Page No.# 1/5 GAHC010122272025 2025:GAU-AS:10398 THE GAUHATI HIGH COURT (HIGH COURT OF ASSAM, NAGALAND, MIZORAM AND ARUNACHAL PRADESH) Case No. : AB/1273/2025 MAKIBUL ISLAM BHUYAN AND 2 ORS S/O LATE MARTUZ ALI BHUIYA RESIDENT OF BHAYRAGURI PAM PO BHAIRAGURI, PS BARPETA, DISTRICT BARPETA, ASSAM 2: SANIDUL MIYA S/O GAJI RAHMAN RESIDENT OF KAHIKUCHI PO BHAIRAGURI DISTRICT BARPETA ASSAM 3: MAFIZ UDDIN S/O JAMIR UDDIN RESIDENT OF BHAIRAGURI PAM PO BHAIRAGURI PS AND DISTRICT BARPET VERSUS THE STATE OF ASSAM REPRESENTED BY THE PP, ASSAM Advocate for the Petitioner : MR. J LASKAR, MR. D F A AHMED Advocate for the Respondent : PP, ASSAM, Page No.# 2/5 BEFORE HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE MRIDUL KUMAR KALITA ORDER 05.08.2025 1. Heard Mr. J. Laskar, the learned counsel for the petitioners. Also heard Mr. B. Sarma, the learned Additional Public Prosecutor appearing for the State of Assam. 2. This application under Section 482 of Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 (BNSS) has been filed by the petitioners, namely, 1. Makibul Islam Bhuyan, 2. Sanidul Miya and 3. Mafiz Uddin, who are apprehending their arrest in connection with CID P.S. Case No. 01/2025, under Sections 120(B)/420/468/471 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860 read with Section 66(D) of IT Act, 2000. 3. The gist of accusation in this case is that on 04.01.2025, one Nirmal Biswas, Deputy Superintendent of Police had lodged an FIR before the Officer-in-Charge of CID Police Station, inter alia, alleging that on the basis of an inquiry conducted on receipt of a compliant regarding certain irregularities and existence of fake beneficiaries in respect of 18 numbers of schools, of Udalguri, 18 numbers of schools in the District of Udalguri, Nagaon and Nalbari. 4. It is also alleged in the FIR that the petitioners have impersonated themselves as institutional Nodal Officers and have uploaded forged documents in the NSP Portal for getting scholarships to the students of minority community. Page No.# 3/5 5. The learned counsel for the petitioners has submitted that the petitioners are in no way involved in the offence alleged in the FIR. 6. He submits that the schools in question are from Udalguri District. 7. The petitioner's are the resident of Barpeta District. He also submits that the petitioner No. 1, Makibul Islam Bhuyan has studied up to class-VIII and is a shopkeeper. Petitioner No. 2 has studied up to primary school and does business of preparing grills and the petitioner No. 3 is a delivery boy at Swiggy. 8. He, therefore, submits that they don't have the technical expertise of uploading the required information at the NSP Portal as alleged in the FIR. 9. The learned counsel for the petitioners also submits that the petitioners received notice under Section 35(3) of the BNSS, 2023 which itself indicates that their arrest is not necessary for the investigation of this case. 10. He further submits that as the non-bailable offences are involved in this case, the petitioners apprehended that if they appear before the Investigating Officer, they may be arrested and therefore, they have approached this Court for seeking bail. 11. It is further submitted that the petitioners are ready to cooperate in the investigation. 12. On the other hand, the learned Additional Public Prosecutor has Page No.# 4/5 vehemently opposed the grant of anticipatory bail to the petitioners at this stage. He submits that at the initial stage of the investigation, the Investigating Officer issued notices under Section 35(3) of the BNSS, 2023 on two occasions. 13. He further submits that in spite of receipt of notices, the petitioners did not appear before the Investigating Officer. He also submits that when the notices were issued, the investigation was at very initial stage. Now, the investigation has progressed and incriminating materials have cropped in. 14. He submits that the petitioners impersonated themselves as institutional Nodal Officers and have uploaded fake documents of the fake students for getting the funds for the scholarship of minority students. 15. He also submits that even the signatures of the headmasters of the schools for which fake documents were uploaded in the NSP Portal were forged by the petitioners. He also submits that the phone numbers of the petitioners helped the Investigating Officer to trace out the involvement of petitioners in the offence alleged in this case and at this stage, their custodial interrogation is required for the fair investigation of the case. Hence, he has opposed the grant of anticipatory bail to the petitioners. 16. I have considered the submissions made by the learned counsel for both sides and have gone through the Case Diary produced by the learned Additional Public Prosecutor. 17. It appears that though at the initial stage notices under Section Page No.# 5/5 35(3) were issued to the petitioners on more than one occasion, however, they failed to appear before the Investigating Officer. 18. It also appears from the Case Diary that there are materials in the Case Diary to indicate that the present petitioners uploaded fake documents in the NSP Portal by impersonating themselves as institutional Nodal Officers for the school and they have also forged the signatures of the principals/headmasters of the said school. 19. Considering the incriminating materials available in the Case Diary against the above-mentioned petitioners as well as considering the nature of the offence involved in this case, this Court is reluctant to grant anticipatory bail to the petitioners at this stage. 20. The prayer for grant of bail is therefore rejected. 21. Send back the Case Diary. 22. The case is accordingly dismissed. JUDGE Comparing Assistant