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High Court of Gujarat

NILESH @ PINTU THAKORBHAI RANAversusSTATE OF GUJARAT

Disposal
38-RULE ABSOLUTE/ALLOWED @ FH

Holding

The Court held that bail is appropriate in the present circumstances and granted regular bail to the applicant.

Summary

The applicant, Nilesh @ Pintu Thakorbhai Rana, filed a regular bail application under Section 483 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023, for alleged offences under Sections 65(a)(e) and 116(B) of the Gujarat Prohibition Act. The State opposed bail, arguing the gravity of the offence and the applicant’s involvement. The Court examined the investigation status, the fact that the applicant had been in custody since 1 August 2026, the absence of any material to be recovered, and the applicant’s past antecedents, while emphasizing the presumption of innocence. Citing Supreme Court precedents (Sanjay Chandra v CBI and Gudikanti Narasimhulu v Public Prosecutor), the Court held that continued pre‑trial detention would amount to a de facto conviction. Accordingly, the Court granted regular bail on a personal bond of Rs 25,000 with a surety of equal amount and imposed several conditions, including monthly police reporting and restrictions on travel.

Issues considered

  • Whether regular bail can be granted before the filing of a chargesheet under Section 483 BNSS 2023 for offences under the Gujarat Prohibition Act.
  • Whether the applicant’s antecedents and the nature of the alleged offences preclude the grant of bail.

Legislation cited

Subjects

regular bailpre‑trial detentionBharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita 2023Gujarat Prohibition Actbail jurisprudenceArticle 21Supreme Court precedentbail conditions

Judgment

   R/CR.MA/19044/2026                                      ORDER DATED: 14/08/2026




           IN THE HIGH COURT OF GUJARAT AT AHMEDABAD

   R/CRIMINAL MISC.APPLICATION (FOR REGULAR BAIL - BEFORE
               CHARGESHEET) NO. 19044 of 2026

==========================================================
                    NILESH @ PINTU THAKORBHAI RANA
                                 Versus
                           STATE OF GUJARAT
==========================================================
Appearance:
MR JIGAR L PATEL(11596) for the Applicant(s) No. 1
MR KANVA ANTANI, APP for the Respondent(s) No. 1
==========================================================

 CORAM:HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE HASMUKH D. SUTHAR

                                 Date : 14/08/2026
                                     ORDER


      Leave to amend.

[1.0] RULE. Learned APP waives service of rule for the
respondent-State.

[2.0] The present application is filed under Section 483 of the
Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 (for short “BNSS”) for
regular     bail        in   connection    with      FIR    being      C.R.      No.
11207028260420 of 2026 registered with Halol Town Police
Station, Panchmahal, for the offences under Sections 65(a)(e)
and 116 (B) of the Gujarat Prohibition Act.

[3.0] Learned advocate appearing on behalf of the applicant
submits that the applicant is innocent and has been falsely
implicated in the offence. Nothing is required to be recovered or
discovered. He therefore submits that, considering the nature of
the offence, the applicant may be enlarged on regular bail by
imposing suitable conditions.


                                     Page 1 of 5
   R/CR.MA/19044/2026                          ORDER DATED: 14/08/2026




[4.0] Learned APP appearing on behalf of the respondent-State
has opposed the present application and requested to dismiss
the present application for regular bail on the ground that the
applicant is very much involved in the present offence and
considering the gravity of offence, no case is made out to
entertain present bail application. Therefore, present application
does not deserve consideration.

[5.0] While granting bail, the Court has to consider the
involvement of the accused in the alleged offence, the jurisdiction
to grant bail has to be exercised on the basis of the well settled
principles having regard to the facts and circumstances of each
case and the following factors are to be taken into consideration
while considering an application for bail: (i) the nature of
accusation and the severity of the punishment and the nature of
the materials relied upon by the prosecution; (ii) reasonable
apprehension of tampering with the witnesses and threat to the
complainant or the witnesses; (iii) reasonable possibility of
securing the presence of the accused at the time of trial or the
likelihood of his abscondence; (iv) character behaviour and
standing of the accused and the circumstances which are
peculiar to the accused; (v) larger interest of the public or the
State and similar other considerations are required to be
considered.

[6.0] I have heard the learned advocates appearing on behalf of
the respective parties and perused the investigation papers.
Following aspects have been considered:




                             Page 2 of 5
      R/CR.MA/19044/2026                                ORDER DATED: 14/08/2026




         (1)     Substantial part of investigation is over;
         (2)     Applicant is behind the bar since 01.08.2026;
         (3)     There is nothing to be recovered or discovered from
         the     applicant;
         (4)     Offence is triable by JMFC Court and none of the
         offence alleged is punishable with life sentence or death
         penalty ;
         (5)     Though the applicant is having past antecedent, he is
         presumed to be innocent till proven guilty;.
         (6)     Prosecution has failed to point out the circumstances
         to continue or prolong his incarceration;
         (7)     Obviously commencement and conclusion of trial will
         take its own time.

[7.0] This Court has also taken into consideration the law laid
down by the Hon'ble Apex Court in the case of Sanjay Chandra
vs. Central Bureau of Investigation reported in [2012]1 SCC
40 as well as in the case of Gudikanti Narasimhulu And Ors
vs.     Public       Prosecutor,   High    Court   of    Andhra        Pradesh
reported in (1978)1 SCC 240. Obviously, the conclusion of trial
will take time and keeping the accused behind the bars is
nothing but amounts to pre-trial conviction and therefore,
considering the celebrated principle of bail jurisprudence is that
“bail is a rule and jail is exception” as well as the concept of
personal liberty guaranteed under Article 21 of the Constitution
of India, present application deserves consideration.

[8.0] In the facts and circumstances of the case and considering
the nature of the allegations made against the applicant in the



                                   Page 3 of 5
   R/CR.MA/19044/2026                               ORDER DATED: 14/08/2026




FIR, without discussing the evidence in detail, prima facie, this
Court is of the opinion that this is a fit case to exercise the
discretion and enlarge the applicant on regular bail. Hence, the
present application is allowed. The applicant is ordered to be
released on regular bail in connection with FIR being C.R. No.
11207028260420 of 2026 registered with Halol Town Police
Station,     Panchmahal,     on     executing   a   personal       bond       of
Rs.25,000/- (Rupees Twenty-five Thousand only) with one surety
of the like amount to the satisfaction of the trial Court and
subject to the conditions that he/she shall;

  (a)      not take undue advantage of liberty or misuse liberty;
  (b)      not act in a manner injurious to the interest of the
           prosecution & shall not obstruct or hamper the police
           investigation and shall not to play mischief with the
           evidence collected or yet to be collected by the police;
  (c)      surrender passport, if any, to the Trial Court within a
           week;
  (d)      not leave the State of Gujarat without prior permission
           of the Trial Court concerned;
  (e)      mark presence before the concerned Police Station once
           in every month for a period of six months between 11.00
           a.m. and 2.00 p.m.;
  (f)      furnish the Aadhaar card, email ID/present address
           of his residence to the Investigating Officer and also to
           the Court at the time of execution of the bond and shall
           not change the residence/contact number without
           prior permission of Trial Court;
  (g)      not to indulge in any illegal activity failing which learned


                                  Page 4 of 5
      R/CR.MA/19044/2026                                                ORDER DATED: 14/08/2026




             trial Court shall issue warrant and cancel the bail of the
             applicant.
      (h)    not to enter into Panchmahal District for a period of
             six months except for marking presence before the
             concerned police station and/or for attending Court;

[9.0] The authorities will release the applicant only if he is not
required in connection with any other offence for the time being.
If breach of any of the above conditions is committed, the
Sessions Judge concerned will be free to issue warrant or take
appropriate action in the matter.

[10.0] Bail bond to be executed before the lower Court having
jurisdiction to try the case. It will be open for the concerned
Court to delete, modify and/or relax any of the above conditions,
in accordance with law.

[11.0] At the trial, the trial Court shall not be influenced by the
observations of preliminary nature qua the evidence at this stage
made by this Court while enlarging the applicant on bail.

[12.0] Rule is made absolute to the aforesaid extent. Direct
service is permitted.

                                                                  (HASMUKH D. SUTHAR,J)
ALI




Original copy of this order has been signed by the Hon'ble Judge.
Digitally signed by: ISTAYAK ALI(HC01093), PRIVATE SECRETARY, at High Court of Gujarat on 14/08/2026 16:49:57




                                              Page 5 of 5


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