A Chandigarh court has dismissed the bail application of Sukhwinder Singh Abrol, former Project Director of the Chandigarh Renewable Energy and Science and Technology Promotion Society (CREST). Abrol was arrested in connection with an alleged scam involving more than Rs 83 crore deposited in IDFC First Bank, Chandigarh.
Defence Arguments
Counsel for the accused argued that he had been falsely implicated in the case. The accused was arrested on March 29 and has remained in custody since then. It was contended that no recovery of the allegedly siphoned-off public funds had been made from the applicant. The defence further submitted that the applicant did not have exclusive authority, signatory powers, or independent control over the accounts.
CBI Opposition
However, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) opposed the bail plea. The public prosecutor (PP) submitted that the case was initially registered by the Chandigarh Police on March 12, pertaining to a large-scale, multi-layered fraud involving fraudulent banking operations and fictitious transactions aimed at diverting government funds to shell entities in connivance with public servants. The case was subsequently transferred to the CBI.
During the investigation, it was revealed that during the applicant's tenure as Project Director of CREST, bank accounts of the society were opened and more than 150 fraudulent debit transactions took place between July 26, 2024, and December 10, 2025. The prosecution alleged that the accused actively participated in the criminal conspiracy and coordinated credit and debit transactions with co-accused persons, including bank officials.
Financial Transactions
The PP further submitted that substantial amounts were credited to the applicant's bank account maintained with HDFC Bank, Sector 8 Branch, Chandigarh. During the investigation, it was established that an amount of Rs 31,80,000 was credited to the applicant's account between May 28, 2025, and November 1, 2025, from the account of Ribhav Rishi, who is alleged to be the main conspirator in the case. The accused also allegedly received Rs 5,00,000 in his personal HDFC Bank account on July 30, 2024.
Further, he allegedly received Rs 1 crore as undue advantage in his personal account maintained with HDFC Bank, Sector 8 Branch, Chandigarh, during the period from October 7, 2025, to November 15, 2025. The amount was allegedly transferred from the account of Swastik Desh Project maintained with AU Small Finance Bank, where proceeds of the alleged misappropriation from CREST accounts had been parked by Ribhav Rishi in pursuance of a criminal conspiracy with the applicant. An additional amount of Rs 49,90,000 was also credited to the applicant's bank account.
Court Observations
After hearing the arguments, the court observed that the applicant was involved in a scam running into several crores of rupees, out of which substantial amounts had been credited to his bank account. According to the prosecution, these funds had been routed through shell companies. The court further noted that the applicant is a government servant and that no satisfactory explanation had been provided as to why a private company had transferred such huge amounts to his bank account. Keeping in view the gravity of the offences, the court held that the applicant was not entitled to regular bail and accordingly dismissed the bail application.
Advocates Pawan Dogra and Satpreet Singh appeared on behalf of IDFC First Bank before the court.
