1 NAFR HIGH COURT OF CHHATTISGARH AT BILASPUR MCRC No. 2846 of 2026 1 - Harpreet Singh Chahal @ Happy S/o Mahendra Singh Chahal Aged About 26 Years R/o Basna Police Station - Basna District- Mahasamund (C.G.) (The Name Of The Applicant Mentioned As Cause Title Is Correct And It Is As Per Charge Sheet) ... Applicant versus 1 - State Of Chhattisgarh Through The Station House Officer Police Station - Patewa, District- Mahasamund (C.G.) ... Respondent For Applicant : Mr. Shivendu Pandya, Advocate. For Respondent/State : Ms. Laxmeen Kashyap, P.L. Hon'ble Shri Justice Sanjay Kumar Jaiswal Order On Board 07/04/2026 1. The applicant has preferred this First bail application under Section 483 of Bhartiya Nagrik Suraksha Sanhita Act, 2023 for grant of regular bail as he is arrested in connection with Crime No.50/2025, registered at Police Station – Patewa, District- Mahasamund (C.G.) for offence punishable under Sections 64(1), 137(2) of BNS and Sections 4, 6 of POCSO Act. 2. As per the prosecution’s case, it is alleged that on 13.04.2025, the applicant/accused abducted the minor victim from her lawful guardianship and took her up to Indore and forcefully established physical relations with her on more than one HEERA LAL SAHU Digitally signed by HEERA LAL SAHU Date: 2026.04.07 16:38:09 +0530 2 occasion, against her will. Based on this, offence has been registered against the present applicant. 3. Learned counsel for the applicant submits that the applicant is innocent and has been falsely implicated in the crime in question. He further submits that there is a total of 19 listed witnesses in this case, out of which 5 witnesses, including the victim, have been examined. The victim is a major girl on the date of occurrence as per the medical & other relevant documents, and the present applicant is a simple villager and has not committed any aforesaid offence. The applicant is in jail since 17.04.2025, and the trial is likely to take considerable time. Therefore, the applicant may be enlarged on bail. 4. Per contra, learned Counsel appearing on behalf of the State opposes the bail application and submits that there is sufficient material against the present applicant. The victim was minor at the time of incident and she has supported the case of the prosecution; therefore, looking to the gravity of the offence, at this stage, the applicant may not be released on bail. 5. The elder father of the victim appeared through V.C. from the concerned DLSA and recorded no objection to grant of bail to the applicant. 6. I have heard learned Counsel appearing for the parties and perused the material available on record. 7. Considering the facts and circumstances of the case and looking to the material available on record against the applicant and also looking to the gravity of the offence, at this stage, without commenting on the merits of the case, I am not inclined to release the applicant on bail. Accordingly, the bail application filed under Section 483 of BNSS, 2023, is rejected. 8. However, considering the fact that the applicant is in jail since 17.04.2025 and only 5 witnesses out of 19 witnesses have been examined till date, the concerned trial Court is directed to expedite the trial and to ensure that the trial is concluded as expeditiously as possible preferably within a period of 5 months from the receipt of the copy of this order. 3 9. Office is directed to sent a certified copy of this order to the trial Court concerned for necessary information and compliance forthwith. Sd/- (Sanjay Kumar Jaiswal) Judge H.L. Sahu