1 2026:CGHC:8038 NAFR HIGH COURT OF CHHATTISGARH AT BILASPUR MCRC No. 1569 of 2026 Raju Prasad S/o Nanku Prasad Aged About 35 Years R/o Village- Tolabandh, Post Kot, District- Fatehpur, Uttar Pradesh. ... Applicant versus State Of Chhattisgarh Through - Station House Officer Dharsiwa, District- Raipur (C.G.) ... Respondent For Applicant : Mr. Aditya Shrivastava, Advocate. For Non-applicant/State : Ms. Sameeksha Gupta, Panel Lawyer. Hon'ble Mr. Ramesh Sinha, Chief Justice Order on Board 13.02.2026 1. This is the first bail application filed under Section 483 of the Bhartiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 for grant of regular bail to the applicant who has been arrested in connection with Crime No.499/2025 registered at Police Station – Dharsiwa District – Raipur (C.G.) for the offences punishable under Sections 331, 305 & 3(5) of the BNS 2023. 2. As per the prosecution case, the complainant Shrikant Sharma lodged a report at Dharsiwa Police Station that on the date of incident I.e. VAIBHAV SINGH Digitally signed by VAIBHAV SINGH Date: 2026.02.13 16:34:45 +0530 2 13/10/2025 accused person entered the premises of Godawari Power and Ispat Limited and committed theft of approximately 18 tons of sponge iron belonging to the said company, On the basis of the said complaint the aforesaid crime has been registered against the main accused namely Ajay Singh and other unknown persons, During the course of investigation present applicant was implicated in this crime by the Memorandum Statement of the Co-accused Person and the applicant was arrested in this crime and the charge sheet has been filed before the competent. 3. The learned counsel for the applicant submits that the applicant is innocent and has been falsely implicated in the present case, only on the basis of the memorandum statement of the co-accused, which is legally unsustainable in the eyes of law. The applicant is neither directly nor indirectly involved in the alleged offence and was not present at the place of occurrence, and his name was not mentioned in the FIR. It is further submitted that co-accused persons, namely Ajay Singh and Ashok Yadav, have already been enlarged on bail by this Hon’ble Court in MCRC No. 9060/2025 and 457/2026 vide orders dated 02/01/2026 and 14/01/2026 respectively, and two other co-accused, namely Tilak Ram Nishad and Bhojram Pudke, have also been granted bail by the learned trial court, copies whereof are filed as Annexure A/3 (Colly). The applicant is a respectable person, has been falsely implicated in the present crime, and the charge-sheet has already been filed. The applicant craves leave to raise any other grounds at the time of hearing and undertakes to furnish adequate surety and abide by all the terms and conditions that may be imposed by this Hon’ble Court. 3 4. On the other hand, learned counsel for the State, opposes the bail application of the applicant. 5. I have heard learned counsel appearing for the parties and perused the case diary. 6. Taking into consideration the facts and circumstances of the case, the nature and gravity of the allegations levelled against the present applicant, and the fact that the co-accused, namely Ajay Singh, has already been granted bail vide order dated 02.01.2026 passed in MCRC No. 9060 of 2025, and further considering that the charge-sheet has already been filed before the competent Court, that the applicant has no criminal antecedents and he has been in judicial custody since 16.10.2025, and that the conclusion of the trial is likely to take considerable time, this Court is of the view that the applicant is entitled to be released on bail in the present case. 7. Let applicant, Raju Prasad, involved in Crime No.499/2025 registered at Police Station – Dharsiwa District – Raipur (C.G.) for the offences punishable under Sections 331, 305 & 3(5) of the BNS 2023, be released on bail on furnishing personal bond with two local sureties in the like sum to the satisfaction of the Court concerned with the following conditions:- (i) The applicant shall file an undertaking to the effect that he shall not seek any adjournment on the dates fixed for evidence when the witnesses are present in court. In case of default of this condition, it shall be open for the trial court to treat it as abuse of liberty of bail and pass orders in accordance with law. (ii) The applicant shall remain present before the trial court on each date fixed, either personally or through his counsel. In case of his absence, without sufficient cause, the trial court may proceed against him under 4 Section 269 of Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita. (iii) In case, the applicant misuses the liberty of bail during trial and in order to secure his presence, proclamation under Section 84 of BNSS. is issued and the applicant fails to appear before the Court on the date fixed in such proclamation, then, the trial court shall initiate proceedings against him, in accordance with law, under Section 209 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita. (iv) The applicant shall remain present, in person, before the trial court on the dates fixed for (i) opening of the case, (ii) framing of charge and (iii) recording of statement under Section 351 of BNSS. If in the opinion of the trial court absence of the applicant is deliberate or without sufficient cause, then it shall be open for the trial court to treat such default as abuse of liberty of bail and proceed against him in accordance with law. 8. Office is directed to provide a certified copy of this order to the trial Court concerned for necessary information and compliance forthwith. Sd/- (Ramesh Sinha) CHIEF JUSTICE vaibhav