant and allegedly demanded th n Certificate'. Furthermore, t ant nor had any conversation

petitioner Bhisham and directed Unwilling to pay the bribe, nce Bureau. A trap was organiz ₹60,000/- were handed over to ngs, Mukesh Rani was alleged he tainted amount. The mark r possession. During the course sclosed that she had demanded a e present petitioner. Consequent e present case. petitioner has iterated that o the FIR in question as he has acceptance of illegal gratificati hat the petitioner has never be fore, has no role in processing eased father of the complaina ioner has worked as an Assist ce Company and has resigned fro ior to the alleged occurrence. It h no allegation in the FIR that om the complainant. The entire gal gratification is attributed to c ng with the loan account of he amount for issuance of a ' the petitioner neither met with him regarding payment

zed dly ked of and tly, on. een or ant. ant om has set co-

money an mobile nu involveme the recove Mukesh R proceedin the petiti statement Moreover Corruptio servant no submitted society an not requi anteceden shall not all the con bail. On anticipato

¶4affidavit Bureau, A Referring against th demand a of a loan a nd the mere fact that Mukesh R umber of the petitioner with the ent in the alleged offence. Lea ery of the tainted currency notes Rani and the petitioner was not ngs were conducted. It has been ioner in the present case is s t of the co-accused, which by it r, the ingredients of Sections on Act are not attracted against t or an employee of the concerned d that the petitioner is a law-a nd is not at flight risk and, there ired. According to learned c nts and is willing to join the in tamper with evidence or influen ndition(s) imposed by the Court n strength of these submissio ory bail is entreated for. Per contra, learned State cou of Pardeep Yadav, DSP, Stat Ambala Range, Ambala in Cour to said reply, learned State coun he petitioner are grave and ser and acceptance of illegal gratifica account. The relevant part of the

Rani allegedly shared the name a complainant does not establish arned counsel has emphasized t has been effected from co-accus t present at the spot when the tr n contended that the nomination solely based upon the disclosu tself, is a weak piece of eviden 7 and 7-A of the Prevention the petitioner as he is not a pub d bank. Learned counsel has furth abiding citizen, has deep roots efore, his custodial interrogation ounsel; the petitioner has cle nvestigation as and when requir nce any witness and shall abide in case he is enlarged on pre-arr ons, the grant of concession unsel has filed reply by way of e Vigilance and Anti Corrupti rt today, which is taken on reco nsel has iterated that the allegatio rious in nature as they pertain ation in connection with settlem e aforesaid reply reads thus:

and his hat sed rap n of ure nce. of blic her in n is ean red; by rest of f an ion ord. ons to

learned St

¶5gone throu "C. Contention and specific role o

¶7That on 03.06.2026 when handed and the tainted curre possession, the investigating of Thereafter, she suffered her disclo demanded the money at the ins settlement of the loan. It is further complainant handed over record and accused Mukesh Rani and p recorded conversation was prepa of complainant and investigating that in addition to complainant a person also demanded illegal gr further submitted that as per co third person is petitioner Bhisha reveals that on 30.05.2026, c provided the mobile number of on hand over 80,000/- to him; howev It is, therefore, submitted that for unearth the larger conspiracy i sample of accused-petitioner, questioning/ interrogation of the investigating agency. Hence, the p For the kind perusal of this Hon'b transcript and disclosure statem annexed as annexures R-2 & R-3

¶8That the material which investigation clearly points towar the alleged offence. The accuse interrogation in order to unea Therefore, the accused-petitione anticipatory bail." Raising submissions in ta tate counsel has sought for dismi I have heard the learned cou ugh the available record of the c

of the petitioner: co-accused Mukesh Rani was caught ency notes were recovered from officer interrogated and arrested h osure statement to the effect that she h stance of Bhisham for the purpose r submitted that during investigation, ding of conversation done between h petitioner. Thereafter, the transcript ared by ASI Sunil Kumar in the prese officer. The perusal of transcript reve and co-accused Mukesh Rani, one th ratification from the complainant. I mplainant's on asking of statement am. Moreover, the contents of compla omplainant, co-accused Mukesh R ne Bhisham and asked the complainan ver, the matter was settled for ₹60,00 r qualitative investigation of the case in this matter and to obtain the vo a sustained and continues custod e accused-petitioner is required by present petition is liable to be dismiss ble High Court, the true translate copy ment of co-accused Mukesh Rani respectively. has already been collected during rds involvement of accused -petitioner ed-petitioner is required for custod arth the complete facts of the ca er is not entitled to the concession andem with the aforesaid rep issal of the petition in hand. unsel for the rival parties and ha case.

red her her. had e of him t of ence eals hird It is this aint Rani nt to 00/-. e to oice dial sed. y of are r in dial ase. n of ply,

¶6Hon'ble S Punjab, 2 It would be apposite to re Supreme Court titled as Devinde 2025 INSC 320, relevant whereo "21. The parameters for grant like corruption are required to granted only in exceptional circu of the view that the applicant has allegations are politically motivat hand is concerned, it cannot be s have been made out by the petit bail and there is no frivolity in the

¶22In the aforesaid context, Central Bureau of Investigation 7 Scale 15, wherein this Court exp "28. While granting bail, of accusation, the natur severity of the punishm character of the accused, accused, reasonable poss accused at the trial, rea being tampered with, the other similar consideratio the purpose of granting b "reasonable grounds for which means the Court d satisfy it as to whether the and that the prosecution evidence in support of the to have the evidence estab reasonable doubt."

¶23The presumption of inn consideration for grant of an innocence is one of the consider mind while considering the plea f to balance the cause of the accus solicitous homage to the accuse cause of public justice.

efer herein to a judgment of er Kumar Bansal vs. The State of reads as under: of anticipatory bail in a serious offe be satisfied. Anticipatory bail can mstances where the Court is prima fa been falsely enroped in the crime or ted or are frivolous. So far as the case said that any exceptional circumstan tioner accused for grant of anticipat e prosecution. we may refer to a pronouncement v. V. Vijay Sai Reddy reported in (20 pressed thus: the court has to keep in mind the nat re of evidence in support thereof, ment which conviction will entail, circumstances which are peculiar to sibility of securing the presence of asonable apprehension of the witnes larger interests of the public/State a ons. It has also to be kept in mind that bail, the Legislature has used the wo r believing" instead of "the eviden dealing with the grant of bail can o ere is a genuine case against the accu n will be able to produce prima fa e charge. It is not expected, at this sta blishing the guilt of the accused beyo ocence, by itself, cannot be the s nticipatory bail. The presumption rations, which the court should keep for anticipatory bail. The salutary rul sed and the cause of public justice. O ed's liberty can, sometimes, defeat

e of ence be acie e at nces tory t in 013) ture sses and t for ords nce" only used acie age, ond sole of p in le is

¶7allegation case, the conspirac facilitatin Objection to the dem

¶24If liberty is to be denied society, then the courts should no overwhelming considerations in anticipatory bail, it has to be den say that once the investigation is may consider to grant regular indulging in corruption.

¶25Avarice is a common fra famous pronouncement that all m unsavoury cynicism that it sugges as more than two centuries ago, people generally corrupt, liberty Romain Rolland lamented that F without indignation. Corruption Corruption, a word of wide conn spheres of our day to day life, al allowing decisions and actions wrongs of a case but by the prosp considerations.

¶26If even a fraction of what of corruption to be true, then it w that it is the rampant corruptio placed persons that has led to ec asked to name one sole factor tha society to prosperity, undeniably developing country faces a mena hired assassins to its law and ord at the higher echelons of the Gove As per the material availab ns have been levelled against the petitioner is alleged to be on y to obtain illegal gratifica g settlement of a vehicle loan n Certificate'. The allegation is th mand of ₹80,000/- raised by co-a

to an accused to ensure corruption f ot hesitate in denying such liberty. Wh the nature aforesaid require denial nied. It is altogether a different thing over and charge-sheet is filed, the co bail to a public servant - accused ailty of mankind and Robert Walpo men have their price, notwithstanding sts, is not very far from truth. As far b it was Burke who cautioned: "Amon cannot last long". In more recent yea France fell because there was corrupt has, in it, very dangerous potentialit notation has, in respect of almost all ll the world over, the limited meaning to be influenced not by the rights spects of monetary gains or other self was the vox pupuli about the magnit would not be far removed from the tru on indulged in with impunity by hig conomic unrest in this country. If on at effectively arrested the progress of ly it is corruption. If the society in ace greater than even the one from der, then that is from the corrupt eleme ernment and of the political parties." ble on record, indubitably, serio e petitioner. As per the prosecuti ne of the person(s) involved in ation from the complainant n account and issuance of a ' hat when the complainant objec accused Mukesh Rani, she reduc

free here l of g to ourt d of ole's ack ng a ars, tion ties. g of or fish tude uth, ghly e is our n a ents ous ion n a for ted

the amou name an complaina prosecutio with the accused M tainted cu disclosure accepted account. T recorded According involveme reflect tha demanded the prose statement investigat At this sta aside as v and there matter of considere Court is o disclose t interrogat nt to ₹60,000/- and thereafter p nd mobile number of the pr ant to hand-over the money on has further alleged that the demand of illegal gratification. Mukesh Rani was allegedly a urrency notes from the compla e statement stating that the a at the instance of the petitioner The investigating agency has al conversations obtained durin g to the prosecution, the said co ent of the petitioner in the de at he was the person at whose b d. Although no recovery has bee cution has relied the version o t of the co-accused & the record tion which connect him to the c age, the material collected durin vague or baseless. The content e is no direct demand or accep f trial and requires appreciat d at the stage of considering an only required to see whether the the commission of a cognizab tion is necessary for effective

provided the complainant with resent petitioner and asked to the present petitioner. T petitioner was actively associa During the trap proceedings, c apprehended while accepting ainant. Thereafter, she suffered amount has been demanded a for securing settlement of the lo lso relied upon the transcription ng the course of investigati onversations prima facie reveal emand of illegal gratification a behest the illegal gratification w en effected from the petitioner b of the complainant, the disclosu ded conversations collected duri commission of offence in questi ng investigation cannot be brush tion that the petitioner is innoc ptance of illegal gratification is ion of evidence and not to nticipatory bail. At this stage, e allegations, if taken at face val ble offence and whether custod investigation. The stand of

The ted co-d a and oan n of on. and was but ure ing on. hed ent s a be lue,

investigat the petitio

¶8from whi implicated declined including investigat grant of a individual with the accused; t impact of material o petitioner investigat accusation petitioner investigat 1039, the ting agency before this Court is oner is necessary to unearth the c No cause nay plausible cau ich it can be deciphered that d into the present FIR. Furtherm the plea of the petitioner after the manner in which the name tion. It is befitting to mention he anticipatory bail, the Court has to l rights and protecting societal in magnitude and nature of the o the need for fair and free investi f such alleged iniquities on the on record to hold that prima fac r. The material which has co tion, appear to be establishe ns. Thus, it is not appropriate r, as it would necessarily tion. In State v. Anil Sharma, (1 Hon'ble Supreme Court held as "6. We find force in the submissi qualitatively more elicitation-orie well-ensconced with a favourable a case like this, effective inter tremendous advantage in disinter materials which would have interrogation would elude if the protected and insulated by a pre interrogated. Very often interroga

that the custodial interrogation complete facts of the case. use has been shown, at this sta t the petitioner has been fals more, the Court below has alrea r considering the relevant facto e of the petitioner surfaced duri ere that while considering a plea o equilibrate between safeguardi nterests. The Court ought to reck offence; the role attributed to igation as also the deeper and w society. At this stage, there is cie case is not made out against ome on record and prelimina ed a reasonable basis for to grant anticipatory bail to cause impediment in effect 1997) 7 SCC 187 : 1997 SCC (C under : (SCC p. 189, para 6) ion of CBI that custodial interrogation ented than questioning a suspect who e order under Section 438 of the Code rrogation of a suspected person is rring many useful informations and a been concealed. Success in s suspected person knows that he is w e-arrest bail order during the time he ation in such a condition would reduce

n of age, ely ady ors, ing for ing kon ide ary ive Cri) n is o is e. In s of also uch well e is

¶9remedy an case, the i bail at th Consideri assigned, interrogat that the pe factual mi

10.

(i)

(ii) of opinion

(iii)

July 23, 2 Ajay

a mere ritual. The argument tha with the danger of the person b need not be countenanced, for, su accused in all criminal cases. Th police officers would conduct th would not conduct themselves as o It is well settled that anti nd is not mean to be granted as investigation is still at a crucial his juncture will impede the ing the nature and seriousness o the stage of investigation as tion for verification of facts, this etitioner does not deserve the co ilieu of the case in hand. In view of the prevenient rati The instant petition is devoid Nothing said hereinabove sh n upon merits of the case/investig Pending application(s), if any

2026

at the custodial interrogation is frau being subjected to third-degree meth uch an argument can be advanced by he Court has to presume that responsi hemselves in task of disintering offen offenders." cipatory bail is an extraordina a matter of course. In the pres stage and the grant of anticipato fair and effective investigati of the allegations, the specific r s also the necessity of custod s Court is of the considered opini oncession of anticipatory bail in iocination, it is ordained thus: d of merits and is hereby dismiss hall be deemed to be an expressi gation. y, shall also stand disposed off. (SUMEET GOEL)

JUDGE

ught ods y all ible nces ary ent ory on. ole dial ion sed.