Grant of anticipatory bail is extraordinary relief and should be sparingly used, especially in cases of economic offences.

ORDER

1. The applicant is apprehending his arrest in connection with Crime No.900 of 2021, registered with Shahada Police Station, District Nandurbar, for the offence punishable under Section 420 read with 34 of the IPC.

2. Heard learned Advocate Mr. C. C. Deshpande for applicant and learned APP Mr. A. M. Phule for respondent-State.

3. It has been vehemently submitted on behalf of the applicant that applicant was the president of one Adivasi-Pardhi Sanskrutik Va Shaikshanik Mandal, Shahada. An advertisement for the post of teacher was published. The informant states that he is B.A. B.Ed. (Geography) and D.Ed. That advertisement was published in 2015. Thereafter, informant's father-in-law had met applicant. Applicant had demanded amount of Rs.15,00,000/- for giving the job to the informant. He says that Rs.7,00,000/- was given immediately, and thereafter, appointment letter was issued to the informant on 20-06-2015. After some days, when the applicant demanded the remaining amount of Rs.8,00,000/-, the informant's father-in-law sold his plot and gave that amount. Informant worked with the said institution from 2015 to 2019. Thereafter, when he demanded that his job should be regularized and his pay proposal should be forwarded, necessary documents made available by the informant, however, the Headmaster had not responded properly. Even the present applicant had not made any efforts to send the proposal and had not sought the personal sanction of the informant. Informant appears to have lost his job in 2019 and he states that the amount has not been returned by the applicant. The contents of the FIR thus gives a false indication and there is huge delay of six years in lodging the report. Even after losing his job how the informant can afford to keep quiet for two years, is an unexplained delay. It shows that the FIR has been lodged with malafide intention. The applicant is involved in a case under Section 138 of Negotiable Instruments Act. He is ready to abide by the terms of the bail.

4. Learned APP strongly opposed the application and submitted that the applicant is not only involved in case under Section 138 of Negotiable Instruments Act, crime No.724 of 2020 under Section 420, 406, 506 of IPC, in respect of financial offence, is also registered with Shahada Police Station. Further, one Bhika Sukhdeo Patil has lodged Civil Suit No.01 of 2018 in order to secure the amount back from the applicant and the said suit came to be decreed ex-parte, yet the applicant has not returned that amount to that plaintiff. This indicates that the applicant is a habitual offender. Taking disadvantage of his position, he is driving the persons to get jobs by taking money from them, and therefore, cheating them. Statements of witnesses would show that the father-in-law of the informant had sold the plot and made available amount for his son-in-law. There are documents collected by the Investigating Officer which would show that the informant had worked for the institution after appointment letter was given to him. Similar offence was registered against the applicant on the basis of FIR lodged by one Vaishali Shatrughna Patil. She had given amount of Rs.18,00,000/-. Two sons of the present applicant are secretary and director of the same institution. They were arrested. Now the custodial interrogation of the applicant is necessary.

5. Perusal of the FIR would definitely create an impression that there is delay in the lodging of the same, however, whether that delay is fatal or not, would be considered by the concerned Court before whom there would be full fledged trial. The fact now appears is that the informant was given job under the signature of the present applicant. In fact in his FIR, the informant states that there was an advertisement published regarding filling up of the post of teacher, and thereafter, his father-in-law had approached the present applicant. The applicant has not come with a case that after completing the entire procedure of