Bail conditions requiring deposit of disputed amounts improper; must be modified to bonds and practical appearances.

O R D E R

This Criminal Original Petition has been filed to set aside the condition Nos.(i)i and (iv) in Crl. M.P. No. 477 of 2026 on the file of the learned Principal District and Sessions Judge, Erode dated 07.04.2026.

2. The petitioners, who are A4 and A5 in Crime No.3 of 2026, submitted that they were arrested and remanded to judicial custody on 23.02.2026. Thereafter, bail was granted on 07.04.2026, subject to certain condition. One of the conditions namely condition (ii), that the 1^st petitioner shall deposit a sum of Rs.30,000/- and the 2^nd and 3^rd petitioners shall deposit a sum of Rs.1,00,000/- each in the Court of the Judicial Magistrate No.III, Erode, in connection with Crime No.03/2026 on the file of Erode, Cyber Crime Police Station and the bail bond shall be issued only after such deposit. Aggrieved by this condition, the petitioners/A4 and A5 have filed the present petition, relying upon the judgments of the Hon’ble Apex Court in Prantik Kumar and Another v. The State of Jharkhand and Another and Kundan Singh v. The Superintendent of CGST and Central Excise wherein it has been held that imposing a condition to deposit the disputed amount while granting bail or anticipatory bail, is not proper.

3. The learned Additional Public Prosecutor for the respondent strongly opposed the petitioners’ contention and submitted that the petitioners are habitual offenders and have been involved in several cases of a similar nature, all of which are under investigation. The petitioners are alleged to have opened the mule accounts in the names of various persons and to have engaged in cybercrime, cheating and misappropriation of innocent public money.

3.2. He further submitted that the petitioners were initially arrested on 30.01.2026 in Crime No.2 of 2026 by the Cyber Crime Police, Salem and thereafter, in this case, they had been formally arrested on 23.02.2026 under a PT Warrant. The 2ndpetitioner / A5, though was granted bail in the Salem case in Crl.O.P.No.7041 of 2026, failed to appear before this Court. He further submitted that the condition requiring deposit of the amount may be modified to the extent of directing the petitioners to execute a bond for such amount.

4. In view of the above, this Court directs A3 to execute a bond for Rs.30,000/- with two sureties for a like sum and the 2^nd and 3^rd petitioners / A4 and A5 to execute a bond for Rs.1,00,000/- each with two sureties for a like sum in this case.

5. Further condition No.(iv), directing A3 and the petitioners/A4 and A5 to appear before the Judicial Magistrate No.III, Erode, daily at 10.30 a.m., for 15 working days and thereafter, twice a month on the 1^st and 15^th of every month until further orders, is not practicable in view of the order passed by this Court in Crl.O.P.No.7041 of 2026 dated 18.03.2026, wherein the petitioner/A5 was directed to appear before the Cyber Crime Police, Salem daily at 10.30 am and 5.30 pm for a period of 30 days.

6. In view of the above, the said condition is modified to the effect that after completing the one month period of appearance before the C.C.B. Salem, the petitioner/A5 shall thereafter appear before the respondent police, CCB, Erode for a period of 30 days and thereafter, as and when required.

7. With the above directions, this Criminal Original Petition is disposed of. 21.04.2026 Neutral Citation: Yes/No AT To