IN THE HIGH COURT OF PUNJAB AND HARYANA AT CHANDIGARH Date of decision: 12.01.2026 Suresh Kumar ....Petitioner V/s State of Haryana ....Respondent CORAM: HON’BLE MR. JUSTICE SUMEET GOEL Present: Mr. DPS Bajwa, Advocate for the petitioner.

Ms. Mahima Yashpal, Senior DAG Haryana.

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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 Section 482 of BNSS, 2023 in FIR No.06 dated 31.01.2024 registered for offences punishable under Sections 409, 420, 120-B of IPC and Sections 7, 8, 12, 132 of Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988 at Police Station Anti Corruption Bureau Ambala, District Ambala.

2. In brief, the present case arises out of a complaint submitted by Inspector Parkash Chand of Police Station Anti-Corruption Bureau, who was a member of the Special Investigation Team which was constituted to investigate FIR No.21 dated 13.05.2023 registered under Sections 409, 420, 120-B, 467, 468, 471 IPC and Sections 7, 8 and 13 of the Prevention of Corruption Act at Police Station ACB, Gurugram. During the course of investigation of the said FIR and connected FIR(s), it surfaced that accused Stalian Jit son of Harbail Singh had paid bribes to accused Jitender Kaushik, who was posted as General Manager, ICDP, Kaithal, for securing government works relating to ICDP and cooperative department projects.

The investigation revealed that Jitender Kaushik had demanded and received bribe from Stalian Jit on multiple occasions. The WhatsApp chats recovered from the mobile phone of Stalian Jit and bank transaction details had established that Jitender Kaushik had shared details of various bank accounts with Stalian Jit for receiving illegal gratification. The investigation had further revealed that amounts were transferred from the accounts of companies controlled by Stalian Jit i.e. Loadlink Systems Pvt. Ltd., Fresh Khata Ltd. and Laybay India Ltd., into the bank accounts of various ICDP employees, including the present petitioner. An amount of Rs.7,50,000/- was transferred into the bank account of the accused - petitioner during the relevant period. The petitioner was posted as Accountant in ICDP, Kaithal and was also a member of the Project Implementation Team (PIT). It has been further alleged that the signatures of the petitioner appear on various documents including quotations, vouchers and bills relating to ICDP projects. Furthermore, the material collected during investigation shows that government works to the tune of Rs.1.89 crore were allotted to the companies of Stalian Jit without following due tender process and sub- standard material was supplied, while bills were raised for standard quality material. Expert reports and official records seized during investigation indicate serious discrepancies between the billed material and the material actually supplied. It has also emerged that large-scale misappropriation of government funds was committed in connivance with public servants. The prosecution has specifically alleged that the petitioner facilitated the conspiracy by signing documents and receiving illegal funds. On these set of allegations, the instant FIR was got registered.

3. Learned counsel for the petitioner has iterated that the petitioner has been falsely implicated into the present FIR as the same has been registered after a delay of more than two years. Learned counsel has further iterated that the name of the petitioner does not find mentioned in the FIR and no specific role has been attributed to him. According to learned counsel, the entire prosecution case revolves around the main accused namely Stalian Jit and Jitender Kaushik and the petitioner has been unnecessarily roped in during the course of investigation. Learned counsel has further submitted that no incriminating document has been recovered from the possession of the petitioner. Learned counsel has further submitted that the alleged bank transactions have been wrongly interpreted