Gautam Navlakha vs. National Investigation Agency, 2021 SCC OnLine SC 382—Distinguished.

Chakradhari Sharan Singh, J.—The petitioner is an accused in Special Case No. 3 of 2022 arising out of RC 8(A) of 2022 registered by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI for short) for the offences punishable under Sections 7 and 8 of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988 read with Section 120-B of the Indian Penal Code. A copy of the FIR has been brought on record by way of Annexure-1 to the writ petition, from which it transpires that the petitioner is one of the Directors of M/s Abha Agro Industries Private Limited and M/s Abha Agro Export Private Limited. Based on a secret information to the effect that the petitioner and other persons, under a well-made conspiracy with the officials of East Central Railway Headquarter (ECR), Hajipur were availing out-of-turn allotment of railway rake services, having extra stacking time for their firms and other undue advantages in exchange of payment of huge bribes on monthly basis to the public servants, a trap was laid by a CBI team on 31.07.2022, during the course of which the petitioner’s driver was caught giving bribe to a co-accused Sanjay Kumar, CFTM, ECR, Hajipur at his residence at Patna to the tune of Rs. 6 lakhs. From the possession of said Sanjay Kumar further incriminating materials in terms of cash were subsequently recovered.

2. The petitioner who is a chargesheeted accused in the aforesaid case has been arrested by the CBI on 25.10.2022 and has been sent to judicial custody by an order dated 26.10.2022 passed by the learned Special Judge, CBI-I, Patna, which has been brought on record by way of Annexure-10 to this writ application.

3. The petitioner has filed the present writ application seeking issuance of a writ in the nature of writ of Habeas Corpus by directing the respondents for production of the petitioner and his immediate release from the judicial custody. The relief is being sought on the premise that the order of remand dated 26.10.2022 passed by the learned Incharge Court of CBI-I, Patna is in violation of the provisions of Section 41-A of the Code of Criminal Procedure as well as the guidelines issued by the Supreme Court in case of Arnesh Kumar vs. State of Bihar and another reported in (2014) 8 SCC 273 [: 2014 (3) BLJ 108 (SC)] and Satender Kumar Antil vs. Central Bureau of Investigation and another reported in (2022) 10 SCC 51 [: 2022 (5) BLJ 206 (SC)].

4. It is the petitioner’s case, as set out in the writ petition, that when the investigation was pending, the Dy.S.P. Anti-Corruption Branch, CBI, Patna (respondent No. 5) had issued a notice dated 09.09.2022 under Section 41-A of the Cr.P.C. to the petitioner directing him to appear before her on 15.09.2022 at 11:00 hours. The petitioner did appear before respondent No. 5 in response to the said notice and joined the investigation. He had allowed his voice sample to be taken by the CBI officials during the course of interrogation. Two weeks thereafter, on 29.09.2022, the CBI submitted its charge-sheet against the petitioner and five other persons who were in custody.

5. It further transpires from the pleadings in the writ petition that the petitioner had filed an anticipatory bail application before the learned CBI Court during the pendency of which the respondent No. 5 filed a petition dated 10.10.2022 before the said court, seeking issuance of warrant of arrest against the petitioner on the ground that he had not answered the questions placed before him by respondent No. 5. The said anticipatory bail application of the petitioner subsequently came to be rejected by the learned CBI Court by an order dated 11.10.2022 passed in Special Case No. 3 of 2022. The petitioner, thereafter, filed an anticipatory bail application before this Court on 17.10.2022 through e-filing portal bearing Token No. Criminal Miscellaneous 67532 of 2022. Needless to say that the said anticipatory bail application has lost its utility after the