ORDER :

SANJEEV J.THAKER, J.

1. Rule. Learned APP Ms. Shruti Pathak waives service of notice of rule for respondent-State.

2. By way of the present Application preferred under Section 482 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 (hereinafter referred to as “BNSS”), the Applicant seeks grant of anticipatory bail in connection with FIR being C.R. No. I-11210008250528 of 2025 dated 28.06.2025 registered with Sarthana Police Station, Surat, for the offences alleged to have been committed during the period from the year 2022 to June, 2025, punishable under Sections 316(5), 317(2), 318(4), 351(3) and 61(2) of the Bharatiya Nyay Sanhita, 2023, Section 66(d) of the Information Technology Act, and Section 3 of the Gujarat Protection of Interest of Depositors (In Financial Establishments) Act, 2003. The Applicant is arrayed as Accused No. 3 out of the six accused persons named in the said FIR.

3. The Complainant, Mr. Amitkumar Jaysukhbhai Patel, has lodged the impugned complaint alleging that all the accused persons, pursuant to a pre-planned criminal conspiracy, induced the first informant to invest in Forex trading by assuring lucrative returns of 7% to 8% per month and representing that the present Applicant himself was earning approximately Rs. 10 to 12 lakhs per month. It is further alleged that the first informant was initially persuaded to pay a sum of Rs. 2,00,000/- as a token amount, pursuant to which a Forex account was opened in his name and an initial investment of Rs. 5,00,000/- came to be made.

4. It is further alleged that, in order to gain the confidence of the first informant, certain initial profits were shown, and thereafter, the accused persons induced him to invest further by promising higher returns of 10% to 12%. It is alleged that the accused demanded additional funds on the pretext that the first informant’s account would be blocked in case of non-payment and that such payments were necessary to continue operating the account. In this manner, the first informant is stated to have invested a total sum of Rs. 39,00,000/-. It is further alleged that, upon the first informant demanding repayment, the accused persons issued threats and thereby committed acts of cheating and criminal breach of trust. Consequently, the present FIR came to be registered against all the persons involved.

5. Heard learned senior advocate Mr.Mitesh Amin assisted with learned advocate Mr.R.R.Dholakia for the applicant and learned APP Ms.Shruti Pathak for respondent-State.

6. At the outset, Ld. Senior Advocate Mr. Amin for the Applicant has submitted that the Applicant is ready and willing to cooperate with the investigation. An undertaking has been placed on record on behalf of the Applicant stating that a total of 16 victims are involved and the aggregate amount in question is Rs. 3,45,81,000/-, in respect of which four FIRs have been registered against the Applicant and other accused persons. It is further submitted that out of the said amount, Accused No.1, Mr. Mit Pravinbhai Khokhar had undertaken to deposit a sum of Rs. 1,00,00,000/- pursuant to the order dated 06.03.2026 passed by this Court while granting him bail in Criminal Miscellaneous Application No. 5442 of 2026 and allied matters.

7. It is further submitted that the present Applicant has also undertaken to deposit a sum of Rs. 50,00,000/- as a precondition, and the remaining amount of Rs. 1,95,00,000/- shall be paid in five equal monthly installments. It is also submitted that the Applicant shall cooperate with the investigation and abide by such terms and conditions as may be imposed by this Court.

8. On merits, Ld. Senior Advocate has submitted that, as per the FIR, the original Complainant had initially approached Accused No.1 – Mit, who opened an account in EONE FX, and thereafter, the said account came to be transferred to SECURE FX. It is contended that the present Applicant was associated only with EONE FX and had no connection with SECURE FX. It is further submitted that