IN THE HIGH COURT OF HIMACHAL PRADESH, SHIMLA Cr.MP(M) No. 1381 of 2025 Reserved on: 04.07.2025 Decided on: 18.07.2025 Sunil Kumar o ....Petitioner Versus State of Himachal Pradesh t …Respondent Coram Hon’ble Mr. Justice Sushil Kukreja, Judge Whether approved for reporting?1 For the petitioner: C Mr. Rajinder Thakur and Mr. Ankit Chandel, Advocates.

For the resp ondent: Mr. I.N.Mehta, Senior Additional Advocate h General with Mr. Pawan Kumar Nadda, Additional Advocate General and Mr.Ankush g Thakur, Deputy Advocate General.

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Sushil Kukreja, Judge The instant bail application has been filed by the petitioner under Section 482 of Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (for short BNSS) for releasing him on bail in case FIR No.120 of 2023, dated 24.09.2023, under Sections 420 and 120B of Indian Penal Code (for short IPC), read with Section 5 of the HP Protection of Interest of Depositors Act, 1999 and Sections 21 and 23 of the Banning of Unregulated Deposit Schemes Act, 2019, registered at Police Station Palampur, District Kangra, Himachal Pradesh.

1 Whether reporters of Local Papers may be allowed to see the judgment?

2. Brief facts of the case, as per the prosecution story, a.re that on the basis of written complaint made by one Shri Arun Singh Guleria (complainant) on 24.09.2023, a case was registeHred at Police Station Palampur, District Kangra, HP. It was alleged in the said complaint that on the advice of one Subhash Sharma, resident of Mandi, H.P., he alongwith others had invested in a website, i.e., www.voscrow.io, which was ownted by said Subhash Sharma alongwith one Milan Garg of Meerut, U.P. In lieu of their investments, virtual currency was provided through the website. Said Subhash Sharma alongwith promoters Sukh Dev Thakur and Abhishek Sharma, residents of Mandi and Una, respectively, allegedly cheated the general public through websites, like Voscrow and Hypenext. During the period between 2019-2020, the aforesaid persons promised the individuals to double their money and such promises continued till 2021 and during that period, some individuals received distributions of funds against their investments, which led to increase in the investments, resultantly many people invested. On 25.12.2021, the allocations were halted by Subhash Sharma and later on, he assured that the allocations would resume soon. Subsequently, Subhash Sharma tied-up with Hypenext, which was owned by Milan Garg and on being persuaded, the people invested/ reinvested in Hypenext again and they also received partial funds against their investments, which practice continued till 2022. Thereafter, due to technical issues, the company requested five months’ time f.or payment and qua which, through a video, both Subhash Sharma and Milan Garg informed the entire community. In total,H the amount involved was Rs.18 Crores and they acknowledged and promised to activate new IDs on 8^th August, 2023 at Aglobal.io, however, neither his (complainant) community, nor he received any money. Hence, it is alleged that Subhash Sharma,t Hemraj, Milan Garg, Sukhdev Thakur and Abhishek Sharma defrauded the people by creating fake website and it was a well-planned conspiracy.

3. As per the FIR, the accused persons were involved in fraudulent activities related to crypto-currency and they enticed the people to invest substantial amount(s), promising high returns, which resulted in a collective loss of Rs.18 crores to the complainant and his associates. On 26.09.2023 a Special Investigation Team (SIT) was constituted, which was headed by DIG of Northern Range, Dharamshala, for investigating various crypto-currency related fraud cases across the State. It was unearthed that the modus operandi of the alleged fraud involved alluring individuals with promise of high returns on crypto-currency investments, creating a network of investors, who recruited others, manipulating crypto-currency prices and ultimately causing financial loss to