Page No.# 1/4 GAHC010121582026 2026:GAU-AS:9159 THE GAUHATI HIGH COURT (HIGH COURT OF ASSAM, NAGALAND, MIZORAM AND ARUNACHAL PRADESH) Case No. : Bail Appln./1607/2026 ABUL SHEIKH S/O LT. ROHOM ALI SHEIKHVILLAGE KHORAGHATP.S. BAGRIBARIDISTRICT KOKRAJHAR, BTC, ASSAM VERSUS THE STATE OF ASSAM REP BY THE PP, ASSAM Advocate for the Petitioner : MR H R A CHOUDHURY, B DAS,MR. A M AHMED Advocate for the Respondent : PP, ASSAM, BEFORE HON’BLE MRS. JUSTICE MITALI THAKURIA O R D E R Date : 24.06.2026. Heard Mr. H.R.A. Choudhury, learned Senior Counsel assisted by Mr. A.M. Ahmed, learned counsel for the accused petitioner. Also heard Mr. R.J. Baruah, the learned Addl. P.P., Assam appearing for the State respondent. This is an application under Section 483 of BNSS, 2023 praying for grant of bail Page No.# 2/4 to the accused petitioner, namely, Abul Sheikh who is in jail custody for last 27 days w.e.f. 29.05.2026, in connection with Bagribari P.S. Case No. 33/2026, registered under Sections 303(2)/324(5)/317(4) of the BNS read with Sections 24/25/40 of the Assam Forest Regulation, 1891. The case diary is received and perused the same. It is submitted by Mr. Choudhury, the learned Senior Counsel for the petitioner that the earlier bail petition of the present accused petitioner was rejected by this Court vide order dated 09.06.2026, after perusal of the case diary. However, the present bail application has been filed seeking bail only on the ground of illness of his 100 years old mother and the length of detention. Till date, the accused petitioner is in the custody for 27 days and thus, the I.O. got sufficient opportunity to interrogate him, keeping him in the custody. However, the petitioner being a responsible person, he will extend his cooperation in further investigation of this case, as and when his cooperation will be required. Mr. Baruah, the learned Addl. P.P., Assam raised vehement objection and submitted that while passing the order in the earlier bail application, detail discussions have been made considering the materials available in the case diary. Mr. Baruah, the learned Addl. P.P., Assam further submitted that the case is at the very crucial stage of investigation, wherein the police is investigating the owner of the vehicles i.e. one tractor, one DI truck and two numbers of Dher Dheri from where the Sal logs were recovered in an abandoned condition. That apart, during investigation it has also come out that the land belongs to the present accused petitioner which was given to his father in law for doing such business. There are sufficient incriminating materials against the present Page No.# 3/4 accused petitioner, who is considered to be a timber mafia in the locality and from the statement made by some of the witnesses vis-à-vis the Gaonburha etc. also it is seen that he is doing such kind of business since last 10 years. Accordingly, the learned Addl. P.P., Assam submitted that only considering the length of detention, which is only for 27 days, the bail prayer may not be considered at this stage. Hearing the submissions made by learned counsel for both sides, I have also perused the case record and the case diary. It is seen that while passing the earlier bail rejection order dated 09.06.2026, in Bail Application No.1438/2026, the detail discussions have been made regarding the incriminating materials against the present accused petitioner on perusal of the case diary. The present bail application has been filed only after six days i.e. on 15.06.2026 of the earlier order and on perusal of the case diary, it is seen that the case is at the very crucial stage of investigation, wherein the investigating team of police is searching for the ownership of the vehicles which have been kepi in abandoned condition loaded with sal logs. That apart, the investigation is still going on to unearth some more facts involved in this case, wherein it is seen that the sal logs were used to transport to various location and even beyond the country. There is a big racket involved in the alleged offence and accordingly, it is seen that further custodial interrogation of the present accused petitioner may be required for the interest of the investigation. From the medical documents submitted on behalf of the mother of the present accused petitioner, it is seen that she is being provided with some meditation who is complaining of breathing difficulty and chest pain. But only considering Page No.# 4/4 the ground of illness of the mother of the accused petitioner, this petition for bail cannot be considered at this stage, wherein serious allegation of illegal cutting, transportation and selling of sal logs are brought, destroying the forest of the entire locality. In view of the above discussions and also considering the seriousness of the offence, this Court is of the view that it is not a fit case to enlarge the accused/petitioner on bail at this stage. Hence, the present bail application stands rejected. Return back the case diary forthwith. JUDGE Comparing Assistant