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IN THE HIGH COURT OF JHARKHAND AT RANCHI
SUJIT NARAYAN PRASAD, PRADEEP KUMAR SRIVASTAVA, JJ.
Md. Mahmud Alam @ Mahmud @ Nepali S/o Md. Siddque - Appellant
Versus
The State of Jharkhand - Respondent
Cr. Appeal (DB) Nos. 937, 938, 940, 941, 942 of 2024
Decided On : 04-04-2025
| Table of Content |
|---|
| 1. detainees involved in organized crime alleged to extort money. (Para 1) |
| 2. factual background of prosecution case (Para 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 , 7 , 8) |
| 3. contention of appellants regarding false implication (Para 12 , 13 , 14 , 15 , 16) |
| 4. prosecution arguments supporting bail denial (Para 20 , 21 , 22 , 24 , 26) |
| 5. court's interpretation of uap act regarding bail restrictions. (Para 29 , 38) |
| 6. objectives of the unlawful activities (prevention) act (Para 30 , 31 , 32 , 33) |
| 7. standard for establishing prima facie case under uap act (Para 39 , 41 , 42 , 43) |
| 8. evidence against appellants in organized crime (Para 59 , 61 , 62 , 63) |
| 9. conclusion on bail applications (Para 78 , 79 , 80) |
JUDGMENT :
Sujit Narayan Prasad, J.
Prayer
1. All the appeals preferred on behalf of the appellants under Section 21 (4) of the National Investigation Agency Act, 2008 for setting aside the order dated 11.03.2024 passed in Misc. Cr. Application No.801 of 2024 [In Cr. Appeal No. 940 of 2024], order dated 07.03.2024 passed in Misc. Cr. Application No.706 of 2024 [In Cr. Appeal (DB) No.937 of 2024], order dated 07.03.2024 passed in Misc. Cr. Application No.708 of 2024 [In Cr. Appeal (DB) No.938 of 2024], order dated 21.03.2024 passed in Misc. Cr. Application No.887 of 2024 [In Cr. Appeal (DB) No.941 of 2024] and order dated 21.03.2024 passed in Misc. Cr. Application No.882 of 2024 [In Cr. Appeal (DB) No.942 of 2024] by the learned A.J.C. XVIII-cum-Spl. Judge, ATS, Ranchi, in connection with ATS Court Case No.01 of 2024, arising out of ATS P.S. Case No.10 of 2023, whereby and whereunder, the appellants’ prayer for regular bail have been rejected.
2. Since all these appeals arise out of the common P.S. Case being ATS P.S. Case No.10 of 2023, as such, with the consent of learned counsel for the parties, these cases are being taken up together and are being disposed of by this common order.
Prosecution case
3. The brief facts of the prosecution case as per the F.I.R. leading to these Criminal Appeals is that on 20.07.2023, at 15:00 hours, the S.P., ATS, Jharkhand, Ranchi has received a secret information that the criminals of Aman Srivastava gang had extorted a huge amount of extortion money from the coal businessmen and contractors by threatening to kill them and they are coming to Ranchi through Bhurkunda-Patratu Road. A raiding team was formed on this information and reached the Ranchi Patratu Ring Road and checked the vehicles coming from Patratu side. Meanwhile, a white Scorpio vehicle was coming at a very speed from Patratu -Pithoria side which was stopped by the raiding team and two persons travelling in the vehicle got very scared after seeing the police party and on being asked, they told their name as Ezaj (appellant in Cr. Appeal (DB) No.942 of 2024) and Minku Khan (appellant in Cr. Appeal (DB) No.941 of 2024) and it was stated that they were working for Aman Srivastava gang and has already been sent to jail in different cases related to Aman Srivastava Gang.
4. On search, two mobile phones were recovered from the possession of Ezaj Ansari and Minku Khan, apart from that, a white colour bag containing a sum of Rs. 49,83,000/ was recovered from beneath the rear seat of the said vehicle. On enquiry, the accused persons have stated that the said amount was handed over to them by Surendra Bhuiyan, an associate of Ravi Sardar, and the money has to hand over to Jahir Ansari (appellant in Cr. Appeal (DB) No.938 of 2024), Firoj Khan (appellant in Cr. Appeal (DB) No.937 of 2024) and Mahmud Alam @ Nepali (appellant in Cr. Appeal (DB) No.941 of 2024) near Alam Hospital, and the said money was collected as Rangdari by Aman Srivastava gang from different traders.
5. Hence, the FIR being ATS P.S. Case No.10 of 2023 dated20.07.2023 has been instituted against the 8 named accused persons including all these appellants for the alleged offence under Sections 385 /386/34 of the INDIAN PENAL CODE , and also for the offence under Sections 16 /17/ 20/ 21 of UA (P) Act,
The court ruled that prima facie evidence justifies the rejection of bail for accused involved in serious offenses under UAPA, emphasizing the need to balance individual rights with public safety.
In cases under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, bail may be denied if there is prima facie evidence of serious criminal involvement linked to national security threats.
The court upheld the denial of bail under the UAP Act, emphasizing the serious nature of the charges and the prima facie evidence against the appellant.
(1) Bail application – Exercise of general power to grant bail under UAP Act is severely restrictive in scope – In dealing with bail applications under UAP Act, courts are merely examining if there i....
The court established that under the UA(P) Act, particularly Section 43D(5), bail can be denied if there are reasonable grounds to believe the accusations against the accused are prima facie true, em....
The court established that a prima facie case under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act requires a lighter evidentiary burden, allowing for bail denial where reasonable grounds for believing acc....
The right to speedy trial under Article 21 of the Constitution of India is imperative, and prolonged incarceration without the likelihood of a timely trial may warrant the grant of bail.
(1) Bail – There must be something more than grave suspicion while holding that there is a prima facie case to deny bail.(2) Pre-trial detention is an anathema to Constitution besides being in violat....
The court established that involvement with a banned terrorist organization and the collection of levies for such groups constitutes serious offenses under the UA(P) Act, warranting denial of bail wh....
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