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IN THE HIGH COURT OF PUNJAB AND HARYANA AT CHANDIGARH CRM-M-57375-2025 Date of decision : 11.11.2025 SHIKHA SHARMA ... Petitioner Versus STATE OF PUNJAB ...Respondent CORAM: HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE JASJIT SINGH BEDI Present: Mr. Varun Issar, Advocate with Mr. Shubham Pathania, Advocate for the petitioner.

Mr. M.S. Toor, A.A.G., Punjab.

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JASJIT SINGH BEDI, J.

The prayer in the present petition under Section 482 BNSS, 2023 is for the grant of anticipatory bail to the petitioner in case FIR No.244 dated 13.07.2023 registered under Sections 420, 120-B IPC and Section 13 of Punjab Travel Professions (Regulation) Act at Police Station City Faridkot.

2. The present FIR came to be registered at the instance of Beant Singh S/o Dalgir Singh and the same reads as under:-

“Application No. 901-PC 8/23 dated 1-6-2023 by Beant Singh son of Dalgir Singh resident of village Awan Tehsil Gur Harsahai District Ferozepur, after investigated by the Honorable Superintendent of Police (Local) Faridkot by the order of the Honorable Senior Superintendent of Police Faridkot, for the purpose of filing a case is received at Police Station. The contents of the application are as under: To, SSP Sahib, Faridkot. Subject-Application against the travel agent Deepak Sharma through SBE Visa' Center near Kameana Chowk Faridkot for taking necessary legal action for defrauding Rs.15,00,000/- (Fifteen lakh rupees) under the guise of sending abroad. Mob: No: 86488-88808. Respected Sir, It is requested that I, Beant Singh son of Dalgir Singh resident village Awan Tehsil Gur Harsahai District Ferozepur, I had contacted Santokh Singh, resident of village Chak Sahu Tehsil, district Faridkot, to send my son Lovepreet Singh abroad to Canada for higher studies. For the study visa, the fee and file expenses related to it are paid by me and he got me deposited Rs. of 2,50,000/- (Rupees fifty thousand) in the account of his wife Sikha Sharma and the remaining amount is Rs. 12,50,000/- in the different accounts of Deepak Sharma, total of Rs. 15,00,000/- (Rupees fifteen lakh), the copies of bank statements regarding money given to him through bank accounts are enclosed. Since he had filed the study visa file, I kept coming to him repeatedly and asking about my son's file. He was constantly avoding me. After 5-6 months, he told me that the file of your son Lovepreet Singh has been rejected. After that, regarding the amount applicant had deposited in accused's account, the applicant kept contacting him for refund but the said travel agent Deepak Sharma kept avoiding the applicant. When I pressured him to my amount of Rs. 15,00,000/- (Fifteen lakh rupees) along with my close friends, accused called me to his house on 21^st February 2023. Where I took my trusted person Ajit Singh son of Didar Singh resident of Golu Ka Morh Tehsil Guru Harsahai Mukhtiar Chand son of Gurdas. Ram resident of Wasal Mohan Ke, Block Gur Harsai along with me. At that time, Sukhdev Singh son of Bhupinder Singh resident of Dogar Basti Faridkot and Mintu, the owner of Anand Gas Agency, Faridkot, was present there. On the spot, when I and my friends asked for the money, the travel agent's partner Sukhdev Singh, son of Bhupinder Singh and Sittu Gas Agency, Anand, assured us that it was his responsibility to return this amount. The said travel agent Deepak Sharma made a written statement with me on 21 February, 2023 in the presence of witnesses that he will return this amount by 20-5-2023. As a guarantee of this statement, Deepak Sharma gave me three cheque from Bank of Baroda, each with an amount of Rs. 5 lakh and his signature. According to this statement, when the amount was returned to me, I was supposed to return the cheque to the said travel agent Deepak Sharma. But when I contacted him to return my amount at the appointed time, he had absconded. So when I deposited the cheque in the bank to get cash, but the cheque got bounced. Therefore, it is my request that the above travel agent and his associates hav