Makibul Bhuyan and 2 Ors v. The State of Assam

ORDER 20-11-2024 Heard Mr. B Islam, learned counsel for the petitioners and Mr. K K Parashar, learned Additional Public Prosecutor, Assam for the State.

¶2By this application under Section 482 of the BNSS, 2023, the petitioners, namely, (i) Makibul Bhuyan, son of Hannan Bhuyan, resident of village-Kathaldubi, P.S.-Sarthebari, District-Barpeta; (ii) Abdul Motaleb, son of Taijuddin Ahmed, resident of village-Barni, P.S.-Hajo, District-Kamrup and (iii) Sabita Begum @ Chabita Begum, wife of Nazarul Islam, resident of village-Bamunbari, P.S.-Mukalmua, District-Nalbari, apprehending their arrest, are seeking pre-arrest bail in Jalukbari Police Station Case No. 504/2024 corresponding to G.R. No. 5874/2024, registered under Sections 303(2)/317(2)/3(5) of BNS, 2023 read with Sections 11/(1)

(a)(d)(c) of the Prevention of Cruelty to Animal, Act, 1960 read with Section 13(1) of Assam Cattle Preservation (Amendment) Act, 2021.

¶3As per the FIR dated 05.10.2024 lodged by the informant/complainant, Sub-Inspector of Police, Jalukbari Outpost, the case is that on 04.10.2024 on receipt of reliable information that cattle smugglers are smuggling cattle in a Truck bearing Registration No. AS-26-C-9024 from Barpeta, moving towards Meghalaya via Barpeta-Jorabat road, GD Entry No. 71 dated 04.10.2024 was made and thereafter, on reaching the relevant place police personnel intercepted the said truck and recovered 20 Nos. of cattle from the said truck that were being carried in a tiny space inside the truck without giving any food and water. As such, the driver of the vehicle and the helper of the vehicle were asked to furnish the relevant documents, which they failed to produce. As such, they were suspected to be carrying stolen cattle and smuggling those out from Barpeta to some other place.

¶4Accordingly, Jalukbari Police Station Case No. 504/2024 corresponding to G.R. No. 5874/2024 was registered under Sections 303(2)/317(2)/3(5) of BNS, 2023 read with Sections 11/(1)(a)(d)

(c) of the Prevention of Cruelty to Animal, Act, 1960 read with Section 13(1) of Assam Cattle Preservation (Amendment) Act, 2021. Page No.# 3/4

¶5Petitioner Nos. 1 & 2 claim that they are the owners of the seized cattle and that they had bought the seized cattle with valid Challan from various markets and as such, they have not violated any law. Petitioner No. 3 is the registered owner of the said seized truck.

¶6Perused the case diary along with the report of the concerned Veterinary Officer of Azara, Pandu, which shows that out of the 20 Nos. of cattle, 7 cattle were found to be in bad health.

¶7Considering the materials in the case diary, this Court is of the opinion that custodial detention of the petitioners is not warranted to investigate said Jalukbari Police Station Case No. 504/2024. As such, this pre-arrest bail application is accepted.

¶8Accordingly, in the event of arrest of the petitioners, namely, (i) Makibul Bhuyan; (ii) Abdul Motaleb and (iii) Sabita Begum @ Chabita Begum, in said Jalukbari Police Station Case No. 504/2024, corresponding to G.R. No. 5874/2024, they shall be released on bail on furnishing bail bond of Rs. 40,000/- each, with two local sureties each of the like amount, one of which shall be a Government Employee, either State or Central Government, to the satisfaction of the arresting authority, subject to the conditions that petitioners, named above —

i) shall appear before the concerned Investigating Officer of said Jalukbari Police Station Case No. 504/2024 on or before 27.11.2024 and thereafter, as and when they are required for necessary investigation of the case;

ii) shall not leave the territorial jurisdiction of Jalukbari Police Station, without obtaining prior written permission from the concerned Investigating Officer of the case;

iii) shall not hamper with the investigation, or tamper with the evidence of the case;

iv) shall not, directly or indirectly, make any inducement, threat or promise to any person acquainted with the facts of the case, so as to dissuade them from disclosing such facts to the Court or to any police officer and;

v) shall not involve themselves in any criminal activities in future.

¶9Any violation of the aforesaid terms and conditions by the petitioners, namely, (i) Makibul Bhuyan; (ii) Abdul Motaleb and (iii) Sabita Begum @ Chabita Begum, the pre-arrest bail granted to them in said Jalukbari P.S. Case No. 504/2024 shall stand automatically vacated.

¶10This pre-arrest bail application accordingly stands allowed. Page No.# 4/4

¶11Return the Case Diary herewith.

JUDGE Comparing Assistant

PageoNo.#o1/4 GAHC010218422024 ooooooo 2024:GAU-AS:11318 ooooooooooooooo ooooooooooooooooTHEoGAUHATIoHIGHoCOURTo (HIGHoCOURToOFoASSAM,oNAGALAND,oMIZORAMoANDoARUNACHALoPRADESH)o CaseoNo.o:oAB/2847/2024o MAKIBULoBHUYANoANDo2oORSo S/OoHANNANoBHUYANo VILL-oKATHALDUBIo P.S.oHARTHEBARIo DIST.oBARPETA,oASSAM 2:oABDULoMOTALEB oS/OoTAIJUDDINoAHMEDo VILL-oBARNIo P.S.oHAJOo DIST.oKAMRUP oASSAM 3:oSABITAoBEGUMo@oCHABITAoBEGUM oW/OoNAZARULoISLAMo VILL-oBAMUNBARI o P.S.oMUKALMUAo DIST.oNALBARI oASSAo VERSUSo THEoSTATEoOFoASSAMo REPRESENTEDoBYoTHEoPP,oASSAM AdvocateoforotheoPetitionerooooo:oMDoBoISLAM,oMRoAoALAM,MR.oAoAoMONDALo AdvocateoforotheoRespondento:oPP,oASSAM,oo oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo Page No.# 2/4 BEFORE HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE MANASH RANJAN PATHAK