A man accused of advertising RE-NEET question papers on Telegram with a “money back guarantee” has been granted bail by the Gujarat High Court, which held that with the chargesheet filed and trial likely to take time, keeping him in jail any longer would amount to punishment before conviction.
Ahmedabad: The Gujarat High Court has granted regular bail to an accused booked by the Cyber Crime Police Station, Ahmedabad City, for allegedly cheating students preparing for the RE-NEET examination by offering them question papers through Telegram channels [Sumersing Bharatlal Meena v. State of Gujarat].
Justice Hasmukh D. Suthar, in an order passed on October 1, 2026, allowed the application under Section 483 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 in the FIR registered under Sections 318(4), 319(2) and 54 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023.
The allegations
According to the prosecution, the applicant conspired with co-accused around the RE-NEET schedule, bought two SIM cards and ran advertisements on several Telegram channels assuring students of success. Students were allegedly asked to pay between Rs 60,000 and Rs 10 lakh, with messages and payment scanners circulated online. The advertisements, as recorded in the order, priced each of physics, chemistry and biology at Rs 25,000 and the full paper at Rs 60,000, promising “100 percentage Trusted Service Premium Quality Paper Limited Access, Money Back Guarantee”. The order notes that, apart from this, no other role is attributed to the applicant.
These are allegations yet to be tested at trial. The High Court expressed no view on the merits, and the applicant is presumed innocent until proven guilty.
Submissions
Counsel for the applicant submitted that he was innocent and had been falsely implicated, that the investigation was over and the chargesheet filed, and that nothing remained to be recovered. The Additional Public Prosecutor opposed bail, citing the applicant’s involvement and the gravity of the offence, and argued that he might flee if released. The Court also took on record an affidavit filed by the Investigating Officer pursuant to its earlier order of September 28, 2026.
Why bail was granted
Setting out the settled factors for bail, the Court noted that the investigation was complete and the chargesheet filed, the applicant had been in custody since June 13, 2026, nothing was to be recovered from him, the offence was triable by a Judicial Magistrate First Class, he had no past antecedents, the trial would take its own time, and the prosecution had shown no circumstance warranting continued detention.
Relying on Sanjay Chandra v. CBI and Gudikanti Narasimhulu v. Public Prosecutor, the Court held:
“Obviously, the conclusion of trial will take time and keeping the accused behind the bars is nothing but amounts to pre-trial conviction and therefore, considering the celebrated principle of bail jurisprudence is that “bail is a rule and jail is exception” as well as the concept of personal liberty guaranteed under Article 21 of the Constitution of India, present application deserves consideration.”
Bail conditions
The applicant has been released on a personal bond of Rs 25,000 with one local surety of the like amount. He must surrender his passport, if any, within a week, not leave India without the trial court’s permission, report to the police station once a month for six months, furnish his Aadhaar, email and address details, not change his residence or contact number without permission, and not tamper with evidence or indulge in any illegal activity. The Court clarified that its observations are preliminary and shall not influence the trial.
Case Title: Sumersing Bharatlal Meena v. State of Gujarat [R/Criminal Misc. Application (For Regular Bail – After Chargesheet) No. 21167 of 2026]
Bench: Justice Hasmukh D. Suthar, Gujarat High Court
Date of Order: October 1, 2026
For the Applicant: Jigar I. Salvi and Mim M. Sinha
For the State: H.K. Patel, Additional Public Prosecutor