1 2025:CGHC:53601 NAFR HIGH COURT OF CHHATTISGARH AT BILASPUR MCRC No. 6945 of 2025 Omkar Garg S/o. Uttam Garg, Aged About 22 Years R/o. Village - Mohara, Tahsil - Dongargarh, District - Rajnandgaon (C.G.) ... Applicant versus The State Of Chhattisgarh Through SHO, Thana- Dongargarh, District - Rajnandgaon (C.G.) ... Respondent For Applicant : Shri Arvind Prasad, Advocate. For Respondent/State : Shri Amit Verma, PL. Hon'ble Mr. Ramesh Sinha, Chief Justice Order on Board 03/11/2025 1. This is the first bail application filed under Section 483 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 (for short ‘BNSS’) for grant of regular bail to the applicant who has been arrested in connection with Crime No.127/2025 registered at Police Station Dongargarh, Distt. Rajnandgaon (C.G.) for the offence punishable GOURI MUDALIAR Digitally signed by GOURI MUDALIAR Date: 2025.11.06 19:26:58 +0530 2 under Section 34 (2) of the Chhattisgarh Excise Act & 111, 338, 336(3) of BNS, 2023. (As per charge sheet). 2. Case of the prosecution, in brief, is that on 29.03.2025, officers of Police has received the secret information from the informant with the averment that inside of farm house of Rohit Netam contains illicit liquor boxes, illegally transported from MP affixed with fake "CG" labels and seals, intercepted and seized a total of 3888 bulk liters of illicit liquor, therefore arrested the present applicant along with other 27 co-accused, on the basis of doubt. 3. Learned counsel for the applicant submits that the applicant is innocent and has been falsely implicated in the present case and the alleged liquor was seized from an open place near the road, which was accessible to the public, and there is no evidence to show that the applicant had exclusive possession or ownership of the seized liquor. It is further submitted that co-accused persons in this case have already been granted bail by this Court, and the applicant stands on the same footing. The seizure was made without proper measurement, and the case has been registered merely on the basis of suspicion. He also submits that charge sheet has been filed, the applicant is in jail since 05/04/2025 and the conclusion of the trial is likely to take quite long time. Therefore, he prays for releasing the applicant on regular bail. 4. Learned counsel appearing for the State/non-applicant would oppose the bail application and submit that the charge-sheet has 3 been filed in the present case before the competent Court. He further submits that the applicant is having 04 criminal antecedents under the Excise Act, out of which, in one case, he has been acquitted and three cases under the Excise Act are pending, as such, he is a habitual offender and is not entitled for grant of bail. 5. I have heard learned counsel for the parties and perused the case diary. 6. Considering the fact that the charge-sheet has been filed before the competent Court and in the present case, the applicant is having 04 criminal antecedents under the Excise Act, out of which, in one case, he has been acquitted and three cases under the Excise Act are pending and he is a habitual offender, further he has misused the bail granted to him earlier, further the case of the applicant is distinguishable from the case of the co-accused persons who have been granted bail, as some of them did not have any criminal history and also in light of the judgment rendered by the Supreme Court in Deepak Yadav v. State of Uttar Pradesh & Another, reported in (2022) 8 SCC 559, wherein the Hon’ble Supreme Court had cancelled the bail granted to the accused therein on the ground that the accused had previous antecedents, this Court is of the opinion that this is not a fit case to enlarge the applicant on regular bail. 4 7. Accordingly, the bail application of the applicant-Omkar Garg, involved in Crime No.127/2025 registered at Police Station Dongargarh, Distt. Rajnandgaon (C.G.) for the offence punishable under Section 34 (2) of the Chhattisgarh Excise Act & 111, 338, 336(3) of BNS, 2023, is rejected. 8. Office is directed to send a certified copy of this order to the trial Court concerned for necessary information and compliance forthwith. - SDS Sd/- (Ramesh Sinha) Chief Justice gouri