These applications are filed under Section 438 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 , for an order of pre-arrest bail.

2. The petitioner is the 5th accused in Crime Nos.694, 697, 705, 733, 741, 282, 446 and 651 of 2024 of the Koipuram Police Station, Pathanamthitta. Those crimes were registered against the accused and his co-accused alleging commission of offences punishable under Sections 409 and 420 r/w Section 34 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860 (‘ IPC ’, for short), and Sections 5, 23, 3 and 21 of the Banning of Unregulated Deposit Schemes Act, 2019 (BUDS Act, for short).

3. The prosecution case, in brief, is that accused 1 to 4 – the Directors of PRD MINI NIDHI Ltd., had collected deposits to the tune of Rs.8,00,000/- (rupees Eight Lakh only) against the norms of the Reserve Bank of India from the defacto- complainant and failed to return the money to the defacto- complainant. The fifth accused was the manager of the company. Thus, the accused have committed the above offences.

4. Heard the learned counsel appearing for the petitioner and the learned Public Prosecutor.

5. The learned counsel for the petitioner submitted that the petitioner is totally innocent of the accu