2026:CGHC:9850 NAFR HIGH COURT OF CHHATTISGARH AT BILASPUR MCRC No. 1886 of 2026

1 - Jitendra Kumar Yadav S/o Late Ajit Ram Yadav Aged About 38 Years R/o House No. L.I.G. 04 Dindayal Colony, Mangala P.S. Civil Line Teh.

Bilaspur District Bilaspur Chhattisgarh.

2 - Ram Prasad Yadav S/o Late Anjori Lal Yadav Aged About 65 Years R/o Podi P.S. Sakari Teh. Sakari District Bilaspur Chhattisgarh.

... Applicants versus State of Chhattisgarh Through Station House Officer, Civil Line Bilaspur District Bilaspur Chhattisgarh.

... Non-Applicant For Applicants : Mr. Shivang Dubey, Advocate For Non-Applicant/State : Ms. Anusha Naik, Deputy Govt. Advocate Hon'ble Mr. Ramesh Sinha, Chief Justice

Order on Board

25.02.2026

1. This is the first bail application filed under Section 483 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 (for short ‘BNSS’) for grant of regular bail to the applicants who have been arrested in connection with Crime No. 99/2024 registered at Police Station- Bilaspur District Bilaspur, (C.G.) for the offence punishable under Sections 420 and 34 of Indian Penal Code, 1860 and Section

317(2) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023.

RAHUL DEWANGAN Digitally signed by RAHUL DEWANGAN

2. Case of the prosecution, in brief, is that the complainant lodged a written report at Civil Line Police Station, Bilaspur, which was registered as FIR No. 99/2024 on 21.01.2024. As per the prosecution, on 14.10.2023, the complainant had boarded a city bus from Bilha to return to her village, Semra, and after alighting at Bilaspur New Bus Stand at about 2:30 PM, she was approached by two unidentified persons riding a motorcycle, who falsely informed her that her name had been included in a housing scheme and demanded Rs.5,000/- along with Rs.500/- towards stamp charges, asking her to come to Nehru Chowk. It is alleged that one of the accused persuaded her to sit in an auto-rickshaw while the other followed on a motorcycle up to Nehru Chowk, where at about 3:00 PM one of them pretended to approach the authorities on her behalf and, on the pretext of arranging the house, demanded money and ultimately induced her to hand over the gold locket worn around her neck. Thereafter, the accused persons fled from the spot and did not return, and upon making inquiries, the complainant realized that she had been cheated. On the basis of the said report, Crime No. 99/2024 was registered at Police Station Civil Line, District Bilaspur, and after investigation and finding the involvement of the accused persons, charge-sheet has been filed under Sections 420 and 34 of the Indian Penal Code and Section 317(2) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita. Hence, this bail application.

3. Learned counsel for the applicants submits that the applicants are innocent and have been falsely implicated by the complainant and the prosecution. It is contended that there is an inordinate and unexplained delay in lodging the complaint, which creates serious doubt over the prosecution story. It is further submitted that the entire case appears to have been concocted at the police station, as is evident from the police statements, which indicate that the complainant’s statement was recorded even prior to the alleged date of incident and the statements of other witnesses were recorded after about two years, clearly suggesting manipulation to falsely implicate the present applicants. It is also submitted that no seizure has been made from the personal possession of the applicants. He further submits that on a single day, i.e., 03.01.2026, the police registered and proceeded in three different crime numbers, namely Crime No. 14/2026, 99/2025 and 1527/2025, and apprehended the applicants in all three cases on the same day on the basis of an inadmissible memorandum statement of a co- accused in Crime No. 1527/2025, which itself demonstrates false implication. It is further submitted that in two out of the three cases, the applicants have already been granted bail by this Hon’ble Court. He further submits that s