2026:CGHC:13185 NAFR HIGH COURT OF CHHATTISGARH AT BILASPUR MCRC No. 2579 of 2026 Firoz Ali Mondal S/o Late Hekmat Mondal Aged About 28 Years R/o Digitally Village Dheurchanda, Police Station Monteshwar District East AKHILESH signed by KUMAR AKHILESH DEWANGANKUMAR DEWANGAN Verdhman West Bengal, At Present R/o Room No. 07, Plot No. 22, Ncc Malwani Malad West Malwani Mumbai (Maharashtra)

--- Applicant(s)

versus State Of Chhattisgarh Through Station House Officer, Police Station G.R.P. Raipur, District Raipur (Chhattisgarh)

--- Respondent(s)

For Applicant(s) : Mr. Ali Afzaal Mirza , Advocate.

For Respondent(s) : Mr. Saumya Rai, Dy. G.A.

Hon'ble Mr. Ramesh Sinha, Chief Justice

Order on Board

19/03/2026

1. This is the first bail application filed under Section 483 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 (for short ‘BNSS’) for grant of regular bail to the applicant who has been arrested in connection with Crime No. 147/2025 registered at Police Station G.R.P. Raipur, District Raipur (C.G.) for the offence punishable under Sections 143, 143(5) of BNS.

2. Case of the prosecution, in brief, is that on 10.12.2025, a team of Bachpan Bachao Andolan along with the Railway Child Helpline rescued six minor children from Train No. 12810 (Howrah to Mumbai) from Sleeper Coaches No. S/2 and S/3. It is alleged that the present applicant was accompanying the said minor children and was taking them from Howrah to Mumbai by luring them with money for the purpose of exploitation. Thereafter, the applicant was de-boarded from the said train and upon being questioned, he disclosed that the children were being taken to Mumbai. Acting upon the said information, the complainant, Vijay Kumar Sahu (Railway Child Line Supervisor), approached the police station and submitted an application stating that the applicant was taking six minor children for the purpose of exploitation after inducing them with money.

3. During the course of investigation, the applicant was interrogated and his memorandum statement was recorded. The travel tickets of the applicant and the minor children were seized and a seizure memo was prepared. It further transpired during investigation that the applicant was taking the children to engage them in work at a bangle designing factory by offering monetary inducement, which was found to constitute human trafficking. The applicant was arrested on 12.12.2025 and was produced before the learned Court, from where he was remanded to judicial custody.

Subsequently, the statements of the applicant, the victim children, their family members, and the Child Welfare Committee were recorded. Upon finding sufficient material, offences under Sections 143 and 143(5) of the BNS, 2023 were registered against the applicant. After completion of investigation, charge- sheet bearing No. 02/2026 was filed on 27.01.2026 before the Court of Special Railway Magistrate, Raipur (C.G.), and the matter is presently pending before the learned Second Additional Sessions Judge, Raipur, District Raipur (C.G.) as Sessions Case No. 81/2026. Hence, the bail application.

4. Learned counsel for the applicant submits that the present applicant has been falsely implicated in the instant case, as there exists no incriminating material to establish that the minor children were being taken for the purpose of exploitation in a bangle factory at Mumbai. The entire case against the applicant is based on mere suspicion and conjectures, without any concrete evidence to substantiate the allegation of inducement or exploitation. He further submits that the parents of the minor children have executed affidavits affirming that the applicant had not taken their children for any unlawful or exploitative purpose and that the allegations against him are false and fabricated. It is further submitted that the applicant and the minor children belong to nearby localities, and they were travelling together for the purpose of visiting Mumbai with the knowledge and consent of their guardians. In partic