“Police Machinery Cannot Be Used to Extort Dues”: Pune Court Grants Bail, Questions Cops Routing ‘Unaccounted Monies’ Through Relatives

Pune, 21st April 2026: In a scathing observation against the potential misuse of police power, a Pune Sessions Court has granted anticipatory bail to a woman in a Rs 15 lakh cheating case, noting that police machinery cannot be used as a “tool to extort outstanding dues.”

Additional Sessions Judge S.S. Kanthale also raised serious questions about police officials allegedly routing large sums of money through their relatives, suggesting an inquiry into whether these funds are legitimate or “unaccounted monies.”

The order, passed on April 15, 2026, granted pre-arrest bail under Section 482 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS) to Smt. Aasma Naim Sayyed. She was booked by the Samarth Police Station on April 7, 2026, under various sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), including cheating and criminal breach of trust, based on a complaint by her relative, Nasira Shahid Shaikh.

The Allegations and the ‘Police Connection’

According to the prosecution and the advocate for the complainant, Aasma, who runs a construction business, allegedly promised the complainant “hefty returns” at double the bank rate. The complainant invested Rs 15 lakh—Rs 1 lakh in cash and Rs 14 lakh via cheques in the names of co-accused individuals.

The prosecution alleged that Aasma diverted the funds, failed to pay the returns, and threatened the complainant when confronted. The complainant’s advocate strongly objected to the bail, arguing that Aasma is a “swindler” with a history of seeking money on false promises, citing previous cases registered against her at the Vimantal and Kondhwa police stations in 2021 and 2023. The APP for the State supported the rejection of the bail.

A ‘Counter Blast’ FIR?

The advocate for the applicant/accused, Advocate Sameer Shaikh, however, presented a starkly different picture to the court, arguing that the FIR was a “counter blast” born out of a civil dispute and police influence.

The defense highlighted that the complainant’s husband, Shahid Yusuf, is a retired Crime Branch officer, and her son-in-law, Sayyed Pathan, currently serves as a head constable in the Detection Branch (D.B.) squad of the very same Samarth Police Station where the FIR was registered.

The court was informed that Aasma had previously filed a private complaint before a Judicial Magistrate First Class (JMFC) alleging harassment and extortion by the complainant’s family. On the JMFC’s orders, the Samarth police had investigated that matter and submitted a report on March 27, 2026, stating that the parties had sat together and reached an “amicable settlement” over their civil/financial dispute.

Surprisingly, just a week later, on April 7, the same police station registered a criminal FIR against Aasma at the behest of the complainant.

Court’s Scathing Observations

Judge Kanthale took serious note of this timeline, calling the registration of the FIR a “sheer abuse of process of court.” The judge noted that the Samarth Police ought not to have readily registered the FIR without a thorough inquiry, given they had just filed a report citing an amicable civil settlement.

Going further, the court made strong remarks about the financial dealings of police families.

“The papers show how policemen in service, route their money through their relatives as investments,” Judge Kanthale observed. “There appear multiple transactions between the lady members of the family who appear to handle huge amounts for their husbands in police services. One really does not know if these amounts are legitimate incomes or unaccounted monies being routed through different channels. An enquiry into the same by appropriate authority, would only reveal the truth.”

Bail Granted with Strict Conditions

Ruling that the dispute was primarily of a civil nature and that the applicant deserved protection from arrest, the court allowed the anticipatory bail application.

Aasma Sayyed has been ordered to be released on a PR bond of Rs 50,000 in the event of her arrest. To prove her bona fides, as offered by her defense counsel, she has been directed to deposit Rs 5,00,000 (Rupees five lakh) in the court. She has also been ordered not to leave Pune city limits without permission and must attend the investigating officer twice a week until the probe is completed.