Anowar Hussain And Anr vs The State Of Assam

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GAHC010025342026
GAHC010025342026

2026:GAU-AS:2773

2026:GAU-AS:2773
THE GAUHATI HIGH COURT
(HIGH COURT OF ASSAM, NAGALAND, MIZORAM AND ARUNACHAL PRADESH)
THE GAUHATI HIGH COURT
(HIGH COURT OF ASSAM, NAGALAND, MIZORAM AND ARUNACHAL PRADESH)
Case No. : Bail Appln./410/2026
Case No. : Bail Appln./410/2026
ANOWAR HUSSAIN AND ANR
SON OF HAJI ABUAL HUSSAIN
RESIDENT OF MATIABAG, P.S. GAURIPUR, DIST. DHUBRI, ASSAM
ANOWAR HUSSAIN AND ANR
SON OF HAJI ABUAL HUSSAIN
RESIDENT OF MATIABAG, P.S. GAURIPUR, DIST. DHUBRI, ASSAM
2: MALIKUDDIN SHEIKH
SON OF MD. HAMID ALI SHEIKH

RESIDENT OF DALSINGRALGA PT.I
P.S. GAURIPUR
DIST. DHUBRI
ASSA
2: MALIKUDDIN SHEIKH
SON OF MD. HAMID ALI SHEIKH

RESIDENT OF DALSINGRALGA PT.I
P.S. GAURIPUR
DIST. DHUBRI
ASSA
VERSUS
VERSUS
THE STATE OF ASSAM
REP BY THE PP, ASSAM
THE STATE OF ASSAM
REP BY THE PP, ASSAM
Advocate for the Petitioner : MR. A M BORA, P MAZUMDAR,MR. R BARTHAKUR,MS. C
CHOUDHURY,MR. D K BAIDYA
Advocate for the Petitioner : MR. A M BORA, P MAZUMDAR,MR. R BARTHAKUR,MS. C
CHOUDHURY,MR. D K BAIDYA
Advocate for the Respondent : PP, ASSAM,
Advocate for the Respondent : PP, ASSAM,

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BEFORE
HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE ANJAN MONI KALITA
JUDGMENT & ORDER
Date of Hearing : 20.02.2026
Date of Judgment: 24.02.2026

Heard Mr. A. M. Bora, learned senior counsel assisted by Mr. D. K. Baidya,
learned counsel appearing for the accused applicants and Mr. R. J. Baruah,
learned Additional Public Prosecutor for the State.
2 . This is an application under Section 483 of the BNSS, 2023 praying for
granting bail to the accused applicants namely, Anowar Hussain and
Malikuddin Sheikh , who were arrested on 29.01.2026, in connection with
Basistha P.S. Case No. 42/2026 under Section 147 of the BNS, 2023 read with
Sections 15/16/17/18 of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967.
3 . The instant case has been initiated based on a written complaint dated
29.01.2026 submitted by SI (P) Chinmoy Boruah of Jorabat Police Out Post,
alleging that on 28.01.2026, at about 17:00 hours, credible information was
received from the Deputy Commissioner of Police (East), Guwahati, regarding
transportation of a large amount of cash suspected to be meant for terrorist
activities, from Guwahati towards Meghalaya in a vehicle bearing Registration
No. AS-01/DL-7386. Acting upon such information, a police team intercepted the
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vehicle on NH-27 at 9 Mile and apprehended the accused persons, namely
Anowar Hussain, Dianur Islam, Imdadul Haque Sarkar, and Malikuddin Sheikh
(driver). During the search of the vehicle, they recovered cash amounting to Rs.
70,88,000/-, nine (9) cheques amounting to Rs. 43,00,000/-, four mobile
phones, and one land Sale Deed. It was alleged that during the preliminary
enquiry, the accused applicants confessed that the aforesaid money was

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intended to be delivered to terrorist elements for facilitating unlawful and violent
activities, thereby attracting the provisions of Section 15 of the Unlawful
Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967 along with other relevant sections of law.
4. On receipt of the FIR, the police registered Basistha P.S. Case No. 42/2026
under Sections 147 of the BNS, 2023, read with Sections 15/16/17/18 of the
Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967. It is submitted that on 29.01.2026,
the accused applicants were produced before the Hon’ble District & Sessions
Judge, Kamrup (M) and after being shown arrested, they were remanded to
police custody for five (5) days. On 02.02.2026, after completion of police
custody, the accused applicants were remanded to judicial custody and since
then they are in judicial custody.
5. Mr. A. M. Bora, learned senior counsel for the accused applicants, submits
that the Accused Applicant No. 1, namely Anowar Hussain, is an established
businessman of District Dhubri. He came to Guwahati on 28.01.2026 for the
purpose of finalizing and executing the sale of his land admeasuring 1 Katha
and 9.95 Lechas, covered by Dag No. 373 (old) / 804 (new) and K.P. Patta No.
1269 (old)/1132 (new), situated at Revenue Village Dwarandha Gaon, Mouza:
Beltola, under Dispur Revenue Circle, Kamrup (M), in favor of Mustofa Salim

Ahmed and Mrs. Nazmin Amania Islam, for a total consideration of Rs.
60,00,000/- (Rupees Sixty Lakhs only), out of which Rs. 17,00,000/- (Rupees
Seventeen Lakhs only) was paid in cash and the remaining Rs. 43,00,000/-
(Rupees Forty-Three Lakhs only) was paid through cheques of different
denominations. He further submits that the Accused Applicant No. 1 had duly
purchased the said plot of land from Akshay Chandra Kalita in the year 2018 and
subsequently resold the same to Mustofa Salim Ahmed and Mrs. Nazmin Amania
Islam.

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6. The learned senior counsel submits that the cheques received towards part
payment of the said land transaction were kept with the “Pay to” column left
blank, as the Accused Applicant No. 1 intended to utilize the said cheques for
payment of the educational fees of his daughter, Alisha Shabnam, who is
pursuing her M.B.B.S. course at Gouri Devi Institute of Medical Sciences and
Hospital, under the West Bengal University of Health Sciences. The said cheques
were intended to be deposited directly in favor of the said institution to meet
the academic expenses of his daughter. He also submits that for securing
admission of his daughter in the aforesaid medical college and for meeting
various educational and miscellaneous expenses connected therewith, as well as
to discharge certain personal financial liabilities, he had availed an overdraft
loan facility from ICICI Bank to the tune of Rs. 50,00,000/- (Rupees Fifty Lakhs
only). Out of the said amount, a substantial portion had already been
earmarked for educational and related expenses and a part of the same
remained with him in cash for immediate and urgent requirements connected
with his daughter's studies and other unavoidable personal obligations.
7. It is submitted that when the Accused Applicant No. 1 had come to
Guwahati in connection with the execution of the sale deed, his neighbour and
close family acquaintance, Imdadul Haque Sarkar, who had also come to
Guwahati at that time, requested to accompany him in his vehicle so that on
their return journey he could visit his son, Naziz Afroze Sarkar, who is working
as a Laboratory Instructor at the University of Science and Technology,
Meghalaya (USTM). Coincidentally, another family acquaintance, Dianur Islam,
who is also a colleague of Naziz Afroze Sarkar, was present in the Beltola locality
on that day as he had gone to visit one of his colleagues whose father had
recently expired. He submits that after completion of the sale deed, the Accused

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Applicant No. 1 contacted Dianur Islam and requested him to accompany them
to USTM for the purpose of visiting Imdadul Haque Sarkar’s son and to guide
them with the route. He submits that while they were proceeding towards the
University of Science and Technology, Meghalaya (USTM), a police team from
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Jorabat Police Out Post intercepted their vehicle on NH-27 at 9 Mile on the
same day and apprehended them. After conducting the search of the vehicle,
the police seized the aforesaid cash, along with nine cheques, mobile phones
and one land sale deed.
8. The Learned senior counsel, by referring to Annexure-I, starting from
Page-25 of the bail application, submits that the agreement for the sale of land
executed on 28.01.2026 between the Accused Applicant No. 1 and Mustofa
Salim Ahmed and Mrs. Nazmin Amania Islam makes it clear that the money
recovered from the vehicle was, in fact, received by the Accused Applicant No. 1
as part payment under the said agreement. Learned senior counsel further
submits that the Accused Applicants are innocent of the offences alleged against
them and have been falsely implicated in the present case. It is submitted that
the Accused Applicants have neither any connection with any terrorist or Jihadist
organization, nor have they engaged in any activity prohibited under law. He
submits that the Accused Applicant No. 1 is an established businessman of
District Dhubri and enjoys a good reputation in the locality and that the Accused
Applicant No. 2 is his driver. He submits that the police have arrested them
merely on suspicion, without having any evidence of their involvement in any
terrorist activities or any activity related to funding terrorism.
9. He submits that the Accused Applicant No. 1 had duly purchased the said
plot of land from one Akshay Chandra Kalita, vide deed of sale executed on
03.05.2018, a copy of which has been annexed to the application as Annexure-

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II (Page No. 40). The same plot of land was sold by him to meet the educational
expenses of his daughter. He submits that although several Sections, i.e.,
15/16/17/18 of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act have been invoked
against the Accused Applicants, however, no evidence has been recovered by
the police from their possession or from the possession of the other two
persons. He submits that the registration of the case under Sections
15/16/17/18 of the UAPA is totally unwarranted, as there is no evidence against
the accused applicants of involvement in any terrorist activities or in funding
terrorist activities. He submits that no crime has been committed by the accused
applicants by carrying the aforesaid cash amount and cheques, as the same
were clearly received from a transaction involving the sale of the Accuse
Applicant No 1’s own plot of land to the aforementioned couple.
10. He further submits that the story projected before the Court by the
prosecution to show that the money was intended to be delivered to a terrorist
organization or for funding terrorist activities is totally false, as there is no
material to show that the Accused Applicants are involved in such activities. The
same cannot be stretched to infer involvement in unlawful or terrorist activities
in the absence of any independent and substantive evidence. He submits that
the accused applicants were not involved in any activities detrimental to the
security, sovereignty, or integrity of the nation. There is no iota of evidence to
substantiate the allegations made in the FIR. In view of the aforesaid, the
learned Senior Counsel submits that since the accused applicants have already
spent 23 days in custody, including five (5) days in police custody, further
custodial detention is not required and therefore, the Accused Applicants should
be granted bail at this stage.
11. Per contra, Mr. R.J. Baruah, learned Additional Public Prosecutor for the

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State, submits that the investigation is still at a nascent stage and the Accused
Applicants have been accused of terrorist activities which are detrimental to the
security, sovereignty and integrity of the nation. He submits that this is not a
case in which the Accused Applicants should be granted bail at this stage. He
further submits that the Case Diary contains various reports regarding the bank
transactions and the recovered cheques are yet to be verified by the concerned
authority; therefore, the release of the accused applicants at this stage will
hamper the investigation. He submits that the accused applicants have
confessed that they intended to deliver the aforesaid money to a Jihadi
organization and for terrorist activities and that the allegations being very
serious, bail should not be granted at this stage. He submits that although the
land sale amount has been shown as Rs. 60,00,000/- in the sale deed, the
money recovered is more than Rs. 1,30,00,000/- and there is no explanation for
the extra cash and cheques, which creates serious doubts regarding the
activities of the Accused Applicants. Therefore, he strongly opposes their bail at
this stage.
12. The Case Diary in the instant case has been produced, which has been
carefully perused by this Court and heard the submissions made by the learned
counsel for the respective parties.
13. From the materials brought before this Court, it is apparent that the land
belonging to the Accused Applicant No. 1 was, in fact, sold to Mustofa Salim
Ahmed and Mrs. Nazmin Amania Islam. The aforesaid Agreement of Sale,
already seized by the police, reveals that there was a monetary transaction, and
the Accused Applicant No. 1 received an amount of Rs. 17,00,000/- in cash and
cheques amounting to Rs. 43,00,000/- of different denominations for the said
land. It is seen that the total consideration for the land was fixed at Rs.

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60,00,000/-. This Court also notes that the Accused Applicant No. 1 had availed
an overdraft loan facility from ICICI Bank for a limit of Rs. 50,00,000/-, which
was approved on 19.11.2024 for a period of 12 months. Therefore, the
contentions of the Accused Applicant No. 1 that he availed the overdraft loan
facility to withdraw certain amounts cannot be ruled out at this stage.
14. This Court, after perusal of the materials available in the Case Diary,
observes that while there are confessional statements regarding involvement of
the Accused Applicants in some Jihadi organization, no prima facie materials
connect the Accused Applicants with any terrorist activity. It is seen that though
the Accused Applicants were in police custody for five (5) days and in judicial
custody for the last eighteen (18) days, the police are yet to gather any
convincing materials implicating the Accused Applicants in any terrorist
activities. At least, no such prima facie material is available in the Case Diary
before this Court.
15. The learned senior counsel appearing for the accused applicants has
referred to the case of T hwaha Fasal vs. Union of India , reported in (2022) 14
SCC 766 , wherein the Hon’ble Supreme Court held that the Court is to consider
whether there are reasonable grounds for believing that the accusation against
the accused is prima facie true. If the Court is satisfied, after examining the
materials on record, that there are no reasonable grounds for believing that the
accusation against the accused is prima facie true, then the accused applicant is
entitled to bail.
16. After having considered the submissions, the facts of the case, the
materials available in the Case Diary and the fact that even after twenty three
(23) days of custody, the Police is yet to gather any direct link of the Accused
Applicants with any terrorist activities or terrorist organisation, this Court is of

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the considered opinion that the Accused Applicants should be granted bail at
this stage, subject to certain conditions so that they can cooperate with the
investigation. Accordingly, it is directed that the Accused Applicants, namely,
Anowar Hussain and Malikuddin Sheikh, shall be released forthwith on bail on
furnishing a bail bond of Rs. 1,00,000/- (Rupees One Lakh) each, with two
sureties of like nature, one of whom shall be a Government servant, to the
satisfaction of the learned District and Sessions Judge, Kamrup (M), Assam,
subject to the following conditions:
(i) The Accused Applicants shall cooperate with the investigation and
make themselves available as and when called by the investigating officer;
(ii) The Accused Applicants shall report to the investigating officer in
connection with Basistha P.S. Case No. 42/2026 once in every month till
the FR/Charge sheet is filed by the IO, with the date of appearance to be
fixed by the investigating officer;
(iii) The Accused Applicants shall provide their contact details, including
photocopies of their Passports (if any), Aadhaar Cards, Driving Licenses,
PAN Cards, as well as mobile numbers and other contact information, to
the investigating officer;
(iv) The Accused Applicants shall not directly or indirectly attempt to
hamper or tamper with the investigation of the case.
17. In view of the aforesaid directions, this bail application stands disposed
of, as allowed.

JUDGE

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Comparing Assistant
Order downloaded on 26-02-2026 01:10:20 AM