JUDGMENT :

SUMEET GOEL, J.

1. Present petition has been filed on behalf of the petitioners seeking grant of anticipatory/pre-arrest bail under Section 482 of BNSS, 2023 in FIR No.0022 dated 12.08.2025, registered for offences punishable under Sections 7, 2, 13(1)(a) read with 13(2) of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988 and Sections 471, 468, 467, 420, 409, 406, 218, 201, 167, 166, 120-B of IPC at Police Station ACB, Faridabad, District Anti-Corruption Bureau, Faridabad.

2. The present FIR arises during investigation of earlier FIR No. 11 dated 24.03.2022 at PS SV ACB Faridabad, wherein it was found that 08 fake work orders related to laying of interlocking tiles on the berm of RMC Road at Mohana Road, Ballabgarh were fraudulently prepared in the name of Satbir Singh, Contractor, on 27.11.2018. It has been alleged that the original estimates of these works, totaling about Rs. 40,06,000/-, were illegally revised within 20 days on 08.12.2018 to about Rs.07.63 crores by officials of Municipal Corporation Faridabad (MCF) in connivance with the contractor. Payments were released even though no such work orders were ever officially issued and no work was actually executed. Furthermore, verification of the dispatch register and records of other MCF divisions confirmed that these work orders were forged and dispatch numbers were fake. The fake work orders were processed and payments were approved by MCF officials, including Executive Engineer Prem Raj Singh, Superintendent Vinod Kumar, OIA Vishal Kaushik (petitioner No.1 herein), RSA Naveen Kumar (petitioner No.2 herein), Joint Director Audit Hargulal, Smt. Sashi Arya, Clerk Naveen Ratra, and others, who abused their official positions. It has been further alleged that the aforesaid accused officials, in conspiracy with contractor Satbir Singh, caused a wrongful loss of Rs. 7,63,08,007/- to the Government exchequer and wrongful gain to the contractor. Accordingly, the instant has been registered and investigation ensued.

3. Learned senior counsel for the petitioners has iterated that the petitioners have been falsely implicated into the present FIR and the same was been registered on the basis of a motivated and mala fide complaint. Learned senior counsel has further iterated that there are no specific or direct allegations against the petitioners attributing any overt act or criminal intent. According to learned senior counsel, the petitioners were posted in the Accounts Branch of Municipal Corporation, Faridabad and has no role whatsoever in issuance of the work orders, technical sanction, enhancement of estimates, execution of work or measurement of works. Their duties were purely clerical and procedural limited to checking whether the bills were duly certified by the Engineering Department and pre-audited by the statutory Audit branch. Learned senior counsel has further submitted that the payments were released only after due audit and approval by the competent authority. Furthermore, the allegations of conspiracy are stated to be baseless as the bills were generated in December 2018 and payments were made only in July 2019 after completion of all the procedural formalities. Learned senior counsel has emphasized that the present FIR is barred in law as multiple FIRs have been registered in respect of the same transaction and same set of work orders which amounts to abuse of process of law. Learned senior counsel has asserted that the petitioners have already been granted the concession of anticipatory bail in the earlier FIRs on identical allegations and there is no justification for their custodial interrogation as the entire case is based on documentary evidence already in possession of the investigating agency. Learned senior counsel has asserted that the petitioners have already joined the investigation pursuant to interim protection and have fully cooperated with the investigation agency. Furthermore, the petitioners are willing to further join the investigation as and when re