JUDGMENT :

1. Counter affidavit filed by learned counsel for the informant and rejoinder affidavit and supplementary affidavit filed by learned counsel for the applicants are taken on record.

2. Heard Sri Anoop Trivedi, learned Senior Advocate assisted by Sri Abhinav Gaur, learned counsel for the applicants and Sri Gopal Swaroop Chaturvedi, learned Senior Advocate assisted by Sri Alok Ranjan Mishra, learned counsel for the informant as well as Sri V.K.S. Parmar, learned A.G.A. for the State and also perused the material available on record.

3. The present anticipatory bail application has been filed on behalf of the applicants in F.I.R./Case Crime No. 128 of 2018, under Sections 406, 409, 420, 467, 468, 471, 120(B) IPC, Police Station Swarup Nagar, District Kanpur Nagar, with a prayer to enlarge them on anticipatory bail.

PROSECUTION STORY:

4. As per allegations in FIR, the applicants and the informant are the directors in MTG Infra Power Private Ltd. Company. It was agreed upon by the directors that the said company shall file tenders for contracts in the State departments and the released amount shall be deposited in the joint account of the informant and the named accused persons in the FIR.

5. On 30.9.2013, ten tenders were issued in favour of the company, but the applicants and co-accused persons Somendra Mehta and Romendra Mehta are stated to have committed criminal breach of trust and had deposited the said amount in different account numbers to which the informant was not the authorized signatory. The said account numbers are A/c No. 2336002100016082 of PNB, Panki, Kanpur, A/c No. 032605008262 of ICICI Bank, Govind Nagar, Kanpur and A/c No. 07271300000712 Punjab and Sind Bank, Transport Nagar, Kanpur. Thus, the whole amount was usurped by the applicants and other named co-accused persons in collusion with other unknown persons. The applicants and the co-accused persons are stated to have filed forged documents in the official records and also had filed fake bank guarantees before State Authorities.

6. Subsequent to it, another Bank A/c No. 0043002100062099 was also opened in PNB Bareilly, and Rs.19 crores were deposited in it, which was debited by the applicants and the other co-accused persons illegally.

7. On 18.4.2016 and 25.4.2016, the applicants are even stated to have purchased two BMW Cars with registration no. UP 78 E 7722 and UP 78 EH 0055 worth Rs. 65 lakhs each. They are even purported to have purchased another Fortuner Toyota Car worth Rs. 35 lakhs in the month of May-June 2018. Thus, they have illegally and with malicious intent, misused about Rs. 1 crore 50 lakhs of the company.

8. In September-October 2017, a new Bank A/c No. 4845214000005 was opened in Canara Bank, Civil Lines, Kanpur, to which applicant no. 1, Sandeep Kumar Garg and co-accused person Somendra Mehta were authorized signatories, and an amount of about Rs. 30 crores is stated to have been deposited in it and withdrawn by them. The applicants and other co-accused persons are even stated to have deposited fake bank guarantees in the department. It is also mentioned in the FIR that the applicants have criminal antecedents.

RIVAL CONTENTIONS:

CONTENTIONS ON BEHALF OF THE APPLICANTS:

9. Learned Senior Counsel for the applicants has stated that the applicants are maliciously being prosecuted in the present case due to ulterior motive. They have the apprehension of their arrest. The applicants have nothing to do with the said offence as alleged by the prosecution. Learned Senior Counsel has stated that in the said case, closure report was filed by the investigating officer after a detailed investigation. A protest petition was filed by the informant and the applicants were summoned by the court concerned by rejecting the closure report, and the court concerned was pleased to take cognizance in the case under Sections 406, 420 and 120-B IPC vide order dated 29.10.2021.

10. Subsequent to it, the informant had filed a criminal revision before the Sessions Judge