ORDER

10.11.2022 Date :

Heard Mr. D.K. Mishra, learned senior counsel, assisted by Mr. B.

Prasad, learned counsel for the petitioner. Also heard Mr. M. Phukan, the learned Public Prosecutor for the State.

2. The petitioner, who was arrested on 01.10.2020 in connection with CID PS Case No. 21/2020 under Sections 120B/119/120/166/201/204/212/406/409/420/ 461/506/34 IPC read with Section 66B of the Information Technology Act, 2000, read with Sections 25(1- B)(a)/25(1-B)(h) of the Arms Act, 1959 read with Section 98(a) of the Assam Police Act, 2007 read with Sections 7(a)(b)(c)/8/12/ 13(1)(a)/13(2) of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988, is seeking regular bail under Section 439 I.P.C.

3. In the said case, the I.O. had filed charge-sheet no. 7 dated 18.12.2020, whereby the petitioner was implicated of allegedly committing offences, punishable under Sections 120B/120/201/204/420/34 IPC. As many as 36 accused have been sent up for trial and 3 accused were shown as absconders in the charge-sheet. The said case is registered as Special Case No. 6/2021, and is being tried before the Court of learned Special Judge, Assam, Guwahati. Charges were explained to the accused and by order dated 13.05.2022, charges were framed against the petitioner under Sections 120B/201/204/420 IPC read with Section 8 of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988. However, 14 accused were discharged.

4. The learned senior counsel for the petitioner has extensively referred to the contents of the FIR in CID P.S. Case No. 21/2020, FIR in Crime Branch PS Case No. 13/2020, charge-sheet, statement of some of the witnesses examined by the I.O. under Section 161 Cr.P.C., evidence-in- chief and cross- examination of PW-1 recorded on 10.06.2022 and 27.07.2022 respectively, order dated 25.06.2021, passed by this Court in BA 2806/2020 and order dated 01.06.2022, passed by the learned trial Court in Special Case No. 06/2020, whereby the prayer for bail was rejected. It was submitted that the materials available on record merely discloses that it was the timely information given by the petitioner that the question paper of written examination for Recruitment to the post of S.I. (UB) for Assam Police was leaked, that the said examination had been cancelled. Therefore, it was submitted that no candidate, who had adopted illegal means to obtain the leaked question paper succeeded in their evil design and take any advantage because in the eleventh hour, the examination was cancelled by the Chairman, State Level Police Recruitment Board (SLPRB for short). It was submitted that in this endeavour to expose question paper leak, perhaps the petitioner had earned the wrath of highly connected people and therefore, the petitioner was arrested on 01.10.2020, as an alleged co-conspirator and he is in custody for 770 days as on today, i.e. 09.11.2022. In support of his submissions, the learned senior counsel for the petitioner has placed reliance on the following cases, viz., (i) Sanjay Chandra v. C.B.I., (2012) 1 SCC 40, (para 21-24, 27, 39, 40-42, 46, 48), (ii) P. Chidambaram v. C.B.I., MANU/SC/1456/2019, (para 22-24), (iii) Dataram Singh v. State of U.P. & Anr., (2018) 3 SCC 22, (para 4- 6). Moreover, it has been submitted that one of the prime accused, namely, Prasanta Kumar Dutta against whom more severe charges was framed under Sections 120B/201/204/420 IPC read with Sections 25(1-B)(a)/25(1-B)(h) of the Arms Act, 1959 read with Section 8 of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988, compared to the charges framed against the petitioner, was ordered to be released on bail by this Court by order dated 27.09.2022 passed in BA 348/2022.

5. The learned Public Prosecutor has vehemently opposed the prayer for bail and by extensively referring to the charge-sheet and the order dated 13.05.2022, passed by the learned Special Judge, Assam, Guwahati in Special Case No. 6/2021, by which charges were framed against the petitioner, it was submitted that one of the prime accused, who was the Superinte