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M/s Vimla Fuels And Metals Limited v. State of Gujarat & Anr.

Miscellaneous Application · 2026 INSC 800 (Non-Reportable)Decided 31 Jul 2026
Miscellaneous Application No. 2278/2026 in Special Leave Petition (Crl.) No. 10481 of 2025
Justice J.B. Pardiwala · Justice K. Vinod Chandran

Background

Rakhiben, wife of a director of M/s Vimla Fuels and Metals Limited, was granted anticipatory bail in a Rs. 36-crore cheating FIR on condition of depositing Rs. 7.5 crore with the Court. Separately, the company itself was later admitted into Corporate Insolvency Resolution Process (CIRP) under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, triggering a moratorium. The company's Interim Resolution Professional (IRP) then applied to the Court, showing that Rs. 5.05 crore of the deposited bail amount had actually come from the company's own bank account and should be treated as a company asset, not personal funds, especially since the original complainant was separately trying to withdraw the deposited money.

Decision Breakdown

The Supreme Court held that once an IBC moratorium is in force, the complainant cannot claim the portion of the deposit (Rs. 5.05 crore) traceable to the company's account, because it is an asset of the insolvent company and must be preserved for the insolvency process. It clarified that the deposit was made in the criminal case merely as a bona fide gesture to secure bail, not as a mechanism for the complainant to directly recover alleged cheated funds. The Registry was directed to release Rs. 5.05 crore (with interest) to the IRP, while the complainant remains entitled to the balance on furnishing a bank guarantee. The anticipatory bail already granted was left undisturbed.

Lesson Learnt

Money deposited by a company, or traceable to its accounts, as a bail condition remains a company asset. Once that company enters insolvency proceedings and a moratorium takes effect, such funds must be preserved for the insolvency process rather than released to a private complainant; a bail deposit is not a shortcut for recovering alleged fraud proceeds.

Official source (sci.gov.in)View Judgment (PDF)

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