1 CGHC010314902026 2026:CGHC:42068 NAFR HIGH COURT OF CHHATTISGARH AT BILASPUR MCRC No. 7567 of 2026 1 - Amit Kumar Bhardwaj S/o Harprasad Bharadwaj Aged About 29 Years R/o - Village - Bagdabari, P.S. - Balauda Tahsil - Balauda, District - Janjgir - Champa (C.G.) ... Applicant versus 1 - State Of Chhattisgarh Through Station House Officer, P.S. - Koni, District - Bilaspur (C.G.) ... Non-applicant For Applicant : Mr. Lalit Jangde, Advocate For Non-applicant /State : Ms. Ankita Shukla, P.L. Hon’ble Shri Justice Rakesh Mohan Pandey Order on Board 28/09/2026 1. The applicant has preferred this first bail application under Section 483 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 for grant of regular bail as he has been arrested in connection with 2 Crime No. 264/2026 registered at Police Station Koni, District Bilaspur (C.G.) for the offence punishable under Sections 309(4) and 3(5) of BNS. 2. The prosecution case, in brief, is that on 27.05.2026, the complainant, Priyanshu Sahu, lodged a written report at Police Station Koni statingthat on 23.04.2026, the driver of vehicle bearing registration No. CG-10-BL-8136, namely Jitendra Kumar, had parked the vehicle in front of Sendri Jai Automobile on the National Highway and was sleeping inside the vehicle. At about 3:30 a.m. on 24.04.2026, upon hearing the sound of the diesel tank of the vehicle being broken, the driver woke up and found four unknown persons taking diesel from the tank. When he tried to restrain them, they allegedly threatened him at gunpoint, looted the diesel and fled from the spot. On the basis of the said report, the police registered the offence and commenced investigation. During investigation, statements of the prosecution witnesses were recorded and spot inspection was conducted. During the course of search for the absconding accused persons, information was received that, in connection with Crime No. 368/2026 registered at Police Station Sirgitti, the accused persons, namely Amit Kumar Bhardwaj, Sanjay Kumar Kurre and Manishankar Kurre, were interrogated and, in their memorandum statements, they allegedly admitted their involvement in the present offence. On the basis of the said memorandum statements, the present applicant was arrested in connection with the instant crime. 3 3. Mr. Lalit Jangde, learned counsel for the applicant submits that the applicant is innocent and has been falsely implicated in the present case and that the allegations levelled against him are false, baseless and malicious. It is submitted that the applicant is a law-abiding citizen and there is no prima facie material or cogent evidence on record to establish his involvement in the alleged offence. Learned counsel further submits that the applicant has been arrested without any proper and reliable evidence connecting him with the alleged offence. He would further contend that the charge-sheet has already been filed and the applicant has been in judicial custody since 27/05/2026, and since the conclusion of the trial is likely to take considerable time, the applicant may be enlarged on regular bail as keeping the applicant in further custody would serve no investigative purpose. 4. On the other hand, Ms. Ankita Shukla, learned counsel appearing for the non-applicant/State, would oppose the bail application and submit that there are five live criminal antecedents of the applicant and two of them pertaining to the year 2026 itself are of similar nature; thus, he is not entitled to be released on regular bail. 5. I have heard learned counsel for the parties and perused the case diary. 6. Taking into consideration the facts and circumstances of the case, the nature and gravity of offence, further considering that there are five live criminal antecedents of the applicant and two of them 4 are of similar nature, this Court is not inclined to enlarge the applicant on regular bail. 7. Accordingly, this bail application is rejected. Sd/- (Rakesh Mohan Pandey) JUDGE Harneet