Grant of bail despite criminal antecedents where prior cases are stale or bail was granted.

The applicants were arrested on 06.01.2025 in connection with Crime No. 14/2026 registered at P.S. Kotwali Ambikapur.

The prosecution alleged that on the night of 04.01.2026, the applicants, acting as an organized gang, forcibly tied and loaded 4–5 cattle into pickup vehicles for illegal transportation and theft.

Incriminating articles, including vehicles and stolen cattle, were seized.

The applicants sought regular bail, noting that they had been in custody since January 2025, the charge-sheet had been filed, and they had recently been granted bail in related matters (Crime No. 901/2025).

1. Whether the applicants are entitled to grant of regular bail under Section 483 of the BNSS, 2023, considering their period of detention, the filing of the charge-sheet, and their criminal antecedents.

The Court primarily applied Section 483 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), 2023, regarding the grant of regular bail.

Substantive charges were considered under Sections 303(2) (theft), 111 (organized crime), 112, and 317(2) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS); Sections 4, 6, and 10 of the Chhattisgarh Cattle Preservation Act; and Section 11 of the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act.

The court weighed the gravity of the offence against the principle of detention period and the status of related criminal antecedents.

The Court observed that while the allegations involved common intention and an organized cattle smuggling operation, several mitigating factors favored the applicants.

First, the applicants had been detained for over a year (since 06.01.2025) and the investigation was completed with the filing of the charge-sheet.

Second, although the applicants had various criminal antecedents ranging from one to four previous cases, the Court noted that some were old and stale (e.g., Shoyeb’s 2019 case), and more importantly, the applicants had already been granted bail by the same Court earlier that day in their primary pending criminal matter (Crime No. 901/2025).

Consequently, the Court determined that further pretrial detention was unnecessary, provided stringent conditions were imposed to ensure their presence at trial.

The applicants were ordered to be released on bail upon furnishing a personal bond with sureties to the satisfaction of the trial court, subject to strict conditions: applicants must not seek adjournments during evidence, must remain present on all fixed dates, and must comply with Sections 269 and 209 of the BNS in the event of default or non-appearance.

The trial court was authorized to treat any breach of conditions as an abuse of liberty.