IN THE HIGH COURT OF PUNJAB AND HARYANA AT CHANDIGARH Sunil Kumar ....Petitioner V/s State of Haryana ....Respondent Date of decision: 02.12.2025 Date of Uploading : 02.12.2025 CORAM: HON’BLE MR. JUSTICE SUMEET GOEL Present: Mr. Nirmal Singh, Advocate for the petitioner.

Mr. Tarun Aggarwal, Additional Advocate General, Haryana (on the strength of advance notice).

Mr. Pawan Kumar Hooda, Advocate for the complainant (on his own volition).

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SUMEET GOEL, J. (Oral)

1. Present petition has been filed on behalf of the petitioner seeking grant of anticipatory/pre-arrest bail under Sections 482 of Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 (hereinafter to be referred as ‘BNSS’) in FIR No.243 dated 04.11.2025 registered for offences punishable under Sections 316(2), 318(4), 336(3), 337, 340(2), 61(2) of BNS at Police Station Panipat Sadar, District Panipat.

2. The essence of the FIR, as set-out in the petition, is that Vijay Kumar and Sanjay Katariya filed a complaint to the Superintendent of Police, Panipat alleging therein that four persons i.e. Gagandeep Sharma, Sunil Kumar (petitioner herein), Pankaj @ Bhagta, and Dharampal Singh had contacted them about a plot of land measuring 24 kanals 18 marla near Madhuban on GT Road. They claimed that the land belonged to Rajesh Kumar Kesari, who had given a GPA (General Power of Attorney) to his friend Virender Singh, authorizing him to sell the property. Thereafter, the complainants visited the land at village Kutail and agreed to proceed with the purchase. On 12.03.2025, the complainants met the aforesaid four persons along with a person introduced as Shahi Virender Singh, the alleged GPA holder. Thereafter, the said Virender Singh had made a phone call and the person on the other end introduced himself as Rajesh Kumar Kesari confirming that the GPA was genuine and asking them to transfer half the payment to his bank account and half to the account of Virender. A sale deal of Rs.12.11 crores was finalized i.e. 70% share by Sanjay Kataria and 30% by Vijay Kumar. Accordingly, the complainants paid Rs.65 lakh in cash and Rs.40 lakh by cheque to Rajesh Kumar Kesari. Furthermore, the complainants paid a sum of Rs. 40 lakh by cheque to Virender Singh. Later, two more cheques of Rs.17.5 lakh each were given to both Rajesh and Virender. Accordingly, an agreement to sell and receipt were executed at Tehsil Panipat with 15.09.2025 set as the last date for the sale deed. Virender also gave them an affidavit. On 15.09.2025, the complainants reached Tehsil Gharaunda for the sale deed but the accused did not turn up. They marked their presence before the Tehsildar. Later, they discovered that Rajesh Kumar Kesari had already cancelled the GPA on 19.07.2025 even though they were made to sign the agreement on 12.03.2025. In this way, the complainants realized that they had been cheated of Rs.1.80 crore by the accused. On these set of allegations, the instant FIR was got registered and investigation ensued.

3. Learned counsel for the petitioner has iterated that the petitioner has been falsely implicated into the FIR in question and has not received even a single rupee from the complainants. Learned counsel has further iterated that the role of the petitioner is limited to that of a witness on the agreement to sell dated 12.03.2025. According to learned counsel, the entire consideration was received only by co-accused Rajesh Kumar Kesari (owner) and Virender Singh (GPA holder). Even as per the prosecution version, nothing is to be recovered from the petitioner and no incriminating material is attributed to him. Learned counsel has further submitted that the petitioner is not a beneficiary and the FIR itself is inconsistent and contradictory. It has been further argued that the name of the petitioner has been falsely roped into the instant case without any supporting evidence or proper investigation. The investigation is purely documentary in nature and all the relevant documents are already with the complainant