HC rejects pre-arrest bail application of Asst Manager JKB in Rs 1.26 cr fraud

High Court has rejected the pre-arrest bail application of Ishvinder Singh Ranyal, the then Assistant Manager J&K Bank Branch Pouni, who was allegedly involved in fraudulent withdrawal of Rs 1.26 crore from the dormant bank accounts.

After hearing both the sides, Justice Javed Iqbal Wani observed, “prima facie there is a material on record connecting the petitioner with the commission of the alleged offence, which cannot be overlooked or ignored by this court while dealing with the instant application and a general contention of the petitioner that the case foisted against him is false, frivolous and vexatious cannot per se discredit the case set up against the petitioner by the respondents”.“The role of the petitioner in the commission of the alleged offence in the facts and circumstances is required to be left open to be investigated by the investigating agency which is required to be given a free hand to investigate the case from all angles”, High Court said, adding “the provisions of Section 438 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, which provide for discretion for grant of bail to a person apprehending arrest is an extraordinary power vested in this court and has to be exercised only in exceptional cases where it appears that the person may be falsely implicated or there are reasonable grounds for holding that a person accused of an offence is not likely otherwise to misuse his liberty”.“This court is of the considered opinion that the petitioner is not entitled to the concession of bail in anticipation of his arrest for the alleged offence punishable under Section 409 of the Indian Penal Code at this stage”, Justice Wani said.Senior Advocate K S Johal with Advocate Supreet Singh Johal appeared for the petitioner and Govt Advocate Sumeet Bhatia for the respondents.