The Himachal Pradesh High Court has held that merely because a case is triable by a Judicial Magistrate does not automatically entitle the accused to bail under Prevention of Money Laundering Act rather it must be granted taking into account the seriousness of the offence and the nature of evidence collected by the prosecution.
The bench of Justice Virender Singh has observed that a delicate balance between the individual liberty and larger interest of the society has to be maintained. Merely on the ground that the case is triable by the
Court of Judicial Magistrate, the applicant is not ipso facto entitled for the relief of bail, as the question of bail has to be decided, in accordance with the peculiar facts and circumstances of the case and considering the seriousness of the offence, as well as, evidence, so collected by the prosecution.
The Applicant-Kulveer has filed the application, under Section 483 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 (BNSS), for releasing him on bail, during the pendency of trial, arising out of FIR registered under Section 420 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and Section 66D of the Information Technology Act (IT Act), with Cyber Crime Police Station, Central Range, Mandi, District Mandi, H.P.
According to the applicant, he is innocent and has falsely been implicated by the police, in this case, and arrested.
The investigation is stated to be completed and according to the applicant, nothing has to be recovered from him or at his instance. The applicant has termed the allegations, levelled against him, as false and frivolous, as, according to him, he has nothing to do with the alleged offences. According to the applicant, he is a citizen of India and permanent resident of District Bareilly, U.P., as such, there is no likelihood of his absconding.
The court held that considering the gravity of the offence, according to which, as per the case of the police, in the account of the applicant a huge amount of ₹ 2,45,00,000/- was found to be deposited, including the amount of 20,00,000/-, allegedly deposited by the complainant, the release of the applicant would give a wrong signal and would encourage other persons to indulge in similar type of activities to become rich overnight.
Case Details
Case Title: Kulveer Versus State of Himachal Pradesh
Case No.: CrMP(M) No. : 1215 of 2025
Date: 06.06.2025
Counsel For Petitioner: Kamal Kant Chandel
Counsel For Respondent: Tejasvi Sharma
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