Bombay High Court
ANIKET MANISH BHAGATversusSTATE OF MAHARASHTRA
- Decided
- Disposal
- Disposed Off
Holding
Anticipatory bail was granted to Aniket Manish Bhagat subject to specified conditions.
Summary
The High Court considered an anticipatory bail application filed by Aniket Manish Bhagat under Section 482 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 in connection with alleged violations of the Maharashtra Protection of Interest of Depositors (in Financial Establishments) Act, 1999 and the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023. The prosecution alleged that Bhagat acted as an agent who collected Rs. 2 crore from investors and handed it over to the main accused, Pravin Patil, but the charge‑sheet contained no documentary evidence to substantiate this claim and Bhagat’s name appeared only in a witness statement that was not incriminating. Bhagat argued that the material against him was insufficient, that his antecedents were unrelated, and that he had taken a bank loan to repay investors, indicating no participation in the fraud. The State opposed bail, contending that custodial interrogation was necessary to ascertain Bhagat’s role. The Court held that, given the lack of concrete evidence, the applicant’s willingness to cooperate, and the principle of preventing undue harassment, anticipatory bail could be granted subject to strict conditions. Accordingly, the Court ordered Bhagat’s release on bail with a personal bond and a series of reporting and conduct conditions.
Issues considered
- Whether anticipatory bail should be granted to the applicant under Section 482 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 in view of the allegations and the material on record.
- Whether the prosecution has produced sufficient incriminating evidence against the applicant to justify denial of bail.
Legislation cited
- Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 — s. 482
- Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 — s. 316(2), 318(4), 3(5)
- Maharashtra Protection of Interest of Depositors (in Financial Establishments) Act, 1999 — s. 3, 4
Subjects
- anticipatory bail
- financial fraud
- depositor protection
- Section 482
- bail conditions
- Maharashtra Protection of Interest of Depositors Act
- Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita
- cooperation with investigation
Judgment
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IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT BOMBAY
CRIMINAL APPELLATE JURISDICTION
ANTICIPATORY BAIL APPLICATION NO. 2443 OF 2026
Aniket Manish Bhagat …Applicant
Vs.
State of Maharashtra …Respondent
Mr.Shekhar Ingawale, for the Applicant.
Mr.S.V. Walve, APP for the Respondent-State.
CORAM: MADHAV J. JAMDAR, J.
DATE : 2nd SEPTEMBER, 2026
P. C.:
1. Heard Mr. Ingawale, learned counsel appearing for the
Applicant and Mr. Walve, learned APP appearing for the State.
2. By this application filed under Section 482 of the Bharatiya
Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023, the Applicant is seeking pre-
arrest bail in connection with C.R. No. 75 of 2026 registered with
Uran Police Station, Navi Mumbai for the offences punishable
under Sections 3 & 4 of the Maharashtra Protection of Interest of
Depositors (in Financial Establishments) Act, 1999 and Sections
3(5), 316(2) and 318(4) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023.
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3. The prosecution case is set out in paragraph No. 2 of order
dated 4th August 2026 passed by learned Additional Sessions
Judge, Panvel-Raigad below Exhibit 1 in Bail Application No. 500
of 2026, which reads as under :-
“2. In nut shell of the case of the prosecution is that
in August 2025, there was a large influx of villagers
visiting Pravin Patil's home. Upon inquiring made
with the villagers, the complainant learned that
Pravin Patil was investing money in a company called
Open Hands Sharing Live. That company having
office in Alibaug, and that he was running his scheme
using the money received from this Open Hands
company. To make people invest in the scheme,
Pravin Patil personally, along with his brother
Vinayak Narayan Patil and sister-in-law Kamiksha
Vinayak Patil, toured village Sarde telling, people that
if they invested 11,000 for 15 days, they would get
an additional return of 8,000, making a total payout
of 19,000 in 15 days. He also showed the
complainant and other villagers the records stored on
his laptop, where each investment of ₹11,000 was
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registered under an 'ID' containing investor details.
The complainant believing the records shown on the
laptop, she trusted Pravin Patil, his brother Vinayak,
and sister-in-law Kamiksha, invested 26,07,000/- in
cash for a total of 237 IDs in the scheme, but till date,
they have not returned my invested amount or the
promised extra returns. Similarly, they failed to
return Rs. 3,04,59,000/- for a total of 2,769 IDs
collected from 15 other individuals in our village. The
complainant and other villagers tried contacting
Pravin Patil, Vinayak Patil, and Kamiksha Patil but
their mobile phone was switched off. Thus, the
accused persons cheated and misappropriated her
money. The law was set to motion after the
complainant lodged a complaint and the crime was
registered under the aforesaid sections.”
4. At the outset, Mr. Ingawale, learned counsel appearing for
the Applicant states that this is a second Anticipatory Bail
Application. The first Anticipatory Bail Application has been
withdrawn after arguing the Anticipatory Bail Application for some
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time. Mr. Ingawale, learned counsel states that when the earlier
Anticipatory Bail Application was moved, the charge-sheet was not
filed. Now the charge-sheet has been filed against the Accused
who are arrested and therefore entire material is on record. He
submits that even if entire charge-sheet is read as it is, there is no
incriminating material against the present Applicant. He
submitted that his name is mentioned only in the statement of
witness, namely Vikrant Jagannath Gawand recorded on 22 nd May
2025 (Pages 225 to 228). He submitted that if that statement is
read as it is, then also there is no incriminating material against
the present Applicant. He submits that main allegations are against
Accused Nos. 1 to 3 and even the Applicant’s name is not
mentioned in the F.I.R. The Accused Nos. 1 to 3 have been
arrested and Accused No. 3 has already been released on bail on
the ground that she is a lady. He submits that even if prosecution
case is accepted as it is, the only statement of the witness- Vikrant
Jagannath Gawand is against the Applicant and even in that
statement there is nothing incriminating.
5. He submits that there are four antecedents, the details of the
same are set out in the Anticipatory Bail Application and in all
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antecedents, he has been granted bail. He submits that the
antecedents are not of similar nature as the present offence.
6. Mr. Ingawale, learned counsel submits that in fact the
Applicant has taken loan of Rs. 37 Lakhs from ICICI Bank for
payment of investors who have invested money with Accused No. 1
through the Applicant and the Applicant is not involved in the
crime.
7. On the other hand, Mr. Walve, learned APP strongly opposes
the Anticipatory Bail Application. He submitted that the Applicant
has acted as agent and collected the money from investors and
handed over the monies to main accused Mr. Pravin Patil. He
submitted that during the investigation, as per the information
given by the main accused-Pravin Patil that when the main accused
was not in the said village, the Applicant has gone to the residence
of the Accused No.1 and collected Rs.2 Crores. He, therefore,
submitted that custodial interrogation is necessary.
8. Perusal of the F.I.R. and the charge-sheet show that the main
allegation, even as per the contentions of learned APP, against the
present Applicant is that the Applicant has collected money from
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the investors and handed over to the Accused No.1-Pravin Patil.
The statement of co-accused-Pravin Patil which is recorded by the
police states that an amount of Rs.2 Crores has been taken away by
the Applicant from the house of the main accused-Pravin Patil.
However, in the F.I.R. and in the charge-sheet there is no other
document to substantiate the allegations made by the co-accused.
There is no material on record to indicate that the Applicant has
collected the money from investors and kept the same with him.
9. In any case, Mr. Ingawale, learned counsel appearing for the
Applicant states that the Applicant will completely cooperate with
the investigation. As the charge-sheet has been filed against the
other co-accused named in the F.I.R. and thus the investigation is
substantially completed, a case is made out for grant of
Anticipatory Bail by imposing certain conditions. Hence, following
order is passed:
ORDER
i. In the event of arrest, the Applicant-Aniket Manish
Bhagat be released on bail in C.R. No. 75 of 2026
registered with Uran Police Station, Navi Mumbai, on
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executing P.R. bond of Rs.1,00,000/- and furnishing one
or two local solvent sureties in the like amount.
ii. The Applicant shall attend the concerned Police
Station immediately on 9th, 10 and 11th September 2026
between 11.00 a.m. to 2.00 p.m. and thereafter on each
Friday between 11.00 a.m. to 2.00 p.m. till filing of
charge-sheet against the present Applicant and
thereafter once in a month on 4 th Friday between 11.00
a.m. to 2.00 p.m. and shall cooperate with the
investigation.
iii. The Applicant shall furnish his cell phone number
and residential address to the Investigating Officer and
shall keep the same updated, in case of any change
thereto.
iv. The Applicant shall not directly or indirectly make
any inducement, threat, or promise to any person
acquainted with the facts of the case so as to dissuade
such a person from disclosing the facts to the Court or to
any Police personnel.
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v. The Applicant shall not tamper with the
prosecution evidence and shall not contact or influence
the Complainant, or any witness, in any manner.
vi. The Applicant shall not leave India without taking
permission from the Court.
10. The Anticipatory Bail Application is disposed of accordingly.
[MADHAV J. JAMDAR, J.]
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