Gujarat High Court
Harmitsing Premsing Sardar @ Sherabhai vs State Of Gujarat on 19 January, 2026
Author: Nikhil S. Kariel
Bench: Nikhil S. Kariel
NEUTRAL CITATION
R/CR.MA/20944/2025 ORDER DATED: 19/01/2026
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IN THE HIGH COURT OF GUJARAT AT AHMEDABAD
R/CRIMINAL MISC.APPLICATION (FOR REGULAR BAIL - AFTER
CHARGESHEET) NO. 20944 of 2025
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HARMITSING PREMSING SARDAR @ SHERABHAI
Versus
STATE OF GUJARAT
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Appearance:
MR ANAND BRAHMBHATT(6096) for the Applicant(s) No. 1
MR KISHAN N BRAHMBHATT(11382) for the Applicant(s) No. 1
MS KINJAL BRAHMBHATT(6095) for the Applicant(s) No. 1
MR NIRAJ SHARMA, APP for the Respondent(s) No. 1
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CORAM:HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE NIKHIL S. KARIEL
Date : 19/01/2026
ORAL ORDER
1. Heard learned Advocate Mr. Anand Brahmbhatt appearing on behalf of the applicant and learned Additional Public Prosecutor Mr. Niraj Sharma appearing on behalf of the respondent-State.
2. The applicant has filed this application under Section 483 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 for enlarging the applicant on Regular Bail in connection with FIR being C.R. No. 11822015250539 of 2025 registered with Jalalpore Police Station, District Navsari for the offence punishable under Sections 386, 506(2), 507, 120-B and 34 of the Indian Penal Code, Sections 25(1-B)(a) and 25(1)(a) of the Arms Act and Section 135 of the Gujarat Police Act.
3. Learned advocate for the applicant would submit that considering Page 1 of 6 Uploaded by BHUPENDRASINH SONAGRA(HC01082) on Thu Jan 22 2026 Downloaded on : Thu Jan 22 21:43:14 IST 2026 NEUTRAL CITATION R/CR.MA/20944/2025 ORDER DATED: 19/01/2026 undefined the role attributed to the applicant, and nature of the allegation levelled, the applicant may be enlarged on regular bail. It is further submitted that since the charge-sheet is filed, no useful purpose would be served by keeping the applicant in jail for indefinite period. It is further contended that the applicant is ready and willing to abide by all the conditions that may be imposed by this Court if released on bail.
4. As against the same, learned Additional Public Prosecutor appearing for the respondent - State has vehemently objected to the grant of regular bail. Learned APP has submitted that looking to the nature of offence and the role attributed to the present applicant as coming out from the charge-sheet, this Court may not exercise the discretion in favour of the applicant and the application may be dismissed.
5. Having heard the learned Advocates for the respective parties and having perused the documents on record including the charge-sheet papers as well as the report of the Directorate of Forensic Science, which has been tendered by the learned APP across the bar, this Court is not inclined to consider the present application for the following reasons.
(i) The crime alleged being very serious where the accused, had extorted money from the complainant by threatening him to do away with him and his children and whereas it would prima facie appear that the Page 2 of 6 Uploaded by BHUPENDRASINH SONAGRA(HC01082) on Thu Jan 22 2026 Downloaded on : Thu Jan 22 21:43:14 IST 2026 NEUTRAL CITATION R/CR.MA/20944/2025 ORDER DATED: 19/01/2026 undefined accused, had conspired together to commit the offence in question inasmuch as, originally, the accused No.1 Rajeshbhai @ Mohammed Isaq Memon had called the complainant for having a look at the land of the ownership of the complainant and thereafter, upon the complainant going to the place in question on his motorbike, the accused Rajeshbhai, who was standing there with his motorbike, had showed him a pistol which he was carrying and had informed him that he and his gang had been given a contract by somebody to do away with the complainant and his two sons, and according to the said accused, his gang had been paid Rs. 20,00,000/-
for the very purpose, and whereas it was informed the complainant that if he does not pay Rs. 60,00,000/-, then his family would be done away with. The complainant, under the threat of being done away, having pleaded with the said accused that he did not have the said amount, ultimately the amount of Rs.60,00,000/- had been reduced to Rs. 40,00,000/-. It would also appear that pursuant to the said understanding, the complainant had given an amount of Rs.1,00,000/- to the accused Rajeshbhai. It would also appear that the complainant had thereafter, sold of some part of his land and had paid the remaining Rs.39,00,000/- to the accused Rajeshbhai.
(ii) It would appear that thereafter, the said accused Rajeshbhai had
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NEUTRAL CITATION
R/CR.MA/20944/2025 ORDER DATED: 19/01/2026
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made the complainant meet with a person, whom he had addressed as his boss Rajabhai @ Mahendrasingh Bahadursingh Labana and whereas, the complainant, the present applicant along with the boss of the said accused Rajeshbhai were travelling in a car, it is alleged that the present applicant Sherabhai was carrying a pistol with him. It would appear that the accused had thereafter threatened the complainant saying that they have again received a contract for killing the complainant and his sons and had tried to extort an amount of Rs.3,00,00,000/- from the complainant and whereas upon the complainant pleading that he did not have the said amount, the accused Rajeshbhai, had volunteered to give the said money to his boss and whereas the complainant was to return the money to the accused Rajeshbhai. It would appear that later on, while it appears that the complainant had made the payment to Rajeshbhai, whereas the present applicant is alleged to have talked to the complainant inquiring has regards whether he had paid the entire money to Rajeshbhai. It would appear in this regard, that the voice sample of the present applicant had been taken by the Directorate of Forensic Science, and whereas the Directorate has returned the report stating that the voice in the telephone conversation matches the voice of the present applicant. It would appear in this regard that the present applicant is also stated to be having an antecedent of being involved in a similar offence, more particularly one Page 4 of 6 Uploaded by BHUPENDRASINH SONAGRA(HC01082) on Thu Jan 22 2026 Downloaded on : Thu Jan 22 21:43:14 IST 2026 NEUTRAL CITATION R/CR.MA/20944/2025 ORDER DATED: 19/01/2026 undefined punishable under Section 140(2)(3) of the BNS etc.
(iii) It would also appear that the learned Advocate Mr. Brahmbhatt would submit that the present applicant has not been identified by the complainant and whereas it would appear that the complainant had met the present applicant while he was travelling in the car, which was being driven by the boss of the accused Rajeshbhai i.e. accused Rajabhai, and whereas the present applicant is stated to be riding in the front seat along with the so called boss. Under such circumstances, it would be but natural for the complainant not to have seen the face of the present applicant since he was stated to be seating in the back side of the car.
(iv) Furthermore, learned Mr. Brahmbhatt would submit that neither there is any money trail which could lead to the present applicant nor any weapon is recovered from the present applicant and whereas to this Court it would appear that there is good enough material which would show the involvement of the present applicant, as observed hereinabove, to this Court, absence of money trail leading to the present applicant or absence of any weapon recovered from the present applicant would not by itself entitle the present applicant to be released on regular bail. Again, it would be pertinent to mention that the investigation has revealed that the complainant from his own bank accounts as well as relatives of the Page 5 of 6 Uploaded by BHUPENDRASINH SONAGRA(HC01082) on Thu Jan 22 2026 Downloaded on : Thu Jan 22 21:43:14 IST 2026 NEUTRAL CITATION R/CR.MA/20944/2025 ORDER DATED: 19/01/2026 undefined complainant had withdrawn money from their bank accounts and paid money in cash to the accused. The withdrawals broadly match the amount extorted from the complainant.
6. Considering the above, since it appears that the accused, had extorted a large sum of money from the complainant and whereas since it appears that the present applicant was part of the gang, involved in the offence of extortion and whereas since it appears that an overt act of having tried to take the information from the complainant as regards the money paid to co-accused Rajeshbhai, is attributed to the present applicant and since it appears that the voice spectrography test has returned the voice of the present applicant as the voice in the clip, it would appear that the offence being very serious and prima facie it would appear that the present applicant is involved in the offence in question and since the present applicant has an antecedent of being involved in a similar offence, this Court is disinclined to exercise its discretion in favour of the present applicant. Hence, the present application is disposed of as rejected.
(NIKHIL S. KARIEL,J) BDSONGARA Page 6 of 6 Uploaded by BHUPENDRASINH SONAGRA(HC01082) on Thu Jan 22 2026 Downloaded on : Thu Jan 22 21:43:14 IST 2026