Mohammed Zaki Vs State of Odisha — Bail and Remand | Orissa HC (2025)

Mohammed Zaki Vs State of Odisha — Bail and Remand | Orissa HC (2025)

What the court decided

AI extract

Outcome

Second successive bail application under S.483 BNSS allowed; petitioner admitted to bail on furnishing bail bond of Rs.50,000 with one solvent surety for the like amount to the satisfaction of the court in seisin, with conditions of attendance at every trial posting (default actionable under S.269 BNS 2023), restriction on leaving the trial court's territorial jurisdiction without prior permission, and deposit of passport or affidavit regarding absence/seizure thereof; BLAPL stood disposed of.

Issue for consideration

Whether the petitioner, in custody since 20.07.2024 and facing trial for alleged cyber-fraud offences involving receipt of Rs.4 lakhs into his account, is entitled to be admitted to bail under S.483 BNSS.

Court's answer

An accused is presumed to be innocent until proven guilty at the trial, no matter how grave the charge; sentence commences only after conviction, which cannot be predicted at the bail stage.

Ratio / Principle

Bail should not be withheld as a pre-trial punishment, nor should bail be confused with acquittal of the accused.

Key takeaways

The golden principle of bail jurisprudence is that bail is the rule and jail is the exception; this principle governed the Court's consideration.ratio¶20
Balancing the allegation that the petitioner illegally received Rs.4 lakhs from the informant's account, the materials on record, and his detention in custody since 20.07.2024 exceeding one year (with the trial Magistrate able to impose at most a substantive sentence of 3 years) against the golden principle of bail jurisprudence, the petitioner was held to have made out a case for grant of bail; bail was granted without expressing any view on merits.ratio¶21

Detailed headnote1 paragraphs

Orissa High Court (G. Satapathy, J.), by order dated 09.10.2025 in BLAPL No.1362 of 2025, allowed the petitioner Mohammed Zaki's second successive bail application under S.483 BNSS in CID CB Cyber Crime P.S. Case No.15 of 2024 / G.R. Case No.334 of 2024 (JMFC (UTP), Cuttack), arising from alleged offences u/ss 419/420/465/467/468/471/120-B/34 IPC r/w s.66(C) and 66(D) IT Act connected with a WhatsApp-group investment fraud in which the informant invested and lost Rs.2.36 crores and Rs.4 lakhs was traced to the petitioner's account. Noting custody since 20.07.2024 exceeding one year, that the trial Magistrate (JMFC) could impose at most a substantive sentence of 3 years, the presumption of innocence however grave the charge, that bail is neither pre-trial punishment nor acquittal, and the golden principle that bail is the rule and jail the exception, the Court admitted the petitioner to bail on a Rs.50,000 bond with one solvent surety, imposing conditions of attendance at each trial posting (failure without sufficient cause exposing him to prosecution under s.269 BNS 2023), restraint from leaving the trial court's territorial jurisdiction without prior permission, and deposit of passport or affidavit in lieu, expressly without expressing any view on merits.