IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT PATNA CRIMINAL MISCELLANEOUS No.75343 of 2024 Arising Out of PS. Case No.-148 Year-2024 Thana- RUNISAIDPUR District- Sitamarhi ====================================================== Jai Narain Singh @ Jay Narain Singh S/O Late Ramchandra Singh R/o - Teknvas Mahammadpur,PO. - Teknvas Sidhwalia,P.S - Mahammadpur,Dist - Gopalganj, Bihar - 841423. ... ... Petitioner/s Versus 1. The State of Bihar 2. The District Manager,Bihar State Food and Civil Supplies Corporation Ltd, Sitamarhi Sitamarhi ... ... Opposite Party/s ====================================================== Appearance : For the Petitioner/s : Mr. Sanjay Kumar, Advocate For the Opposite Party/s : Mr. Parmeshwar Mehta, APP For the BSFC : Mr. Shailendra Kr. Singh, Advocate Mr. Utkarsh Utpal, Advocate ====================================================== CORAM: HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE RAJESH KUMAR VERMA ORAL ORDER 3 22-03-2025 Heard learned counsel for the petitioner as well as learned counsel for the Bihar State Food & Civil Supplies Corporation Limited and learned APP for the State. 2. The petitioner is apprehending his arrest in connection with Runisaidpur P.S. Case No. 148 of 2024 FIR dated 07.05.2024 under Section 406 and 409 of the Indian Penal Code. 3. The prosecution story in short is that in the presence of the Magistrate, deputed by the Sub-divisional Officer, physical verification of the godown was done in which deficit surfaced in the stock. It has been further alleged that the Patna High Court CR. MISC. No.75343 of 2024(3) dt.22-03-2025 2/4 petitioner has misappropriated total 1985.84.590 quintals of wheat and 5391.61.820 quintals of rice from TDPS Godown, Runisaidpur. 4. Learned counsel for the petitioner submits that District Manager, State Food Corporation, Sitamarhi has given a written complaint before the SHO, Runisaidpur Police Station on 07.05.2024 stating therein that a joint inspection team was constituted vide Memo No. 724 dated 04.05.2024 of the Office of District Manager SFC, Sitamarhi, who inspected the TPDS Godown of Runisaidpur on 06.05.2024 which was under control of the Jai Naryan Singh, Assistant Manager (petitioner). The inspection report suggests that it was found that there was difference of about 3951 bags of wheat weighing 1985.84.590 quintal approximately and 10811 bags of rice weighing 5391.61.820 quintals. He further submits that the allegation as alleged in the FIR is false and fabricated and the petitioner has not committed any offence as alleged in the FIR. In fact, the petitioner is a retired Army personnel and after retirement he joined the B.S.F.C. and served till his suspension (May 2024) in different districts without any allegation. He submits that TPDS Godown was used to be inspected by the higher authority regularly and an annual inspection used to be conducted in the Patna High Court CR. MISC. No.75343 of 2024(3) dt.22-03-2025 3/4 month of March every year. In the present case, TPDS Godown was also inspected by the higher authority on 31.03.2024 and at that point of time, every thing was found in order. There were no allegation of misappropriation, but after one month of the said inspection, so called inspection team, which was constituted vide Memo No. 724 dated 04.05.2024 inspected the Godown and came to a conclusion of a huge misappropriation in the Godown without accurate weighing of the foodgrains. 5. Learned APP for the State as well as learned counsel for the Bihar State Food and Civil Supply Corporation opposed the anticipatory bail prayer of the petitioner and submits that as per the stock register and physical verification in alleged TPDS Godown, the petitioner is liable to deposit an amount of Rs. 4,16,50,440/-(four crore sixteen lakh fifty thousand four hundred and fourty rupees) against the defalcated public foodgrains and the District Manager, SFC, Sitamarhi had issued a notice to the petitioner and directed him to deposit aforesaid amount against the defalcated public foodgrains amount against both the TPDS Godown and apart from that the petitioner is also accused in the Riga P.S. Case No. 142 of 2024 under Sections 406 and 420 of the Indian Penal Code and apart from that one co-accused person, namely, Akhil Kishore Prasad Patna High Court CR. MISC. No.75343 of 2024(3) dt.22-03-2025 4/4 Singh, who happens to be the Assistant Manager, Danapur TPDS Godown, Bihar State Food Corporation on contractual basis, his bail application has been rejected by a Co-ordinate Bench of this Court vide order dated 16.02.2023 in Cr. Misc. No. 52400 of 2021 and the anticipatory bail application of the one co-accused, namely, Alok Kumar, who is accused in connection with Bachhwara P.S. Case No. 335 of 2022 and Teghra P.S. Case No. 375 of 2022, who is also the Assistant Godown Manager, Bachhwara has also been rejected by Co- ordinate Bench of this Court vide order dated 02.11.2023 in Cr. Misc. No. 34538 of 2023 and in Cr. Misc. No. 34942 of 2023. 6. Considering the aforesaid facts as well as gravity of the offence and circumstances of the case, particularly the misappropriation of public money more than Rs. 4 crore, I am not inclined to grant the privilege of anticipatory bail to the petitioner. 7. Prayer is refused. Jyoti Kumari/- (Rajesh Kumar Verma, J.) U T