India, Dec. 15 -- The Bombay High Court has held that an accused cannot be remanded to judicial custody merely for not applying for bail, particularly when he was never arrested during the investigation and had consistently appeared before the court in response to summons.

The ruling came in a case stemming from a 2023 FIR alleging that partners of a firm, AS Agri and Aqua Limited Liability Partnership, cheated its investors of Rs.350 crore by promising high returns. Offences under sections 406 (criminal breach of trust), 420 (cheating), 427 (mischief causing damage), 120B (criminal conspiracy) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and relevant provisions of the Maharashtra Protection of Interest of Depositors (in Financial Establishments) Act,...