2026:CGHC:2370-DB Digitally signed by ANURADHA ANURADHA TIWARI NAFR TIWARI Date:

2026.01.15

17:05:02 +0530 HIGH COURT OF CHHATTISGARH AT BILASPUR CRMP No. 148 of 2026 Sourabh Singh Alias Saurbh Singh S/o A.K. Singh Aged About 35 Years (Proprietor Of Om Sai Construction And Supplier) R/o Shiva Kripa Plot No. 142/124, Pahirawa Boutique Road, Behind Jila Chikitsalaya, Vidyut Nagar, Tehsil And District - Durg ... Petitioner versus State of Chhattisgarh Through Police Station - Sanaud, District - Balod Chhattisgarh ... Respondent (Cause-title taken from Case Information System)

For Petitioner : Mr. Sandeep Jha, Advocate For State/Respondent : Mr. Priyank Rathi, Government Advocate Hon'ble Shri Ramesh Sinha, Chief Justice Hon'ble Shri Ravindra Kumar Agrawal, Judge

Order on Board

Per Ramesh Sinha, Chief Justice

15.01.2026

1. Heard Mr. Sandeep Jha, learned counsel for the petitioner as well as Mr. Priyank Rathi, learned Government Advocate, appearing for the State/respondent.

2. The petitioner has filed the instant petition with the following relief :-

“It is therefore, prayed that this Hon'ble Court may kindly be pleased to allow the instant petition and quash/set-aside the impugned FIR No. 0045/2025 registered on dated 09.06.2025 at P.S Sanauad for the offence u/s 106 (1) of B.N.S. 2023, the cognizance order passed by learned JMFC, Balod (C.G.)on dated 04.11.2025 and the entire criminal proceeding (Criminal Case No. 2382/2025) initiated against the petitioners pursuant to FIR No. 0045/2025 and charge sheet, in the interest of justice.”

3. Brief facts of the case, in a nutshell are that on 07.06.2025, the police conducted inquest proceedings after examining witnesses namely Satanand Nishad, Rakesh Kumar Yadav, Bikhari Lal Nishad, Sunil Kumar Nishad and Nemichand Sewta. As per the inquest report dated 07.06.2025 at about 04:00 PM, the deceased Yugal Kishore, while fitting an insulator on a forepin and descending from the electric pole, met with an accident when the PCC pole tilted and broke from about six inches above the ground, falling over him. The deceased sustained severe waist injuries and subsequently succumbed. The prosecution alleged that the incident occurred due to supply of sub-standard material by the contractor/petitioner and further alleged failure on the part of the supervisor, Kishore Kumar, to provide safety tools. The Marg intimation/inquest report No. 09/2025 prepared under Section 194 of BNSS records the cause of death as injury caused by the fall of an electric pole over the deceased at Dandesra Khar, CHC Gurur, District Balod, at about 05:45 PM. The deceased was aged 29 years and the death was stated to be premature and untimely.

4. On the basis of the said incident, FIR No. 0045/2025 was registered against the petitioner for the offence under Section 106(1) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (earlier Section 304-A IPC). A charge-sheet was filed and the learned Chief Judicial Magistrate, Balod took cognizance on 04.11.2025. The petitioner received show cause notices dated 01.10.2025 and 28.10.2025 issued by the Chhattisgarh State Power Distribution Company Limited (CSPDCL). In reply, the petitioner stated that he has been working as a contractor for the past eight years through his registered firm Om Sai Contractor & Supplier and that PCC poles can be procured only from CSPDCL-approved vendors. The pole in question was purchased from an approved vendor, Shri Bihari Enterprises, Durg, on 22.05.2025. It was specifically averred that the pole failed due to compromised quality supplied by the approved vendor, which resulted in the fatal accident. Shri Bihari Enterprises supplied 8-meter, 140 kg PCC poles under GST Invoice No. SBE/112 dated 22.05.2025 without furnishing any quality/testing report, despite such report being mandatory under CSPDCL terms and conditions.

5. During investigation, a concrete core sample of the broken PCC pole was tested by Marshal Geo Test Laboratory (LLP), Raipur.

The test report dated 19.06.2025 revea