Bombay High Court
AVINASH NIVRITTI BHOSALE S/O LATE NIVRITTI GANPATI BHOSALEversusCENTRAL BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION AND ANR
- Decided
- Disposal
- Disposed Off
Holding
The court held that the passport surrender condition should be scaled down to a reporting requirement and the personal appearance condition can be fulfilled by ensuring the advocate’s presence, while retaining the trial court’s authority to demand the applicant’s personal attendance.
Summary
The applicant, Avinash Nivritti Bhosale, filed an interim application seeking to scale down two bail conditions imposed on 17 May 2024. Condition No.49(vi) required surrender of his passport and prior permission for any foreign travel, which he argued was onerous for his business. The court, relying on its earlier decisions in Mohammad Hanif Nurani v. State of Maharashtra and Kirti Vishwanath Kedia v. CBI, modified the condition to require the applicant to furnish travel itineraries and contact details, allowing the passport to be returned. Condition No.49(vii) mandated his personal attendance at trial court hearings; the court permitted compliance through his advocate’s presence, subject to the trial court’s discretion to demand personal appearance. The interim application was therefore allowed and disposed with the revised directions.
Issues considered
- Whether the passport surrender and travel permission condition in bail is unreasonably restrictive and can be modified.
- Whether the requirement of personal appearance before the trial court can be satisfied by the presence of counsel.
- Whether such modifications are permissible under established bail jurisprudence.
Subjects
- bail
- interim application
- passport surrender
- personal appearance
- scaling down conditions
- CBI
- Bombay High Court
- Criminal Procedure
Judgment
19.IA.3833.2025.doc
HARSHADA H. SAWANT
(P.A.)
IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT BOMBAY
CRIMINAL APPELLATE JURISDICTION
INTERIM APPLICATION NO.3833 OF 2025
IN
BAIL APPLICATION NO.2383 OF 2023
Avinash Nivritti Bhosale .. Applicant
IN THE MATTER BETWEEN:
Avinash Nivritti Bhosale .. Org.Applicant
Versus
Central Bureau of Investigation and Anr. .. Respondents
.................…
Mr. Aabad Ponda, Senior Advocate a/w. Mr. Amod Eklagpur, Mr.
Abinash Pradhan and Mr. Yash Dedhia, Advocates i/by Wadia
Ghandy & Co. for Applicant.
Mr. Avadhut M. Chimalkar, SPP a/w. Mr. Tusshar Nirbhavne and
Mr. Krishna Haritwal for Respondent No.1 – Central Bureau of
Investigation (for short ‘CBI’).
Ms. Sangeeta E. Phad, APP for Respondent No.2 – State.
...................
CORAM : MILIND N. JADHAV, J.
DATE : AUGUST 27, 2026
P.C.:
1. Heard Mr. Ponda, learned Senior Advocate for Applicant;
Mr. Chimalkar, learned SPP for Respondent No.1 – CBI and Ms. Phad,
learned APP for Respondent No.2 – CBI.
2. Applicant has filed this Interim Application for seeking a
scaling down condition Nos.49(vi) and (vii) appended at page No.51
of the Application wherein bail order passed on 17.05.2024. Prima
facie reading of these conditions persuade me to consider this
Application since I cannot take contrary view of the issue which has
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been already taken by me in several similarly placed matter.
3. The Applicant under condition No.49(vi) is required to
surrender passport every time before the Trial Court and before he has
to travel seek permission of the Trial Court and seek custody of his
passport. This condition in my prima facie opinion is an onerous
condition especially where the Applicant is required to travel for
business interest or otherwise abroad every now and then.
4. The decisions of this Court in the cases of Mohammad Hanif
Nurani Vs. the State of Maharashtra and Anr.1 and Kirti Vishwanath
Kedia Vs. Central Bureau of Investigation (EOB) and Anr. 2 squarely
cover the aforesaid request made by Applicant. I cannot take any
digressing view in the present matter and therefore the said condition
No.49(vi) is deleted / cancelled and / or been scaled down to the
effect that whenever Applicant has to travel abroad he will report or
give the details of the itinerary, with detail address, with details of his
stay abroad and return to the prosecution / CBI before he travels and
leaves the country. If there is any change in his mobile phone numbers
or address while being abroad, he shall furnish those details also on
email to the concerned IO.
5. In that view of the matter, needless to state that his passport
shall be forthwith returned back to him by the Court / Authority on the
1 Criminal Application No.434 of 2024 decided on 05.02.2025.
2 ABA No.960 of 2022 decided on 22.08.2025.
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basis of a certified copy of this order downloaded from the Bombay
High Court website.
6. Needless to state that every six months he shall file a his
report of his travel plans, if any to the CBI in advance. In my opinion,
the aforesaid scaling down of condition No.49(vi) would suffice.
7. The second condition i.e. 49(vii) requires the Applicant to
regularly attend the proceedings before the Trial Court in person. Mr.
Ponda would submit that said condition is onerous because it affects
the business and work of the Applicant. He would submit that
Applicant is duly represented by Advocate and / or Counsel before the
Trial Court on every date and he undertakes to ensure that Applicant
shall keep his Advocate present on all dates before Trial Court. To that
effect, Applicant is directed to file an undertaking in this Court within
one week that he shall ensure the presence of his Advocate on every
date of hearing before the Trial Court. It is clarified that if the Trial
Court desires to have the presence of the Applicant on any particular
hearing date, the Trial Court shall be free pass appropriate order and
the Applicant shall thereafter remain present on that date. The
aforesaid twin conditions Nos.49(vi) and (vii) as delineated in the this
order shall be read alongwith the order dated 17.05.2024 for
compliance.
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8. With the above directions, Interim Application is allowed and
disposed.
H. H. SAWANT [ MILIND N. JADHAV, J. ]
Digitally signed
by HARSHADA
HARSHADA HANUMANT
HANUMANT SAWANT
SAWANT Date:
2026.08.27
17:17:42 +0530
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