1 CGHC010354422026 2026:CGHC:40172 NAFR HIGH COURT OF CHHATTISGARH AT BILASPUR MCRC No. 8540 of 2026 • Sadanand Bhat S/o Kanshi Ram Bhat Aged About 35 Years R/o House No. 01, Maheshpur, District- Jashpur (C.G.) ... Applicant versus • State Of Chhattisgarh Through Police Station Lailunga, District- Raigarh (C.G.) ... Non-Applicant For Applicant : Mr. Jitendra Shukla, Advocate For State : Mr. Nitansh Jaiswal, Dy. Government Advocate Hon'ble Shri Justice Rakesh Mohan Pandey Order on Board 15.09 .2026 1. This is the second bail application filed under Section 483 of the BNSS for grant of regular bail to the applicant who has been arrested in connection with Crime No. 69/2026 registered at Police Station Lailunga, District Raigarh (C.G.), for the offence punishable under Sections 20(b) and 29 of NDPS Act. 2. The first bail application of the applicant being MCRC No. 7047 of 2026 was rejected by this Court vide order dated 04.08.2026. 3. Case of the prosecution, in brief, is that on 01.03.2026, the police of Police Station Lalunga, District Raigarh, allegedly received secret information that two persons were coming from Odisha in a chocolate- SIDDHANT TAMRAKAR Digitally signed by SIDDHANT TAMRAKAR Date: 2026.09.15 17:59:13 +0530 2 coloured Maruti Suzuki Ritz bearing registration No. CG-13/UG/9683 and were carrying ganja in a white bag for the purpose of sale. Acting upon the said information, the police conducted a raid and reached the place mentioned by the informant, i.e., near Atal Chowk, Pakargaon village. The police intercepted the said vehicle. Two persons were found sitting inside the vehicle. On being asked about their names and addresses, the driver disclosed his name as Shravan Kumar Nishad, and the person sitting beside him disclosed his name as Mahendra Prasad Chauhan. That during the search, 10.048 kg of ganja packed in a white- coloured plastic foil was allegedly seized from co-accused Shravan Kumar Nishad, and 8.895 kg of ganja packed in a white-coloured plastic foil was allegedly seized from co-accused Mahendra Prasad Chauhan. Thereafter, the present applicant/accused Sadanand Bhatt was also apprehended during the investigation. After questioning, a memorandum statement of the applicant was recorded in the presence of witnesses, wherein he allegedly disclosed that he, along with Ram Kumar, had purchased ganja from Odisha and brought the same in Shravan Nishad’s car for the purpose of sale. 4. Learned counsel appearing for the applicant would submit that the present applicant has falsely been implicated. He further submits that the first bail application was rejected primarily on the ground that one criminal antecedent was pending against him. It is contended that the applicant has subsequently been acquitted in the said case. He further submits that no contraband has been recovered from the exclusive possession of the applicant. He would further submit that the present applicant is in jail since 19.04.2026, charge sheet has also been filed and it will take time to 3 conclude the trial. Thus, he would pray for grant of bail to the applicant. 5. On the other hand, learned counsel appearing for the State would oppose the bail application. He would submit that charge-sheet has been filed before the competent Court. He further submits that the subsequent acquittal of the applicant in one of the criminal cases does not wipe out the criminal antecedents of the applicant or constitute a sufficient ground for grant of bail in the present case. 6. I have heard learned counsel for the parties and perused the material available on record. 7. The first bail application filed by the applicant was dismissed on merits. Merely because the applicant has subsequently been acquitted in one of the criminal cases, the same, by itself, would not constitute a sufficient ground for grant of bail, particularly when the material available on record prima facie indicates his involvement. Further, having regard to the nature of the allegations levelled against the applicant and the material available on record, I am not inclined to allow the present application. 8. Accordingly, the instant application for the grant of bail is rejected. Sd/- (Rakesh Mohan Pandey) JUDGE $iddhant