Jharkhand High Court Grants Anticipatory Bail To Alchemist Group Director In Financial Fraud Case

Krishna Kabir, the petitioner, had sought anticipatory bail through the court in connection with another case which was registered under Sections 120B/409/420 IPC and under Sections 4/5/6 of Prize Chits & Money Circulation Scheme. The allegations were regarding the company's actions of collecting deposits totalling Rs. 8,86,50,950/- through local agents and the Branch in charge in Giridih, Jharkhand, for a land booking scheme. These deposits allegedly remain unpaid to investors, and some partial repayments were made in violation of the aforementioned Act.

During the proceedings, the petitioner's counsel, Soumitra Baroi, contended that vicarious liability cannot be attributed to the Director unless there is concrete evidence of their involvement in the fraudulent activities. It was argued that the company's accounts were managed by Charandeep Singh Jolly, the authorized signatory, and not by Krishna Kabir.

The prosecution's stance was presented by Anil Kumar, the Additional Solicitor General of India (ASGI) for the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). Kumar vehemently opposed the anticipatory bail request, emphasizing that Krishna Kabir was the founding Director of the company and therefore accountable for the alleged embezzlement of public funds.

After considering both sides' arguments and the circumstances of the case, Justice Gautam Kumar Choudhary ruled, “Considering the submissions of learned counsel and considering that the chargesheet has already been submitted and the fact as discussed above, the anticipatory bail application is allowed.”

The court further ordered that if Krishna Kabir is arrested or surrenders within three weeks from the receipt of the court order, he shall be released on bail upon furnishing a bond of Rs.1,00,000/- (Rupees One Lakh) with two sureties of the same amount each. Additionally, one of the sureties must be an Income Tax Payee, and the conditions laid down under Section 438(2) of the Criminal Procedure Code (Cr.P.C.) must be adhered to.