JUDGMENT

1. Heard learned Senior Advocate Shri Amit Desai for the applicant, learned counsel Shri Venegavkar for respondent No.1 and learned APP for the State.

2. This is an application for bail. A criminal complaint No.418 of 2022 was lodged by the Serious Fraud Investigation Office (hereafter "SFIO", for short) on 22/04/2022 under Sec. 447 of the Companies Act, 2013 (hereafter "the Companies Act", for short)

3. The applicant is the partner at a CA audit firm, which was a statutory auditor with the Company called as Jagat Agro Commodities Private Limited which is the accused No.1 in the criminal complaint. There are in all 14 accused. The applicant is the accused No.7. The applicant was the statutory auditor of the Company right from the time of its inception till the year 2015. The accused Nos.2 and 3 are the promoters of the accused No.1 company.

4. The allegation against the applicant is that he colluded with the directors/promoters of the accused No.1 Company and did not disclose the true and fair state of affairs of accused No.1 and proceeded to audit the financial statements without verifying the primary records as well as actual stock position. It is alleged that the applicant