Bombay High Court directs FIR after accused secures bail using forged order copy

The Bombay High Court recently ordered an investigation into allegations that a forged trial court order was used to secure anticipatory bail for a man accused in an intellectual property theft case [Haribhau Dnyandev Chemte v State of Maharashtra]..A Bench of Justice SG Dige directed the High Court's Registrar to launch an inquiry into the matter and also ordered the registration of a first information report (FIR). The Court further recalled the interim anticipatory bail earlier granted to the accused applicant, Haribhau Dnyandev Chemte, based on the fabricated trial court order. "Considering these facts, the order passed by this Court dated 17th January 2025 in Anticipatory Bail Application No.2134 of 2022 is recalled. The interim anticipatory bail granted to the Respondent (Original Applicant) is vacated. Registrar (Judicial-I) is directed to make an enquiry in respect of the forged and fabricated handwritten order of JMFC, Pune, produced before this Court and lodge an FIR against the persons involved in it," the High Court's March 5 order read..The case involves a complaint filed by CTR Manufacturing Industries Pvt Ltd, a Pune-based company, against Esun MR Pvt Ltd, a Chennai-based competitor, in January 2022. CTR accused Esun MR of copying its patented design for a Nitrogen Injection Fire Protection and Exhausting System (NIFPES), a critical component in fire safety systems. CTR alleged that Esun MR stole the design with the help of CTR’s own employees, who provided the proprietary diagrams.Following an FIR, senior officials from Esun as well as Haribhau Dnyandev Chemte (accused/ anticipatory bail applicant), who was an employee in the Quality Control department of CTR, apprehended arrest..The accused initially sought bail before a local Pune court, but their applications were rejected. They then approached the Bombay High Court for interim anticipatory bail, which was granted in January 2025.This decision was based on a handwritten order from the JMFC court in Pune, which accepted a report from the investigating officer stating that there was insufficient evidence to charge the accused..However, it was later revealed that the handwritten document presented to the High Court had been forged. The JMFC court clarified that no such order had been issued on December 13, 2024, as claimed. In light of this, CTR filed an application to cancel the anticipatory bail granted to the accused, arguing that the fraudulent order had influenced the High Court's earlier decision.Subsequently, the High Court ordered an enquiry as well as an FIR into the alleged fraud..Senior Advocate Manoj Mohite along with advocates Kushal Mor, Amit Jajoo, Nirav Parmar, Aryan Deshmukh appeared for CTRAdvocate Satish Talekar appeared for Haribhau Dnyandev ChemteAdditional Public Prosecutor Poonam Bhosale appeared for the State.[Read Order]