Charge-sheet filing, custody, limited antecedents, and likely trial delay support bail in illicit-liquor cases.

The applicants were arrested in Crime No. 436/2026, registered at Police Station Arang, for an alleged offence under Section 34(2) of the Chhattisgarh Excise Act, 1915.

The prosecution alleged that 28.800 bulk litres of country-made liquor were recovered from their joint possession while being transported in a car.

The applicants sought regular bail under Section 483 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023, submitting that the liquor was not recovered from any applicant’s exclusive possession, the charge-sheet had been filed, and they had no prior criminal antecedents.

The State opposed bail, noting one prior IPC antecedent for Applicant No. 1 and relying on the quantity seized.

Whether the applicants should be granted regular bail under Section 483 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023, in light of the alleged recovery and relevant circumstances.

Whether the applicants’ custody, the filing of the charge-sheet, their antecedents, and the likely duration of trial supported release on bail.

Section 483 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023, provides the basis for the application for regular bail.

The alleged offence was punishable under Section 34(2) of the Chhattisgarh Excise Act, 1915.

In deciding the application, the Court considered the alleged quantity seized, the applicants’ criminal antecedents, the filing of the charge-sheet, the period spent in custody, and the likely time required to conclude the trial.

No precedent was cited.

The Court weighed the alleged joint recovery of 28.800 bulk litres against the fact that the charge-sheet had been filed, the applicants had been in custody since 14 September 2026, and the trial was likely to take time.

It also considered that Applicant No. 1 had one prior IPC antecedent from 2023, while the other applicants had none.

On those circumstances, the Court found it appropriate to grant bail without expressing any opinion on the merits.

Bail was subject to conditions prohibiting interference with witnesses or the fair and expeditious trial, and requiring appearance on every date fixed by the trial Court until disposal of the case.