Allahabad High Court
BHANU PRAKASH MAURYA AND 3 OTHERSversusSTATE OF U.P. AND ANOTHER
- Decided
- Bench
- SANJAY KUMAR PACHORI
Holding
The application to quash the criminal proceedings is dismissed, and the applicants may withdraw it and seek bail under the Supreme Court’s Category A guidelines.
Summary
The applicants filed an application under Section 528 of the Bhartiya Nagrik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 seeking to quash the criminal proceedings (Case No. 560 of 2025) arising from offences under Sections 115(2), 351(2) and 352 of the same Act. They argued that they had not been arrested and that the charge‑sheet had already been filed, with the offence carrying a maximum imprisonment of seven years. The High Court examined the material and refused the prayer to quash the proceedings. The court allowed the applicants to withdraw the application and granted them liberty to file a regular bail application before a competent court. In considering any future bail application, the court referred to the Supreme Court’s decision in Satender Kumar Antil v. CBI (2022) 10 SCC 51, which permits bail in “Category A” cases without physical custody when a charge‑sheet is already filed. The application was therefore disposed of with the mentioned liberty.
Issues considered
- Whether the application under Section 528 of the BNSS can be entertained to quash the pending criminal proceedings.
- Whether the applicants are entitled to bail without physical custody under the Supreme Court’s Category A guidelines after a charge‑sheet has been filed.
Legislation cited
- Bhartiya Nagrik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 — s. 115(2), 351(2), 352, 528
Subjects
- quash of proceedings
- bail
- charge-sheet
- Section 528
- BNSS
- Category A
- Supreme Court precedent
- criminal procedure
Judgment
HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT ALLAHABAD
APPLICATION U/S 528 BNSS No. - 8093 of 2026
Bhanu Prakash Maurya And 3 Others
.....Applicant(s)
Versus
State of U.P. and Another
.....Opposite
Party(s)
Counsel for Applicant(s) : Sadhana Maurya
Counsel for Opposite Party(s) : G.A.
Court No. - 74
HON'BLE SANJAY KUMAR PACHORI, J.
Sri Anoop Kumar Sharma, Advocate holding brief of Ms. Sadhana Maurya,
learned counsel for the applicants, Shri A.K. Rai, learned A.G.A. for the
State and perused the material on record.
The present application under Section 528 of Bhartiya Nagrik Suraksha
Sanhita, 2023 has been filed by the applicants to quash the entire
proceedings of Criminal Case No. 560 of 2025, arising out of Case Crime
No. 94 of 2025, under Sections 115(2), 351(2), 352 of B.N.S., Police
Station- Badalapur, District- Jaunpur as well as cognizance/summoning
order dated 4.6.2025, pending in the Court of Additional Chief Judicial
Magistrate, Court No. 4, Jaunpur.
Learned counsel for the applicants submits that applicants were not arrested
during the course of investigation and the charge-sheet have been submitted
against them. It is further submitted that the offence is punishable up to 7
years imprisonment.
Upon considering the facts and circumstances of the case, the prayer made
by learned counsel for the applicants is, hereby, refused.
After some arguments, learned counsel for the applicants wants to withdraw
the application with liberty to file a regular bail application before the court
of competent jurisdiction.
In case bail application is filed by the learned counsel for the applicants, the
same shall be decided in the light of the observations made in the judgment
rendered by the Supreme Court in Satender Kumar Antil Vs. Central
Bureau of Investigation & Another, (2022) 10 SCC 51, wherein the
Supreme Court considering the category(A) as mentioned in the paragraph
NA528 No. 8093 of 2026
2
no. 2, bail applications of such accused against which charge-sheet has been
submitted on appearance may be decided without the accused being taken in
physical custody or by granting interim bail till the bail application is
decided. It has been observed that at the cost of repetition, we wish to state
that, in category A, one would expect a better exercise of discretion on the
part of the court in favour of the accused.
The application stands disposed of with the aforesaid liberty.
March 18, 2026
T. Sinha
(Sanjay Kumar Pachori,J.)
Digitally signed by :-
TRIPTI SINHA
High Court of Judicature at Allahabad
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