In a significant legal development, the Gujarat High Court has granted regular bail to the applicant in the case of C.R. No. 11993007231018/2023. The judgment highlights the court’s decision on the bail application in this matter. Stay updated with the latest legal proceedings. #GujaratHighCourt #LegalJudgment #RegularBail
Facts
- The applicant has filed for regular bail under Section 439 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973.
- The FIR in question is C.R. No. 11993007231018/2023 under Sections 3(1)(ii), 3(2), and 3(4) of the GUJCTOC Act.
- The incident in question occurred between 01.01.2015 to 10.09.2023, leading to the arrest of the applicant on 10.09.2023.
- The investigation has been completed, and the chargesheet has been submitted, prompting the bail application.
- Initially, reliance was placed on two offenses, but the chargesheet now mentions a total of four offenses against the applicant.
Arguments
- The role of the present applicant is clearly stated in the chargesheet.
- The nature and gravity of the offense are the reasons stated by the learned APP for opposing regular bail.
Analysis
- The present application has been considered by the Coordinate Bench of the Court and deserves to be allowed based on factual aspects and on the ground of parity.
- The Court considered the law laid down by the Hon’ble Apex Court in the cases of Sanjay Chandra v. Central Bureau of Investigation and Satender Kumar Antil v. Central Bureau of Investigation & Anr.
- The role attributed to the applicant at the time of the commission of the crime and the role attributed to the co-accused, who is in jail since 10.09.2023 after the completion of investigation, have been taken into consideration.
- At the time of filing the chargesheet, the prosecution relied upon a total of four offences, but only one offence is registered after the invocation of the provisions of the GUJCTOC Act.
- The present application is preferred after the submission of the chargesheet, and it is found that only one offence is registered under the GUJCTOC Act based on a cursory glance at the contents of the FIR.
- The case of the applicant does not fall under the definition of Section 2(1)(c) of the GUJCTOC Act, and it is urged that the applicant be enlarged on regular bail by imposing suitable conditions.
- In the case of Zakir Abdul Mirajkar v. the State of Maharashtra & Ors, the Hon’ble Supreme Court observed a settled law regarding more than one charge sheet in organized crime syndicate cases.
- The requirement of filing more than one charge-sheet under the GUJCTOC Act is specifically for organized crime syndicates and not for each individual member of the syndicate.
- The Court has reviewed the nature of the allegations made against the applicant in the FIR.
- Prima facie, the Court considers this as a fit case to exercise discretion and grant the applicant regular bail.
Decision
- The applicant is ordered to be released on regular bail in connection with FIR C.R. No.11993007231018/2023.
- The bail amount is set at Rs.15,000/- with one surety of the like amount.
- Various conditions are imposed on the applicant including not misusing liberty, surrendering passport, marking presence at the Police Station, etc.
- The bail bond is to be executed before the lower Court with jurisdiction to try the case.
- The concerned Court has the authority to modify or relax any of the conditions as per the law.
- The applicant will be released only if not required in connection with any other offence.
- The trial Court is directed not to be influenced by preliminary observations made by this Court while granting bail.
Case Title: ISMAIL IBRAHIM CHAVDA Vs. STATE OF GUJARAT
Case Number: R/CR.MA/10630/2024
