A Delhi Court has rejected the bail plea of Nitin Birmal Dongre, accused of masterminding a Rs 8.94 crore bank fraud through layered transactions. The Court said the offence was grave and noted that two co-accused are still absconding.
A Delhi Court has refused to grant bail to Nitin Birmal Dongre, who has been described by the prosecution as the main accused in a massive bank fraud case involving more than Rs 8.94 crore. The Court observed that the offence was serious and carried out in a well-planned and organised manner through multiple layered transactions.
Additional Sessions Judge Shunali Gupta dismissed Dongre’s bail plea in connection with an FIR registered by the Economic Offences Wing under Sections 318, 319, 316, 336, 338, 340, and 61 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita. The order was passed on February 28.
While rejecting the bail application, the Court clearly stated,
“Considering the seriousness and gravity of the offence, the systematic manner in which huge amount of Rs 8.94 crores has been withdrawn from the bank account of the complainant by hatching a criminal conspiracy wherein the applicant was a kingpin and two other persons stated to be involved in the same are yet to be arrested, at this stage, I do not find any ground for grant of bail to the applicant,”.
As per the prosecution, the fraud traces back to January 10, 2008, when a current account was opened at Axis Bank’s Lajpat Nagar branch in the name of Larsen & Toubro and Shanghai Urban Construction Operation. Many years later, on June 7, 2024, forged documents were allegedly used to change the mobile number linked to this account.
The investigation revealed that in July 2024, a person pretending to be an employee of Larsen & Toubro activated corporate internet banking for the same account at Axis Bank’s Usmanabad branch in Maharashtra. Soon after the activation, a series of transactions took place.
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Between July 11, 2024, and August 30, 2024, a total amount of Rs 8.94 crore was allegedly withdrawn in 94 separate transactions and transferred to 24 different bank accounts. The prosecution claimed that Dongre, along with others, conspired to siphon off the money. It was also found that the mobile number used for internet banking operations was active on Dongre’s handset.
During the investigation, it was further alleged that Ashish Khandelwal, who was working as an assistant manager at Axis Bank, shared confidential account information with the accused persons. The investigating officer informed the Court that large amounts of money were credited into Dongre’s account. It was also alleged that the siphoned funds were routed through accounts belonging to fruit sellers, and in return, Dongre received goods and cash.
The prosecution strongly opposed the bail plea, arguing that two co-accused persons are still absconding. It also expressed concern that if Dongre is released on bail, he may tamper with evidence or influence the investigation.
On the other hand, Dongre’s lawyer argued that he has been in judicial custody since April 2, 2025, and that the chargesheet has already been filed in the matter. The defence also sought parity with other co-accused who have been granted bail. Relying on a 2012 Supreme Court judgment, the counsel argued that keeping the accused in jail for a long time during trial is not justified.
However, the Court rejected the argument of parity and observed,
“I may note that the role of the applicant cannot be equated to the role of other persons involved in the conspiracy”.
The Court further emphasised the seriousness of the allegations and stated,
“Prima facie the IO has stated that the applicant is the prime accused as he is the beneficiary of the siphoned off amount, the offence is grave and serious in nature and mere filing of the chargesheet does not by itself dilute the seriousness of offence or entitle the applicant to grant of bail especially where the role attributed to the accused is substantial or prime,”.
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The Court made it clear that simply filing the chargesheet does not automatically entitle an accused to bail, especially when the allegations show a major role in a large financial fraud. Considering the scale of the alleged scam, the involvement of multiple transactions, and the pending arrest of other accused persons, the Court concluded that this was not a fit case for granting bail.
With these observations, the Delhi Court dismissed the bail application of Nitin Birmal Dongre in the Rs 8.94 crore bank fraud case.
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