Allahabad High Court

AYUSH PATELversusSTATE OF U.P.

Decided: 18 March 2026
Bench: RAJIV LOCHAN SHUKLA

Holding

The court granted bail to Ayush Patel, finding that the circumstances did not warrant denial of bail.

Summary

Ayush Patel applied for bail in a cyber‑fraud case (Cr. No. 17 of 2025) involving alleged opening of fake bank accounts and transfer of Rs 1 crore, charged under IPC sections 318(4), 336(3), 338 and IT Act section 66D. The applicant was not named in the FIR; his alleged involvement was derived from the confessional statement of co‑accused Subhash Rai, who claimed Patel was a manager at his dhaba and received a modest payment. The State opposed bail, highlighting the seriousness of the offences and the use of Patel’s mobile number in the fraudulent accounts. The court noted that a similar co‑accused, Rajat Kumar Shrivastava, had been granted anticipatory bail and that Patel’s criminal history was explained. Considering the lack of direct FIR mention, the applicant’s alleged minor role, and the precedent of anticipatory bail, the court granted bail with standard conditions.

Issues considered

Whether bail can be granted when the accused is not named in the FIR but is implicated through a co‑accused’s confessional statement.
Whether the seriousness of the alleged cyber‑fraud offences and the applicant’s criminal history preclude bail.
Whether the grant of anticipatory bail to a co‑accused influences the bail decision for the applicant.

Legislation cited

Indian Penal Code — s. 318(4), 336(3), 338
Information Technology Act, 2000 — s. 66D

Subjects

bail
cyber fraud
Information Technology Act
Indian Penal Code
anticipatory bail
confessional statement
criminal history
non‑named in FIR

Judgment

HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT ALLAHABAD
CRIMINAL MISC. BAIL APPLICATION No. - 2532 of 2026

Ayush Patel
.....Applicant(s)
Versus

State of U.P.
.....Opposite
Party(s)

Counsel for Applicant(s) : Santosh Kumar Singh, Sarvesh Kumar
Dubey
Counsel for Opposite Party(s) : G.A.

Court No. - 71
HON'BLE RAJIV LOCHAN SHUKLA, J.

1. Heard Learned counsel for the applicant, Learned A.G.A. for the State
and perused the record.

2. The instant bail application has been filed with a prayer to release the
applicant on bail in Case Crime No.17 of 2025, under Sections 318(4),
336(3), 338 BNS and Section 66 D of the Information Technology Act,
Police Station- Cyber Crime Police, District- Sonbhadra.

3. The Learned counsel for the applicant states that the applicant has been
falsely implicated in the present case. The applicant is not named in the
First Information Report. The First Information Report was lodged
against two named accused persons namely Rajat Kumar Srivastava and
Chintu @ Subhash Rai. The allegation in the First Information Report is
against the named accused inducing the informant and his other family
members by promising them benefit of some government scheme and
opened their fake bank accounts. The applicant has no role to play in the
said transaction. The applicant has been implicated in the present case
when the co-accused Subhash Rai has been arrested and in his
confessional statement, the identity of the applicant is said to have been
disclosed, as one of the persons, who had run away from the spot when
Subhash Rai was arrested. The applicant has a criminal history of five
cases, which has been duly explained in paragraph No.23 of the affidavit
filed in support of the instant bail application. The co-accused Rajat
Kumar Shrivastava, who is named in the First Information Report, has
BAIL No. 2532 of 2026
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been granted anticipatory bail by this Court vide its order dated 3.2.2026
passed in Criminal Misc. Anticipatory Bail Application U/S 482 BNSS
No.- 993 of 2026 (Rajat Kumar Shrivastava Vs. State of U.P. and 2 Others).

4. The Learned A.G.A. has opposed the prayer for grant of bail and has
stated that fraudulent bank accounts were opened taking advantage of the
informant and his other family members. A huge amount of money has
been transferred into the said bank accounts and the bank accounts have
been used to commit cyber fraud. The Learned A.G.A. has also informed
that in the account opening forms of the informant and his relatives Aarti
and Madhuri, one of the mobile numbers that was given, was of the
applicant. The Learned A.G.A. has on perusal of the case diary stated that
an amount of Rs. 1 crore has been transferred using the said fake bank
accounts and this amount has been obtained by playing cyber fraud.

5. I have considered the submissions made by the Learned counsels for
the parties and perused the material brought on the record.

6. The applicant is not named in the First Information Report. His name
has been disclosed in the confessional statement of the co-accused Subhas
Rai. The confessional statement of the applicant recorded by the police
indicates that the applicant was an employee of Subhas Rai and used to
work as a manager at his Dhaba. The applicant is stated to have been a
part of the conspiracy, for which, he was paid Rs. 10,000/-. However, the
A.T.M. pass books, cheque books etc. of the accounts opened by giving
the mobile number of the applicant were supposedly kept with the co-
accused Rajat Kumar Srivastava. No recovery has been made form the
possession or on the pointing out of the applicant. The applicant is stated
to be in jail since 3.12.2025 and a charge-sheet has now been submitted
against the applicant. Similarly situated co-accused Rajat Kumar
Srivastava, has been granted anticipatory bail by this Court vide its order
dated 3.2.2026 passed in Criminal Misc. Anticipatory Bail Application
U/S 482 BNSS No.- 993 of 2026 (Rajat Kumar Shrivastava Vs. State of U.P.
and 2 Others). The criminal history of the applicant has been satisfactorily
explained.

7. In view of the above, I deem it appropriate to enlarge the applicant on
BAIL No. 2532 of 2026
3

bail.

8. The bail application is allowed.

9. Let the accused-applicant- Ayush Patel, involved in above mentioned
case crime number be released on bail, on his executing a personal bond
and two reliable sureties each, in the like amount to the satisfaction of the
court concerned, subject to the following conditions:

i. The applicant will not tamper with the evidence.

ii. The applicant will not indulge in any criminal activity.

iii. The applicant will not pressurize/intimidate the prosecution witnesses
and co-operate in the trial.

iv. The applicant will appear regularly on each and every date fixed by the
trial court, unless his personal appearance is exempted through counsel by
the court concerned.

10. In the event of breach of any of the aforesaid conditions, the court
below will be at liberty to proceed to cancel his bail.

11. It is made clear that the applicant shall be released on the basis of
computer generated copy of this order, downloaded from the official
website of High Court Allahabad and verified by the concerned counsel
with the undertaking that the certified copy will be filed within 15 days.

12. It is further directed that the trial court shall send the release order to
the concerned jail through Bail Order Management System (BOMS) to
ensure early release of the applicant.

(Rajiv Lochan Shukla,J.)
March 19, 2026
Sachin

Digitally signed by :-
SACHIN TIWARI
High Court of Judicature at Allahabad

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