Manish Gupta And Anr. vs. State Of West Bengal And Anr
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The petitioners, Bijoy Kumar Gupta, Manish Gupta, and Swati Gupta, applied for anticipatory bail under Section 438 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973, and Section 482 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023, in connection with Belur Police Station Case No. 124 of 2024, registered under Sections 420/406 of the Indian Penal Code. The case involves allegations of fraud and criminal breach of trust related to the supply of iron ores. The defacto complainant alleged that the petitioners took over Rs. 87,000,00/- lakhs for supply, submitted fake documents, and even presented fake GST deposits. The State submitted that the petitioners are involved in multiple criminal cases where they allegedly defrauded the public through legal entities by taking money for material supply that never materialized. The investigation is ongoing, and the proceeds of the crime are yet to be fully recovered.
Held
The Court rejected the applications for anticipatory bail. The Court considered the materials on record, including the allegations of fraud, criminal breach of trust, submission of fake documents, and fake GST deposits. The Court also took into account the petitioners' alleged involvement in a racket of defrauding the public and their multiple criminal antecedents. The Court found that enlarging the petitioners would be inimical to the ongoing investigation and the recovery of the proceeds of the crime. Therefore, based on the gravity of the offense and the involvement of the petitioners, the Court was not inclined to grant anticipatory bail. The operative direction was the rejection of the applications for anticipatory bail.
Key Issues
1. Whether the petitioners are entitled to anticipatory bail under Section 438 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973, and Section 482 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023, given the allegations of fraud and criminal breach of trust? Petitioner's contention: The disputes are civil in nature, and the petitioners have returned a significant portion of the money taken for supply purposes. Revenue/State's contention: The petitioners are involved in a racket of defrauding the public through legal entities by taking money for material supply that is never delivered. Fake documents, including fake GST deposits, were submitted. The gravity of the offense and the petitioners' involvement warrant denial of anticipatory bail, as their enlargement would hinder the investigation and recovery of the proceeds of the crime. The State also highlighted several criminal antecedents of the petitioners.
Sections Cited
Section 438, Section 482, Section 420, Section 406
AI-generated summary — verify with the full judgment below
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D/L30 & 34
2025 Rohit ct.no.26
C.R.M. (A) 906 of 2025
With
C.R.M. (A) 910 of 2025
In Re: An application for anticipatory bail under Section 438 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973/ under Section 482 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 in connection Belur Police Station Case No. 124 of 2024 dated 09.07.2024 under Sections 420/406 of the Indian Penal Code.
And In Re: 1.Bijoy Kumar Gupta @ Vijay Gupta
Manish Gupta
Swati Gupta
…Petitioners
Mr. Swarup Banerjee
Mr. S. Siddharta
Mr. Arindam Chatterjee
Mr. S. Biswas
…for the petitioner
Ms. Saryati Dutta
Ms. Suchismita Dutta
…for the State
Mr. Dipanjan Dutt
Ms. Priyanka Sarkar …for the defacto complainant
Two applications for anticipatory bail are taken up for analogous hearing as they emanate out of the same police case.
Learned Advocate appearing for the petitioners submits that the disputes are civil in nature. Money was taken for the purpose of supply. His client returned a large portion of the money.
State and the defacto complainant are represented.
Learned Advocate appearing for the State submits that the petitioners before us are involved in several criminal cases where they on their own or through the facet of a legal entity defrauded
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various members of the public on the plea of supply of materials.
Learned Advocate appearing for the defacto complainant submits that a sum in excess of Rs. 87,000,00/- lakhs was taken by the petitioners for the purpose of supply of iron ores. Fake documents were submitted. In fact, even the deposit with the government authorities in the form of GST was fake also.
There are several criminal antecedents so far as the petitioners are concerned. Apparently, they are involved in a racket of defrauding unsuspecting members of the public either by themselves or through the facet of their legal entities. They obtain money from the members of the public on the plea of supply of materials which ultimately never materializes.
Entirety of the proceeds of the crime is yet to be recovered. Enlarging the petitioners would be inimical to the investigations.
Considering such materials on record, the gravity of the offence and the involvement of the petitioners we are not inclined to grant anticipatory bail to the petitioners.
Accordingly, the application for anticipatory bail is, thus, rejected.
(Debangsu Basak, J.)
(Smita Das De, J.)
Reproduced from the public record of the Calcutta High Court. Verify against the court's own copy before relying on it. Income tax judgments are on bharattax.net.