Page No.# 1/3 GAHC010077792025 2025:GAU-AS:6223 THE GAUHATI HIGH COURT (HIGH COURT OF ASSAM, NAGALAND, MIZORAM AND ARUNACHAL PRADESH) Case No. : AB/859/2025 SRI JADAB PAUL S/O SRI JAYANTA PAUL A RESIDENT OF SARAT PALLY SONAI ROAD, P.S. SILCHAR, DIST. CACHAR, ASSAM PIN-788006 VERSUS THE STATE THROUGH CBI REPRESENTED BY THE RETAINER COUNSEL, CBI Advocate for the Petitioner : MR. S D PURKAYASTHA, MS S.S.BORA Advocate for the Respondent : SC, CBI, BEFORE HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE MANASH RANJAN PATHAK ORDER 19.05.2025 Heard Mr. S. D. Purkayastha, learned counsel for the petitioner and Ms. M. Kumari, learned Standing Counsel, CBI for the sole respondent. 2) Apprehending his arrest, the petitioner, namely, Sri Jadab Paul, son of Sri Jayanta Paul, Page No.# 2/3 resident of Sarat Pally, Sonai Road, Police Station-Silchar, District-Cachar has filed this application under Section 482 BNSS, 2023 praying for his pre-arrest bail in RC 0202025A0002 dated 25.03.2025, registered under Section 120B IPC and Sections 7/7A/11 of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988 (as amended in 2018). 3) It is contended by the petitioner that while serving as a Business Development Executive in State Bank of India Life Insurance Company Limited at Silchar, he came in contact with the co- accused Sri Pinku Kumar when he was transferred to Silchar and both of them intended to invest their money in some property, for which the petitioner paid 65% amount and the remaining amount of 35% was invested by said Pinku Kumar. 4) According to the petitioner, he is no way connected with the case and that the respondent/CBI has already seized the relevant documents from his possession. 5) The prosecution’s case as projected is that one Sri Pinku Kumar, manager in the Grade scale of III, while serving as a manager of State Bank of India, Ramkrishna Nagar Branch at Karimganj, in conspiracy with the middleman, i.e., the present petitioner, disbursed express credit loans to various borrowers during the period of 2023-2024 in lieu of undue advantage/bribe that were collected by the petitioner and some others. Such amounts so collected by the petitioner as middleman in conspiracy with Sri Pinku Kumar were credited in the Canara Bank A/C of said Sri Pinku Kumar. Taking undue advantage and bribe from the petitioner and others, said Pinku Kumar tried to divert the said bribe amount into the bank account of his relatives and others. 6) Perused the case records of RC 0202025A0002, in which the petitioner is praying for his pre-arrest bail. 7) Case record reveals that the investigation is in the nascent stage and that CBI has already procured several incriminating materials with regard to the involvement of the petitioner in the alleged crime. 8) Case record also reveals huge transactions of money between the petitioner and said Sri Pinku Kumar, the then Manager in State Bank of India, Ramkrishna Nagar Branch at Karimganj and also huge amount of money transacted by said Pinku Kumar for procuring various properties at huge costs, as per the documents seized by the CBI. 9) The respondent /CBI has also filed objection with regard to the pre-arrest bail of the petitioner and relied on the decision of the Hon’ble Supreme Court in the case of Devinder Kumar Page No.# 3/3 Bansal Vs. The State of Punjab, reported in 2025 SCC OnLine SC 488. 10) On perusal of the case diary, several incriminating materials have been found against the petitioner pertaining to his involvement in the alleged crime. 11) Considering the materials in the case diary and the decision of the Hon’ble Apex Court in the case of Devinder Kumar Bansal (Supra), the Court is of the opinion that it is not a fit case to grant pre-arrest bail to the petitioner, namely, Sri Jadab Paul, son of Sri Jayanta Paul in said RC 0202025A0002 dated 25.03.2025, registered under Section 120B IPC and Sections 7/7A/11 of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988 (as amended). 12) Accordingly, this pre-arrest bail application of the petitioner, namely, Sri Jadab Paul, son of Sri Jayanta Paul in said RC 0202025A0002 dated 25.03.2025 stands rejected. JUDGE Comparing Assistant