Chhattisgarh High CourtCriminal Procedure and EvidenceCriminal Law

Chhattisgarh HC Grants Bail To 2 Accused In 150-Kg Rice Theft, Citing Completed Probe And Their Two Live 2023 Cases Each

JASWANT SINGH THAKURv.STATE OF CHHATTISGARH

Chhattisgarh HC Grants Bail To 2 Accused In 150-Kg Rice Theft, Citing Completed Probe And Their Two Live 2023 Cases Each. JASWANT SINGH THAKUR vs STATE OF CHHATTISGARH. Chhattisgarh High Court. LawLens
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In brief

The question

1. Whether the applicants should be granted regular bail after completion of the investigation and filing of the charge-sheet, notwithstanding the alleged recovery of the stolen rice and their criminal antecedents.

The court held

The Court allowed the bail application.

It also directed

It directed that the applicants be released upon executing a personal bond of ₹50,000 each with one surety for the like sum, to the satisfaction of the trial Court.

The applicants must not induce, threaten, or promise anything to persons acquainted with the facts, must not prejudice a fair and expeditious trial, and must attend each trial-court date until disposal of the trial.

The observations were limited to the bail application, and the trial Court was directed to decide the case on its own merits.

01Facts

The applicants sought regular bail under Section 483 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023, in connection with Crime No. 210/2026, registered for offences under Sections 331(4) and 305(E) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023.

¶ 1

The prosecution alleged that 150 kg of rice was stolen from a fair price shop and that the rice was recovered from the applicants during the investigation.

¶ 1–2

The applicants had been in custody since 29 July 2026; the investigation was complete and the charge-sheet had been filed.

¶ 3–4

Each applicant had two live criminal antecedents, registered in 2023.

¶ 3–4

02Issues

i.1. Whether the applicants should be granted regular bail after completion of the investigation and filing of the charge-sheet, notwithstanding the alleged recovery of the stolen rice and their criminal antecedents.

¶ 3–6

03Law Applied

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

¶ 1

The alleged offences were under Sections 331(4) and 305(E) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023.

¶ 1

The Court identified no precedent or further legal test; it assessed the bail application on the circumstances of the case, including completion of the investigation, filing of the charge-sheet, period in custody, and the applicants’ antecedents.

¶ 5–6

Provisions in the judgment · 3 · Linked ones open on LawLens

Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 Section 483

Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 Section 331Section 305

04Reasoning

The Court considered the prosecution’s allegation that the stolen rice had been recovered from the applicants and the State’s submission that their two live antecedents each indicated habitual offending.

¶ 2, 4

It nevertheless found bail justified because the investigation was complete, the charge-sheet had been submitted, the applicants had been in custody since 29 July 2026, and the antecedent cases dated back to 2023.

¶ 6

The Court expressly refrained from expressing any opinion on the merits.

¶ 6

05Holding

The Court allowed the bail application.

¶ 6–7

It directed that the applicants be released upon executing a personal bond of ₹50,000 each with one surety for the like sum, to the satisfaction of the trial Court.

¶ 6–7

The applicants must not induce, threaten, or promise anything to persons acquainted with the facts, must not prejudice a fair and expeditious trial, and must attend each trial-court date until disposal of the trial.

¶ 7

The observations were limited to the bail application, and the trial Court was directed to decide the case on its own merits.

¶ 8
Chhattisgarh High Court

Original Court PDF

JASWANT SINGH THAKURvsSTATE OF CHHATTISGARH

Chhattisgarh High Court · October 30, 2026

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