Chattisgarh High Court
Arvind Paikara vs State Of Chhattisgarh on 7 July, 2025
1
Digitally signed
by SHUBHAM
SHUBHAM SINGH
SINGH RAGHUVANSHI
RAGHUVANSHI Date:
2025.07.08
11:41:53 +0530
2025:CGHC:30902
NAFR
HIGH COURT OF CHHATTISGARH AT BILASPUR
MCRC No. 4748 of 2025
1 - Arvind Paikara S/o Basant Ram Aged About 29 Years Caste Kanwar, R/o
Village Ratanpur Patipara, P.S. And Tehsil Sitapur Distrct Sarguja
Chhattisgarh
2 - Samit Kumar Paikara S/o Shivnath Paikara Aged About 24 Years R/o
Village Ratanpur Patipara, P.S. And Tehsil Sitapur Distrct Sarguja
Chhattisgarh
... Applicants
versus
State of Chhattisgarh Through Station House Officer, P.S. Lundra, District
Sarguja Chhattisgarh
... Respondent
For Applicants : Mr. Sunil Tripathi, Adv.
For Respondent/State : Mr. Pranjal Shukla, P.L.
Hon'ble Shri Justice Sanjay Kumar Jaiswal
Order On Board
07/07/2025
1. The applicants have preferred this 1st bail application under Section 483 of Bhartiya Nagrik Suraksha Sanhita Act 2023 for grant of regular bail as he is arrested in connection with crime No. 187/2024, registered at Police Station - Lundra, District- Surguja (C.G.) for offence 2 punishable under Sections 103(1), 238, 61(2), 3(5) of the BNS and Section 5 of Prevention of Tonhi Harassment Act 2005.
2. The prosecution story, in short, is that the informant of the incident, Dinesh Kumar Jaiswal, informed the concerned Police Station that upon detecting a foul smell emanating from the safety tank located behind the Primary School Semardand, the tank's lid was removed, whereupon a woman's leg and a portion of her saree were found visible, and the body had started decomposing with maggots present. Based on the said information, the Police registered a zero-numbered case and took up the matter for investigation. During the course of investigation, after establishing the identity of the deceased, statements of her family members and legal heirs were recorded. Based on the information provided by an informer and analysis of the deceased's call detail records, upon interrogation of the suspects/applicants/accused persons and other co-accused, they confessed that suspecting the deceased, Samaliya, of practicing witchcraft (as a "tonahi") and casting evil spells with the intention to harm their family, they conspired to murder her, subsequently killed her, and concealed her body by dumping it into the septic tank located behind the Primary School Semardand. Based on above, offence has been registered against the applicants.
3. Learned counsel for the applicant submits that the applicants are innocent and have been falsely implicated in the crime in question. There is no direct allegations have been levelled upon the Applicants. The Doctor has also opined that the death of the deceased was caused due to strangulation. He further submits that the applicants are in jail since 29.07.2024, out of 15 prosecution witnesses only 8 have been examined till date and the trial is likely to take time to be finalized, therefore, it is prayed that the applicants may be enlarged on bail.
4. Per contra, learned Counsel appearing on behalf of the State opposes the bail application and submits that the applicants had broken the mobile phone of the deceased and thrown it away and belongings of the deceased have been seized from the applicants, therefore, at this stage, the applicants may not be released on bail.
35. I have heard learned Counsel appearing for the parties and perused the material available on record.
6. Considering the facts and circumstances of the case, evidence collected by the prosecution against the applicants and the nature of offence, at this stage, without further commenting on merits of the case, I am not inclined to release the applicants on bail.
7. Accordingly, the bail application is Rejected. However, the Trial Court is directed to expedite the trial and to ensure that the trial is concluded as expeditiously as possible.
Sd/-
(Sanjay Kumar Jaiswal) Judge Shubham