Pune: The Bombay High Court has granted anticipatory bail to a doctor and his wife, who face accusations of defrauding five individuals of Rs 41 lakh since 2022. The couple was booked by the Pimpri Chinchwad police for allegedly deceiving the victims by promising them commercial spaces in their multi-specialty hospital at Dehu Road for pharmacy and pathology lab outlets, which they failed to provide.
The Dehu Road police registered an FIR against the couple on August 10, 2024, charging them with cheating and criminal breach of trust under Sections 420 and 406 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC). Fearing arrest, the couple initially sought anticipatory bail in the Vadgaon Maval court, but their request was rejected. They then approached the Bombay High Court for relief.
On November 14, 2024, the bench of Justice Manish Pitale noted that the transactions between the informants and the doctor couple occurred in December 2022. However, the FIR was filed only after an unusual delay, on August 8, 2024.
Anticipatory bail allows an individual to seek release on bail before an arrest is made, as per Section 438 of the Criminal Procedure Code. In this case, the Bombay High Court granted anticipatory bail, noting that the accusations appeared to pertain to a commercial dispute rather than a criminal offense.
Lawyers Ganesh Gupta and Roshini Naaz, representing the doctor couple, stated in a recent media report that their clients intend to file a writ petition in the High Court to quash the FIR. They suggested that the informants could resolve their financial dispute in civil court.
