The court may grant anticipatory bail if the prima facie case does not establish the alleged offence, particularly when possession of the property in question is legally verified.

JUDGMENT :

ADVAIT M. SETHNA, J.

1. The Application has filed this Application since he apprehends his arrest.

2. The proceedings relate to C.R. No. 106/2025. The First Information Report (for short ‘FIR’) is lodged on 1 April 2025 at 23.17 hours by the Dhule (City) Police Station, District Dhule. The occurrence of the incident is stated to between 29 March 2025 and 30 March 2025 between 22.30 hours to 9.30 hours. The alleged offenes are under Sections 3 05, 331(3), 331(4), 3(5) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 (for short ‘ BNS ’). The Informant is one Nilesh Shriram Pawar, aged 46 years.

FACTS IN THE FIR :

3. The Informant Nilesh has got his name mutated with respect to Compartment No. 61 of the Municipal Corporation, Dhule. He is running a business in Tours and Travels. Regular Civil Suit Nos. 59/2022 and 27/2022 in respect of the said shop which is also the suit property are pending in the Civil Court. On the date of filing complaint, said compartment/shop was in possession of the Informant and he was dealing business of wholesale medicines since 2022 in the said shop. On 29 March 2025 he closed the shop and on 30 March 2025 at 9.30 am when he opened the shop as usual, he found the shatter of the shop was open. The present Applicant was present in the shop with 3 to 4 persons. All the medicines and other articles in the shop were missing. When the Informant asked the Applicant about these articles in the shop, the Applicant informed the Informant that the shop belongs to him and the Informant may taken any action against the Applicant that he may so desire or wish. He further stated that many cases are pending against him and nobody can cause any harm to him. The Informant got scared because of such threats. Accordingly, he lodged report with the Police Station. Thereafter, on the day of lodging FIR, he saw the CCTV Footage of the adjacent shopkeeprs. It was found that the Applicant and 4 to 5 persons broke open the lock of the shop and carried the articles in two vehicles. It is alleged that even though two civil suits are pending in the Court, the Applicant took illegal possession of the said shop. Therefore, on 1 April 2025 the Informant approached the Police Station for lodging report and gave description and value of articles consisting of medicines, refrigerator, computer, printer, inverter, DVR, chairs etc. worth Rs. 27,08,990/-. In such circumstances, the report was filed by the Informant and the FIR was accordingly lodged.

SUBMISSIONS :

4. The learned Advocate for the Applicant would submit that the complaint leading to the FIR is a clear attempt to falsely implicate the Applicant. He would submit that before registering the present crime on 1 April 2025, the wife of the Informant one Sarika had filed RCS No. 27/2022 in January 2022. The Informant himself had also filed RCS No 59/2022 in February 2022 seeking declaration that the registered agreement between the Applicant and the Municipal Corporation, Dhule dated 2 December 2021 whereby the shop in question was transferred in favour of the Applicant be declared as null and void. Such proceedings are pending before the Civil Court. He would then submit that in RCS No. 27/2022, initially when an application below Exhibit 5 for temporary injunction was filed, vide order dated 20 January 2022, the learned 4th Civil Judge Junior Division, Dhule observed that an agreement was executed in favour of Defendant No. 4 i.e. the present Applicant regarding the suit property and Defendant is in possession of the property vide Consent Deed dated 10 February 2020. He would draw attention of the Court to the order passed below Exhibit 5 in R