Akash Kumar Sahu vs State Of Chhattisgarh

Since these bail applications arise out of the same Crime Number, they are being heard together and disposed of by this common order.

The applicants have preferred these First Bail Applications under Section 483 of Bhartiya Nagrik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 for grant of regular bail, as they have been arrested in connection with Crime No. 938/2026 registered at Police Station : Sarkanda District : Bilaspur (C.G.) for the offences punishable under following following Sections :

The prosecution case, in brief, is that a report was lodged by Daulat Ram Thakur, Naib Nazir Grade-II, Office of the Tahsildar, Bilaspur (C.G.), alleging that the applicants, along with other co-accused persons, prepared forged documents and fabricated medical records to fraudulently obtain financial assistance of ₹4,00,000/- under the Government Snake Bite/Poisonous Animal Bite Death Assistance Scheme, thereby causing loss to the State exchequer. It is further alleged that the applicants manipulated official records in connection with the incident. On the basis of the said allegations, afore-stated crime was registered against the applicants, and they were subsequently arrested.

Learned counsel appearing for the respective applicants submits that the applicants are earning their livelihoods working as Computer Typist, Advocate, and Reader, and they have been falsely implicated in this case. They further submit that the applicants have neither committed any offence nor played any role in obtaining the financial assistance in question by fraudulent means, and the amount was sanctioned and disbursed by the competent Government authorities only after due scrutiny and verification of the relevant documents; therefore, the applicants cannot be held responsible merely because the financial assistance was subsequently questioned. They contend that the Post-Mortem Report itself records the cause of death as "snake bite", which squarely falls within the scope of the aforesaid scheme, and there is no material on record to show that the applicants fabricated any document or practised deception at the inception of the claim. They further contend that even assuming there is any dispute regarding entitlement or eligibility for obtaining the financial assistance, the same is essentially administrative in nature and, in the absence of the essential ingredients of cheating, would not constitute an offence punishable under Section 420 of the Indian Penal Code; thus, the continued incarceration of the applicants is wholly unwarranted. The applicants have been in jail since 11.08.2026, 11.07.2026, and 18.07.2026 respectively, and have 06, 09, and 02 criminal antecedents respectively in connection with the same episode; therefore, they may be enlarged on bail.

On the other hand, learned State counsel opposes the bail applications and submits that the allegations against the applicants are serious in nature. It is alleged that the applicants, in connivance with other co-accused persons, concealed the actual cause of death and fraudulently obtained financial assistance to the tune of ₹4,00,000/- under the Government’s Snake Bite/Poisonous Animal Bite Death Assistance Scheme, thereby causing wrongful loss to the State exchequer; thus, no case is made out for grant of regular bail to the applicants.

I have heard learned counsel appearing for the parties and perused the case diary.

Considering the facts and circumstances of the case, the nature and gravity of the allegations, the material collected during the course of investigation, the fact that the Post-Mortem Report reflects the cause of death as "snake bite", and taking into account the detention of the applicants since 11.08.2026, 11.07.2026, and 18.07.2026 respectively, as well as the absence of previous criminal antecedents excluding the cases registered against them in connection with the same episode, this Court is of the opinion that the applicants have made out a case for the grant of regular bail. The allegations levelled against the applicants are matters to be tested during the course of trial, and the continued pre-trial detention of the applicants would not serve any fruitful purpose, especially when the trial is likely to take some time to conclude.

Accordingly, without expressing any opinion on the merits of the cases, the present bail applications are allowed.

It is directed that in the event of the applicants executing a personal bond for a sum of Rs. 50,000/- to the satisfaction of the concerned trial Court, they shall be released on bail on the following conditions:-