Gauhati High Court
Md Yakub Ali @ Ekub vs The State Of Assam on 16 December, 2021
Author: Manish Choudhury
Bench: Manish Choudhury
Page No.# 1/3
GAHC010216512021
THE GAUHATI HIGH COURT
(HIGH COURT OF ASSAM, NAGALAND, MIZORAM AND ARUNACHAL PRADESH)
Case No. : Bail Appln./3559/2021
MD YAKUB ALI @ EKUB
S/O MD. HABIBUR RAHMAN @ GHODU
VILL- BHUJMARI NO. 04,
P.S. SOOTEA P.O. TEWARIPAL
DIST. BISWANATH, ASSAM,
PIN-784176
VERSUS
THE STATE OF ASSAM
REP. BY THE PP, ASSAM
Advocate for the Petitioner : MS. T SOM
Advocate for the Respondent : PP, ASSAM
BEFORE
HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE MANISH CHOUDHURY
ORDER
16.12.2021 Heard Ms. T. Som, learned counsel for the accused-petitioner and Mr. B.B. Gogoi, learned Additional Public Prosecutor for the respondent State of Assam.
2. By this application under Section 439, Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 [CrPC], the accused- petitioner viz. Md. Yakub Ali @ Ekub has prayed for his release on bail in connection with Sootea Police Station Case no. 101/2019, registered under Sections 25[1][B-a] of the Arms Act.
3. From the First Information Report [FIR], lodged on 14.07.2019, it is noticed that the Range Forest Officer, Crime Investigation Range, Biswanath Chariali lodged the FIR before the Officer In- Charge, Sootea Police Station, Biswanath in respect of possession of firearms [arms and ammunitions] Page No.# 2/3 for hunting Rhino in Kaziranga National Park and Tiger Reserve. The Range Forest Officer had lodged the said FIR in connection with Forest Offence no.CIR 07/2019 dated 13.07.2019.
4. On perusal of the FIR dated 14.07.2019, it is noticed that on information provided by a Rhino Horn trader viz. Mr. Toyikhu Zhimomi of Dimapur, Nagaland, the Crime Investigation Range, Biswanath Wildlife Division and Sootea Police Station carried out a search operation on 12.07.2019 in No. 4 Bhujmari village. During the said search operation, the accused-petitioner was detained. Upon his interrogation, it was revealed that another accused viz. Md. Kasem Ali @ Kala had kept arms and ammunitions in concealment. Based on the said input, a search operation was carried out in Badsahdani, Milanpur on 13.07.2019 and Md. Kasem Ali @ Kala was detained. Based on the information revealed by the said two accused persons regarding concealment of arms and ammunitions near the house of the accused-petitioner and led by the accused-petitioner, one .303 rifle, 5 nos. of live ammunitions inside the magazine, and other articles were recovered after digging at a place near the embankment of Bhujmari village. The accused-petitioner also led the team to a pond wherefrom the team recovered one nos. of inflatable rubber boat.
5. The Range Forest Officer thereafter, forwarded the two arrested accused persons to the Court of learned Sub-Divisional Judicial Magistrate [M], Biswanath Chariali on 14.07.2019 seeking their further custody. As per the forwarding report, the two accused persons including the present accused-petitioner, were arrested in connection with Forest Offence no. CIR 07/2019 registered for offences under Section 9 and Section 52 r/w Section 2[16] of the Wildlife [Protection] Act, 1972 r/w Wildlife [Protection] [Assam Amendment] Act, 2009 for the hunting attempt of Indian one-horned Rhinoceros, Schedule-I animal in the Kaziranga National Park and Tiger Reserve. The said offences are punishable under Section 51[1] of the Wildlife [Protection] Act, 1972 read with Wildlife [Protection] [Assam Amendment] Act, 2009.
6. While lodging the FIR before the Officer In-Charge, Sootea Police Station, the Range Forest Officer requested the Officer In-Charge, Sootea Police Station to investigate the matter under the Arms Act as the Forest Department does not have the necessary jurisdiction to investigate the offences under the Arms Act.
7. Upon receipt of the said FIR from the Range Forest Officer, the Officer In-Charge, Sootea Police Station registered the case as Sootea Police Station Case no. 101/2019 under Sections 25[1][B-a]/35 of the Arms Act, 1959.
8. At the time of lodging the FIR by the Range Forest Officer before the Officer In-Charge, Sootea Page No.# 3/3 Police Station, both the accused persons including the present accused petitioner on 14.07.2016 were under detention. Thus, it is within the knowledge of the Officer In-Charge, Sootea Police Station that the accused-petitioner was in custody in connection with Forest Offence no. CIR 07/2019 since 13.07.2019.
9. It transpires from an order dated 10.10.2019 passed in a bail application, B.A. no. 2324/2019 that the accused-petitioner was in the custody after his arrest on 12.07.2019 in connection with Forest Offence no. CIR 07/2019. By the said order dated 10.10.2019, the accused-petitioner was allowed to be released on bail as on 10.10.2019, the statutory period of 90 days was already over.
10. It is after more than 2 [two] years from the date of the previous arrest [13.07.2019] of the accused-petitioner in connection with Forest Offence no. CIR 07/2019, that is, on 25.11.2021 to be precise, the accused-petitioner has been arrested in connection with Sootea Police Station Case no. 101/2019 registered under Section 25[1][B-a] of the Arms Act, 1959.
11. From the above facts, it is prima facie demonstrated that despite knowledge of the fact that the accused-petitioner was in custody of the Forest Department in connection with Forest Offence no. CIR 07/2019 at the time of lodging the FIR in connection with Sootea Police Station Case no. 101/2019, the Officer In-Charge, Sootea Police Station who had himself taken up the investigation, did not make any effort to take the accused-petitioner in custody during the period from 14.07.2019 to 10.10.2010 when the accused-petitioner was in custody in connection with Forest Offence no. CIR 07/2019.
12. List the case on 22.12.2021 in order to enable the learned Additional Public Prosecutor to obtain the necessary instructions and an explanation from the Investigating Officer [I.O.] of Sootea Police Station Case no. 101/2019 on the aforesaid aspects.
13. A copy of this order be furnished to Mr. B.B. Gogoi, learned Additional Public Prosecutor for his doing the needful.
JUDGE Comparing Assistant