Hemant Kumar Meena vs State Of Haryana
- Citation2026 SCC OnLine P&H 2785
Ratio decidendi
The rule this decision rests on
Where an anticipatory bail petition under Section 482 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 involves allegations of serious cyber fraud with a substantial amount, and the investigation reveals prima facie material indicating the petitioner's active involvement in arranging and operating bank accounts used for depositing and routing the defrauded money, the court may refuse anticipatory bail even where the petitioner is not named in the FIR, on the grounds that custodial interrogation appears necessary to unearth the larger conspiracy and trace the flow of defrauded money. A plea of parity with co-accused persons who have been granted bail does not succeed where the role attributed to the petitioner is distinguishable by virtue of a more active and direct involvement in managing the accounts and facilitating illegal transactions, whereas other accused were assigned comparatively limited roles.
Written by Miss Lucy from the judgment below, not taken from a headnote.
Judgment
As delivered
CRM-M-62501-2025 (O&M) Date of decision: 09.03.2026
Hemant Kumar Meena ..Petitioner Versus State of Haryana ..Respondent
CORAM: HON'BLE MS. JUSTICE MANDEEP PANNU
Present: Mr. Akshay Laller, Advocate for the petitioner
Mr. Sushil Bhardwaj, Addl. AG, Haryana
MANDEEP PANNU, J.
CRM-44453-2025
Allowed as prayed for.
Main case
This is the first petition under Section 482 of the
Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 (earlier Section 438
Cr.P.C.) for the grant of anticipatory bail to the petitioner in case FIR
No. 15 dated 13.03.2024, registered under Sections 406, 420, 467,
468, 471 and 120-B of the Indian Penal Code at Police Station Cyber
Crime, District Panchkula.
Briefly stated, the present FIR was registered at Police
Station Cyber Crime, Panchkula on the basis of the statement of
complainant Gagan Anand alleging commission of offences under
Sections 406, 420, 467, 468, 471 and 120-B IPC. As per the case of
the petitioner, he has been falsely implicated in the present case and is
not named in the FIR. It is alleged that the prosecution has linked the
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occurrence with a Wi-Fi connection allegedly used in the commission
of the offence, however, there is no direct evidence connecting the
petitioner with the alleged crime. The petitioner has no relationship or
dealings with the complainant and has been implicated merely on the
basis of the internet connection, which is accessible to multiple users.
Learned counsel for the petitioner contends that the
petitioner is innocent and has been falsely implicated in the present
case. It is submitted that the petitioner is not named in the FIR and his
name surfaced only in the disclosure statement of co-accused Jai
Prakash, which by itself has no evidentiary value in the eyes of law. It
is further argued that there is no direct or indirect evidence connecting
the petitioner with the commission of the alleged offences and no
amount from the alleged fraud has been credited into any bank
account of the petitioner. The petitioner is neither an employee of the
Bank nor of the telecom company allegedly involved in the fraud and,
therefore, the ingredients of offences under Sections 406, 420, 467,
468, 471 and 120-B IPC are not made out against him. Learned
counsel further submits that nothing is to be recovered from the
petitioner and his custodial interrogation is not required as he is ready
and willing to join the investigation and cooperate with the
investigating agency. It is also argued that the co-accused, including
Vandana Pokharel, Latuer Singh Meena, Jai Prakash, Vikas Kumar
Meena, Bharat Pareek and Sunil Sharma, have already been granted
the concession of bail by the competent courts and the case of the
present petitioner stands on a better footing, thus entitling him to the
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benefit of parity. It is further submitted that except for the disclosure
statement of the co-accused, there is no material connecting the
petitioner with the alleged occurrence and such disclosure statement is
inadmissible in evidence being hit by Section 27 of the Indian
Evidence Act, 1872. Learned counsel lastly submits that the petitioner
undertakes to abide by all the conditions that may be imposed by this
Court and shall not misuse the concession of anticipatory bail.
Learned State counsel has opposed the present petition
and submits that the allegations against the petitioner are serious in
nature and involve a well-planned cyber fraud causing wrongful loss
to the complainant to the tune of about ₹73 lakhs. It is contended that
during investigation it was revealed that the fraud amount was
transferred from the complainant's account into the bank account of
co-accused Latuer Singh Meena and thereafter, routed through various
accounts opened and operated by the accused persons. It is further
submitted that during investigation various documents including CDR
details, bank statements and IP logs were collected and examined. Co-
accused persons namely Lateur Singh Meena, Sunil Sharma, Bharat
Pareek, Jai Prakash and Vikas Kumar Meena were joined in the
investigation and their disclosure statements were recorded. As per the
disclosure statement of co-accused Jai Prakash and others, the present
petitioner-Hemant Kumar Meena along with other accused persons
had dishonestly opened bank accounts, arranged bank kits and
facilitated the deposit and withdrawal of the cheated amount. It is
further submitted that the petitioner played an active role in operating
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the accounts and depositing the fraud amount after alluring account
holders with commission. Learned State counsel further submits that
the investigation in the present case is still at a crucial stage and
certain recoveries including bank kits and other material are yet to be
effected from the petitioner. It is also argued that the petitioner is
technically well-versed and there is every possibility that he may
tamper with electronic evidence or influence witnesses if granted the
concession of anticipatory bail. It is further contended that the
petitioner has earlier approached the learned Additional Sessions
Judge, Panchkula for grant of anticipatory bail, which was dismissed
vide order dated 31.10.2025 after considering the prima facie
evidence against him. It is also submitted that two other FIRs have
been registered against the petitioner i.e FIR No.5/2020 under
Sections 384, 354(D), 509, 34 IPC and Section 67 IT, Act at Police
Station Surajpol, District Udaipur, Rajasthan and FIR No.2 dated
01.08.2022 under Sections 420, 467, 468, 471 IPC and Sections
66(C), 66(D), 55 D of the IT Act, at Police Station Cyber, Sonipat.
After hearing learned counsel for the parties and going
through the record, this Court is of the considered view that no case
for grant of anticipatory bail is made out. The allegations in the
present case pertain to a serious cyber fraud involving a substantial
amount of about ₹73 lakhs. The material collected during
investigation prima facie indicates that the petitioner was actively
involved in the conspiracy whereby bank accounts were arranged and
used for depositing and routing the fraud amount. The disclosure
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statements of co-accused persons reveal that the petitioner along with
other accused persons had dishonestly opened and operated bank
accounts and utilized ATM cards, cheque books and bank kits for
transferring the cheated amount. The investigation further indicates
that certain bank kits and other incriminating material are yet to be
recovered from the petitioner and his custodial interrogation appears
necessary to unearth the larger conspiracy and trace the flow of the
defrauded money. The plea of parity raised by the petitioner also does
not advance his case as the role attributed to the present petitioner is
distinguishable from that of other co-accused who have been granted
bail. The material on record suggests that the petitioner had a more
active and direct role in managing the accounts used for depositing the
fraud amount and facilitating the illegal transactions, whereas the
other accused who have been granted bail were assigned
comparatively limited roles. Considering the gravity of the
allegations, the nature of the offence, the role attributed to the
petitioner and the requirement of custodial interrogation for effective
investigation, this Court finds no ground to extend the extraordinary
relief of anticipatory bail to the petitioner. Consequently, the present
petition seeking anticipatory bail is hereby dismissed.
All the pending miscellaneous applications, if any, are
also disposed of.
09.03.2026 (MANDEEP PANNU) rekha JUDGE Whether speaking/reasoned Yes/No Whether reportable Yes/No
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