The Bombay High Court has granted anticipatory bail to a doctor and his wife, who were booked by the Pimpri Chinchwad police for allegedly defrauding five people of Rs 41 lakh since 2022. The couple had offered spaces in their multi-speciality hospital at Dehu Road to set up pharmacy and pathology lab outlets.
The Dehu Road police filed a First Information Report (FIR) on August 10 against a doctor couple for allegedly cheating and committing criminal breach of trust under Sections 420 and 406 of the Indian Penal Code.
The couple, anxious about being arrested, applied for anticipatory bail at the Vadgaon Maval court. However, their application was rejected, prompting them to seek bail from the high court.
On November 14, Justice Manish Pitale of the High Court ruled that documents reveal transactions between the informant and the doctor couple occurred in December 2022. However, the FIR was filed after a significant delay on August 8, 2024.
The court observed that the informant's grievances against the doctor couple seem to be civil or commercial in nature. Moreover, the court agreed with the doctor couple's argument that the dispute was being unfairly criminalized.
Lawyers Ganesh Gupta and Roshini Naaz, counsel for the doctor couple, stated that their clients intend to file a writ petition with the High Court to dismiss the FIR lodged against them. They added that the informants should pursue a remedy for their financial dispute through civil court.
(Input from various sources)
(Rehash/Sai Sindhuja K/MSM)