IN THE HIGH COURT OF PUNJAB & HARYANA AT CHANDIGARH ****

276 CRM-M-54121-2025 Date of Decision : 19.12.2025 RAJDEEP SINGH ...Petitioner VERSUS STATE OF PUNJAB ...Respondent CORAM: HON’BLE MS. JUSTICE AARADHNA SAWHNEY Present: Mr. G.S.Saini, Advocate for the petitioner.

Mr. Gautam Thapar, Sr. DAG, Punjab.

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AARADHNA SAWHNEY, J. (ORAL)

1. This petition for grant of anticipatory bail under Section 482 BNSS, has been filed by petitioner, an accused in case bearing FIR No.0028 dated 13.03.2025 registered against him at Police Station Kamboj, District Amritsar (Rural), for the commission of offences punishable u/s 316(5), 318(4) of BNS (Sections 338, 336(3), 340(2), 61(2), 238 of BNS added later on).

2. Relevant facts as can be inferred from the documents on record are noticed hereinbelow:-

Sourabh Bhatia, Branch Manager, HDFC Bank Limited Amritsar, Majitha Road, VPO Naushera, Tehsil and District Amritsar, set the criminal law in motion by filing a complaint against PB sales Bobby Mani, (Employee Code B10989), after having received a call from Sh. Manpreet Singh, an account holder in HDFC Bank, who requested to enquire about withdrawal of Rs.4 lakhs from his account on 07.03.2025. Immediately thereafter, accounts were checked and it was found that one of the employee, namely, Bobby Maine, son of Sanjay Kumar Maine, had transferred the funds in his own account bearing No. 027392000009973 with ‘Yes Bank’. When the employee was cross-questioned, he admitted having defrauded many customers of the bank and in all misappropriating Rs.23 lakh. Enquiry further revealed that the aforesaid employee was habitual of transferring funds in his own accounts, which he held in Yes bank, PNB, etc., as also in the account of one of his friend, namely, Bablu with PNB Bank. He also confessed that he used to invest the said money in the share market but had suffered huge losses. His family members were called and the entire facts were brought to their notice. Sh. Sanjay Kumar Maine, father of Bobby Maine gave the bank authorities an authority letter authorizing them to debit Rs.4.66 lakh from his account. Based on the said letter, Rs.4 lakhs were credited in the account of Manpreet Singh and remaining Rs.66,000/- were credited in the account of another customer, namely, Gurdial Singh, who had also complained on similar lines. Details of the various customers collected during the course of enquiry, who had also been deprived of their hard earned money was mentioned in the complaint.

Towards the end, it was pointed out that statement of accounts of various customers were looked into, which revealed that Bobby had indulged in frequent fraudulent withdrawals from the accounts of customers and had misappropriated the money for his own personal wrongful gain.

On the basis of the said complaint, a formal case vide FIR No.0028 dated 13.03.2025, u/s 316(5), 318(4) of BNS (Sections 338, 336(3), 340(2), 61(2), 238 of BNS added later on), was registered.

On 13.03.2025, co-accused Bobby Maine was arrested. During interrogation, he confessed to his involvement in the commission of offence and disclosed that he was posed as Assistant Manger, Naushera Branch, Amritsar of HDFC Bank and was allocated loan, insurance, FD duty as he had invested money in the share market and has suffered loss, he needed more money and thus, started crediting the cheque amount of customers of HDFC bank in his personal account, as also in the account of his trusted friends, instead of opening FDRs of the customers. He also disclosed the names of various customers and the details of the amounts illegally withdrawn by him as follows:-

(i) Rs.2,50,000/- of Jaimal Singh (ii) Rs.2,00,000/- of Deep Nishu (iii) Rs.3,400/- of Gurdial Singh (iv) Rs.4,00,000/- of Angrej Singh (v) Rs.4,00,000/- of Manpreet Singh (vi) Rs.10,00,000/- of Sukhwinder Kaur (vii) Rs.4,00,000/- of Navpreet Singh During the course of investigation, complainant Sourabh Bhatia presented the photocopies of cheques, account statements, fa