Allahabad High Court

MANOJ @ ARYAN CHAUHANversusState of U.P.

Decided: 23 February 2026
Bench: HARVIR SINGH

Holding

The bail application is allowed, and the accused is released on bail subject to personal bond, sureties, and specified conditions.

Summary

Manoj @ Aryan Chauhan was arrested in connection with a case alleging impersonation of a jailer and extortion of approximately Rs.50,000, charged under several IPC sections (417, 418, 419, 420, 384, 467, 468, 411) and Section 66-D of the IT Act. The accused contended that he was falsely implicated, had no evidence of any conversation with the complainant, and that his prior fourteen criminal cases had mostly resulted in bail. The State argued that the offence was deliberate, involving deception to obtain money, and opposed bail. The High Court examined the amount involved, the accused's bail history, and the risk of tampering, concluding that sufficient grounds existed to grant bail with conditions. The court ordered the release of the accused on personal bond with two sureties, imposing conditions against witness intimidation, trial delays, and further criminal activity. The order expressly stated that it does not express any opinion on the merits of the underlying case.

Issues considered

Whether bail should be granted to the accused despite the seriousness of the alleged offences and the amount of alleged illegal gratification.
Whether the accused poses a risk of flight, tampering with evidence, or committing further offences if released on bail.

Legislation cited

Indian Penal Code — s. 384, 411, 417, 418, 419, 420, 467, 468
Information Technology Act — s. 66-D

Subjects

bail
impersonation
extortion
cyber crime
Indian Penal Code
Information Technology Act
criminal procedure
sureties
conditions

Judgment

HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT ALLAHABAD
CRIMINAL MISC. BAIL APPLICATION No. - 36106 of 2024

Manoj @ Aryan Chauhan
.....Applicant(s)
Versus
State of U.P.
.....Opposite Party(s)

Counsel for Applicant(s) : Ganesh Shanker Srivastava, Surendra Mohan
Mishra, Vishveshwar Mani Tripathi
Counsel for Opposite Party(s) : G.A.

Court No. - 19
HON'BLE HARVIR SINGH, J.

1. Heard learned counsel for the accused-applicant as well as learned
A.G.A. for the State and perused the record.

2. This bail application has been moved by the accused/applicant- Manoj
@ Aryan Chauhan, for grant of bail, in Case Crime No. 1 of 2024, under
Sections 417, 418, 419, 420, 384, 467, 468, 411 I.P.C. and Section 66-D
of Information Technology Act, Police Station- Cyber Crime Police,
District- Sant Kabir Nagar, during the pendency of trial.

3. Learned counsel for the accused-applicant while pressing the bail
application submits that the applicant has been falsely implicated in this
case and he has not committed any offence, as claimed by the
prosecution.

4. It is further submitted that applicant is an innocent person and he never
impersonated to be the Jailer and never made any conversation with the
complainant and the case is false and no evidence is available,
whatsoever, as far as the conversation has taken place between the
accused-applicant and the complainant. The applicant is in jail in this case
since 7.4.2024 and criminal history of fourteen cases has been explained
and there is no apprehension that after being released on bail the applicant
may flee from the course of law or may otherwise misuse the liberty.

5. Learned A.G.A., on the other hand, opposes the prayer of bail of the
applicant and submits that the offence committed by the accused-
applicant is not only deliberate, but a designed act in order to impersonate
himself to be a Jailer and extract, rather extort money from the innocent
BAIL No. 36106 of 2024
2

persons. The said act of the accused-applicant is not only deliberate, but
in order to deceive and extract money from the innocent persons and
therefore, no lineancy or sympathy be given to such persons, who not
only misuse the position, but also impersonate to misuse the power and
authority of a particular post, therefore the accused-applicant is not
entitled to be enlarged on bail.

6. Having considered the rival contentions and after going through the
affairs and related case diary, it is seen that the illegal gratification in the
name of getting out the brother of complainant/ informant, from jail is
stated to be Rs.50,000/- and a sum of about Rs.46,000/- has already been
made. The said money can be taken or released by the complainant/
informant in accordance with law. As far as the criminal history of the
accused-applicant of fourteen cases is concerned, in most of the case, he
has been released on bail and therefore, by taking into consideration the
amount involved and other circumstances, there are sufficient grounds
available to the accused-application to be enlarged on bail. Applicant is in
jail in this case since 7.4.2024. The presence of the applicant could be
secured before the trial court by placing adequate conditions.

7. Having regard to the overall facts and circumstances of the case and
keeping in view the nature of the offence, evidence, complicity of the
accused, severity of punishment, submissions of the learned counsel for
the parties and without expressing any opinion on the merits of the case, I
am of the considered view that applicant has made out a case for bail. The
bail application is thus allowed.

8. Let the accused/applicant- Manoj @ Aryan Chauhan involved in
above-mentioned case, be released on bail on his furnishing a personal
bond with two sureties in the like amount to the satisfaction of the court
concerned subject to following conditions:-

(i) The applicant shall not tamper with the prosecution
evidence by intimidating/pressurizing the witnesses, during the
investigation and trial.

(ii) The applicant shall cooperate in the trial sincerely without
seeking any adjournment.

(iii) The applicant shall not indulge in any criminal activity or
BAIL No. 36106 of 2024
3

commission of any crime after being released on bail.

9. In case of breach of any of the above conditions, it shall be a ground for
cancellation of bail.

10. Identity, status and residence proof of the applicant and sureties be
verified by the Court concerned before the bonds are accepted.

11. Observations made herein-above by this court are only for the purpose
of disposal of this bail application and shall not be construed as an
expression of this Court on the merits of the case.
February 24, 2026
Gurpreet Singh
(Harvir Singh,J.)

Digitally signed by :-
GURPREET SINGH
High Court of Judicature at Allahabad

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