On November 25, the city civil and sessions court in Ahmedabad, Gujarat, granted anticipatory bail to Hindu journalist Mahesh Langa in a case involving allegations of cheating a businessman, Pranay Shah, out of ₹28 lakhs.
Additional Sessions Judge HG Pandya ruled in favor of Langa’s bail plea, considering that the journalist was a resident with strong social ties and was unlikely to flee. The judge also noted a significant delay in the filing of the cheating complaint, which weighed in Langa’s favor.
“Considering the fact that the First Informant has not assigned any reason for the delay in complaining, I am inclined to exercise discretionary power in favor of the present applicant by allowing the anticipatory bail,” the court observed.
The court further noted that the maximum penalty for the alleged offense was seven years in prison and expressed the view that the dispute appeared to be civil, primarily concerning money transfers and services rendered. Given these circumstances, the judge found no compelling reason to deny anticipatory bail.
Langa is currently in judicial custody at Sabarmati Central Jail in connection with an alleged GST evasion case. His bail application for that case remains pending before the Gujarat High Court.
The present cheating case revolves around a first information report (FIR) filed by the Ahmedabad Detection of Crime Branch (DCB), based on a complaint filed by Pranay Shah, the owner of Khushi Advertising Ideas Pvt Ltd. Shah claims that he met Langa at a coffee shop in Bodakdev more than a year ago, where Langa allegedly introduced himself as a journalist with strong political and bureaucratic connections. Langa is said to have promised to help Shah’s clients by arranging favorable media coverage and meetings with media personnel in Delhi.
Shah alleges that he transferred ₹28 lakhs to Langa’s account in two installments — ₹16 lakhs on March 16 and ₹12 lakhs on June 6, 2024 — for these promised services. However, Langa denied the allegations of fraud, stating that any money transferred to him by Shah was for consultancy services rendered and that he had evidence on his mobile phone to support this claim. Langa further explained that his phone, which contained the evidence, had been seized by police after his arrest in the GST scam case.
In an attempt to resolve the matter, Langa offered to deposit the ₹28 lakhs with the trial court to demonstrate his good faith. However, the State opposed his anticipatory bail, arguing that custodial interrogation was necessary to investigate the matter further. Despite the opposition, the court allowed the anticipatory bail plea on the condition that Langa submit a bail bond of ₹15,000, along with one surety of the same amount, and comply with additional bail conditions.
Advocate AJ Yagnik represented Langa in this case, while other counsel represented the Gujarat government.
