2026 (3) TMI 502

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..... Adv. Ms. Pallavi Langar, AOR Ms. Pragya Baghel, Adv. Mr. Sujeet Kumar Chaubey, Adv. ORDER WRIT PETITION (CRIMINAL) NO.55/2026: 1. In this Writ Petition under Article 32 of the Constitution of India, petitioners are seeking for the following reliefs: "A. Issue an appropriate writ, order, or direction under Article 32 read with Article 142 of the Constitution of India declaring that the actions of the Respondents in repeatedly invoking and deploying the criminal process against the Petitioners, particularly in relation to the FIR as mentioned above, are arbitrary, mala fide, and unconstitutional, amounting to a gross abuse of process and a continuing violation of the Petitioners' fundamental rights under Articles 14, 1....

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....uch consequential and protective directions as this Hon'ble Court may deem fit and proper to secure and protect the personal liberty of the Petitioners, including restraining the Respondents from taking any further coercive steps against the Petitioners, his family members, employees, or associates, without the leave of this Hon'ble Court and setting aside all illegal and coercive actions undertaken pursuant thereto, in the interests of justice, equity and the rule of law. G. xxx " 2. We have heard the arguments of Mr. Basava Prabhu S. Patil and Mr. R. Basant, learned Senior Counsels appearing for the petitioners and assisted by their team and Mr. Mukul Rohatgi and Mr. Arunabh Choudhary, learned Senior Counsels appearing....

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.....2025 for the offences alleged thereunder. 4. This Court having taken up Special Leave Petition (Criminal) No.18006/2025 took note of the fact that the application for grant of bail was pending before the Jharkhand High Court in B.A. No.10499/2025 and as such requested the High Court for expeditious disposal of the Bail Application and preferably within one week vide order dated 28.11.2025. The said application for bail came to be dismissed on 04.12.2025 and petitioner No.1 was remanded to judicial custody in FIR No.458/2025. Challenging the order of dismissal of Bail Application by the High Court, petitioner No.1 filed Special Leave Petition (Criminal) No.20248/2025 before this Court and was granted an interim bail on 17.12.2025 which h....

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.... devised, this Writ Petition has arose to contend as though there is violation of fundamental right and invoking the extra-ordinary jurisdiction of this Court and same should not be astute by this Court. He would also vehemently contend that petitioner No.1 is having the remedy of seeking bail before the jurisdictional High Court as such the Writ Petition ought not to be entertained and it is liable to be dismissed. He would also elaborate his submission by contending that in the instant case, there has been large scale of irregularities under the Jharkhand Excise Policy also and though in the initial FIR registered as FIR No.9/2025, no role had been attributed to petitioner No.1. The fact remains that the preliminary inquiries revealed tha....

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....sels appearing for the petitioners in the facts and circumstances obtained and revealed in the instant case and for the reasons enumerated hereinbelow. 9. At the outset, it requires to be noticed that petitioner No.1 was called for by the ACB Ranchi in FIR No.9/2025 for the purposes of investigation. While taking up the investigation and on the same day, FIR No.11/2025 came to be registered by the ACP Hazaribagh for the offences punishable referred to hereinsupra, namely, pertaining to alleged mutation of forest land in the name of petitioner Nos.1 and 2 in the year 2010 with alleged connivance of the Government Officials. Though, it is very intriguing to note that the mutation entry having taken place in the year 2010 with the approval ....

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....red with a pinch of salt. He say so for the simple reason that cooperation of the accused in the investigation does not necessarily mean and include that the accused would be rendering the confession to suit the convenience of the prosecution. 12. In the instant case, this Court is fully satisfied the successive registration of FIRs was to ensure to keep petitioner No.1 within the custody and we are also fortified by the fact that on grant of bail by this Court on 17.12.2025, petitioner No.1 has been remanded to custodial interrogation by order dated 19.12.2025 passed by the jurisdictional Magistrate in FIR No.458/2025 and again further remand was granted for seven days as against the prayer of fourteen days by the order dated 20.12.2025....