Atar Pal Singh Vs State of U.P. — Cheating and Forgery | Allahabad HC (2025)

Atar Pal Singh Vs State of U.P. — Cheating and Forgery | Allahabad HC (2025)

What the court decided

AI extract

Outcome

Conditional anticipatory bail under S. 438 Cr.P.C.: on arrest, release upon furnishing bond/surety of Rs. 50,000/- and compliance with the enumerated undertakings ((i) no tampering with evidence; (ii) no inducement/intimidation of witnesses; (iii) presence before the court/officer when required; (iv) no fresh offence of the kind under investigation; (v) disclosure of movable/immovable assets and restraint on their sale, gift or transfer).

Issue for consideration

Whether anticipatory bail under S. 438 Cr.P.C. should be granted to applicant Atar Pal Singh, who apprehends arrest in the matter under Sections 420, 467, 468, 471 of the Indian Penal Code referred to in the opening paragraph, counsel having represented that he was being sought and feared arrest and booking as a habitual offender given his not wholly clean past record. +1 more

Court's answer

The Court granted anticipatory bail: the prayer for anticipatory bail was accepted and the anticipatory-bail application stands allowed (under S. 438 Cr.P.C.).

Ratio / Principle

Basis of the grant: after hearing both sides, the Court kept in view the nature of the offence relative to anticipatory bail, the mode and manner of apprehension, the applicant's antecedents and the merits and demerits of the case, and — adopting the Supreme Court's guidelines in Siddharam Satlingappa Mhetre vs. State of Maharashtra, (2011) 1 SCC 694, that arrest should not be made merely because it is lawful, should be avoided if a mere notice would suffice, and the antecedents of the accused and likelihood of repetition of the crime should be weighed — accepted the anticipatory-bail prayer.

Key takeaways

Release upon arrest is conditional: upon the applicant's arrest in the manner described, he is to be released upon furnishing a bond of Rs. 50,000/- together with security/guarantee of the like amount, to the satisfaction of the concerned officer.ratio¶¶12
Undertakings imposed (conditions (i) and (ii)): the applicant shall (i) not tamper with or destroy the evidence of the prosecution/investigation side, and (ii) not induce, threaten or pressurise witnesses so as to procure a change of deposition/testimony.ratio¶¶12
Undertaking imposed (condition (iv)): the applicant shall not commit any further offence of the kind under investigation, for which he was sought to be apprehended.

Detailed headnote1 paragraphs

Allahabad High Court (Court No. 70; Neutral Citation 2025:AHC:135696), Hon'ble Dr. Gautam Chowdhary, J. — CRIMINAL MISC ANTICIPATORY BAIL APPLICATION U/S 438 CR.P.C. No. - 10582 of 2024; Applicant Atar Pal Singh v. State of U.P. (Order dated 11.8.2025). The opening paragraph refers to earlier anticipatory-bail proceedings ('मम०अ०सस० 85/2024', read with caution owing to OCR corruption) under Sections 420, 467, 468, 471 of the Indian Penal Code. Defence counsel (Sunil Vashisth) submitted that the applicant was being displayed as wanted and apprehended arrest, and feared being booked as a habitual criminal given his not wholly clear past record, undertaking cooperation with investigation and availability to the court. The State (G.A.) opposed, arguing the accused had previously been involved in similar offences and might repeat them, making arrest necessary. Invoking Siddharam Satlingappa Mhetre vs. State of Maharashtra, (2011) 1 SCC 694 — arrest not to be effected merely because lawful, to be avoided where mere notice suffices, with antecedents and repetition-risk weighed — the Court weighed the nature of the offence, mode of arrest, applicant's antecedents and overall merits/demerits, and ACCEPTED the anticipatory-bail prayer, subject to furnishing a bond of Rs. 50,000/- with like surety and conditions: (i) no tampering with evidence, (ii) no inducement/threat to witnesses, (iii) presence before court/officer when required, (iv) no commission of a similar fresh offence, (v) disclosure of movable/immovable assets and no sale, gift or transfer thereof. Application allowed. NOTE: Hindi body text is severely OCR-corrupted; readings are gist-level and flagged medium confidence.