Regular bail granted after charge-sheet filing where applicants had no criminal antecedents.

The applicants were arrested in connection with a Forest Department case alleging that they teased a Bengal monitor lizard in a plantation, based on a social-media video.

They sought regular bail under Section 483 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023, arguing that they had no criminal antecedents, nothing had been seized from them, they had been in custody since 29 July 2026, and the charge-sheet had been filed.

The State opposed bail but did not dispute the absence of antecedents or that the case relied on the video.

Whether the applicants should be released on regular bail, having regard to the circumstances of the alleged Wildlife Protection Act offence and the stage of the proceedings.

The application was made under Section 483 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023, which provides the High Court with authority to grant bail. The alleged offences were under Sections 9, 50 and 51, read with Section 2(16)(b), of the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972.

The Court applied its bail discretion by considering the nature of the offence, the applicants’ period of detention and criminal antecedents, the filing of the charge-sheet, and the fact that the offence was triable by a Judicial Magistrate First Class.

The Court found that the applicants had no criminal antecedents, the charge-sheet had been filed, and the case was triable by a Judicial Magistrate First Class.

Considering these circumstances, the nature of the offence and the period of detention, it concluded that the applicants could be enlarged on bail without expressing any view on the merits.

A certified copy of the order was directed to be sent to the trial court.