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High Court of Gujarat

VIJAYBHAI MANHARBHAI PATELversusSTATE OF GUJARAT

Disposal
38-RULE ABSOLUTE/ALLOWED @ FH

Holding

The court held that, on the facts, the applicants are entitled to regular bail before the charge‑sheet is filed, subject to strict conditions.

Summary

Vijaybhai Patel and another applied for regular bail under Section 483 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023, before a charge‑sheet was filed in FIR C.R. No.11200011260403, Valsad. The offences alleged were under Sections 316(2), 316(5) and 61(2)(a) of the BNS. The court examined the applicants' residence, prior antecedents, the status of investigation, and the recovery of rented cars, noting that the investigation was largely complete and no further discovery was required. Relying on the Supreme Court’s principles in Sanjay Chandra v. CBI, the court held that bail could be granted despite the seriousness of the charges, provided stringent conditions were imposed. Accordingly, the court ordered regular bail with a bond of Rs.25,000 each and a series of conditions such as surrender of passports, residence reporting, and regular police appearances. The order was made absolute, allowing the applicants to be released on bail.

Issues considered

  • Whether regular bail can be granted before the filing of a charge‑sheet under Section 483 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023.
  • Whether the nature of the offences (Sections 316 and 61 of the BNS) and the applicants' prior antecedents preclude the grant of bail.
  • Whether imposing stringent bail conditions suffices to mitigate the risk of the applicants committing further offences or tampering with evidence.

Legislation cited

Subjects

regular bailpre‑charge‑sheet bailBharatiya Nagarik Suraksha SanhitaSection 483Sections 316, 61Gujarat High Courtbail conditions

Judgment

     R/CR.MA/8991/2026                            ORDER DATED: 20/04/2026




            IN THE HIGH COURT OF GUJARAT AT AHMEDABAD

     R/CRIMINAL MISC.APPLICATION (FOR REGULAR BAIL - BEFORE
                  CHARGESHEET) NO. 8991 of 2026

==========================================================
                    VIJAYBHAI MANHARBHAI PATEL & ANR.
                                  Versus
                            STATE OF GUJARAT
==========================================================
Appearance:
MR ADIL R MIRZA(2488) for the Applicant(s) No. 1,2
MR SOAHAM JOSHI, APP for the Respondent(s) No. 1
==========================================================

 CORAM:HONOURABLE MR.JUSTICE UTKARSH THAKORBHAI
       DESAI

                             Date : 20/04/2026

                              ORAL ORDER
1.     Heard learned advocate appearing on behalf of the

applicant         and    learned    Additional   Public     Prosecutor

appearing on behalf of the respondent-State.




2.     Rule. Learned APP waives service of rule on behalf

of the respondent-State.




3.     The applicants have filed this application under

Section 483 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita,

2023 for enlarging them on Regular Bail in connection

with      FIR      being   C.R.    No.11200011260403           of     2026



                                   Page 1 of 7
     R/CR.MA/8991/2026                   ORDER DATED: 20/04/2026




registered with Valsad Rural Police Station, District-

Valsad, for the offence punishable under Sections              316

(2), 316 (5) and 61 (2) (a) of the BNS, 2023.




4.     Learned advocate for the applicants would submit

that, considering the role attributed to the applicants,

and nature of the allegation levelled, the applicants may

be enlarged on regular bail. It is further submitted that,

the applicants are ready and willing to abide by all the

conditions that may be imposed by this Court, if released

on bail.




5.     As against the same, learned Additional Public

Prosecutor appearing for the respondent – State has

vehemently objected to the grant of regular bail. Learned

APP has submitted that, looking to the nature of offence

and the role attributed to the present applicants, this

Court may not exercise discretion in their favour and the

application may be dismissed.




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     R/CR.MA/8991/2026                                ORDER DATED: 20/04/2026




6.     I have heard learned advocates appearing on behalf

of the respective parties and perused the papers.

Following aspects are considered:-




     i. The applicants are permanent residents of Valsad

     district, hence would be available at the time of trial;

     ii. As per the prosecution case, applicant no.1 is having

       one previous antecedent, whereas, applicant no.2 is

       having            three   previous     antecedents     of    identical

       nature.

     iii.Out of the three cars which were taken on rent by

       the applicants, one car has been recovered by the

       investigation officer, whereas, the details about the

       person to whom the remaining two cars were

       handed over have been provided by the applicants,

       and the said fact has been mentioned in the affidavit

       of the investigation officer, filed before the learned

       trial Court in Criminal Misc. Application No.174 of

       2026.


                                     Page 3 of 7
     R/CR.MA/8991/2026                      ORDER DATED: 20/04/2026




     iv.Though the present application is filed before filing

       of the charge-sheet, upon inquiring from the learned

       APP, upon instructions, he has stated that, nothing

       much remains to be investigated so far as the

       present applicants are concerned.



     v. No further recovery or discovery is to be effected

       from the applicants.



     vi. The apprehension of learned APP as regard the

     applicants indulging in similar or such offences, if

     granted bail, can be put to rest by imposing stringent

     conditions.




7.     This Court has taken into consideration the law laid

down by the Hon’ble Apex Court in the case of Sanjay

Chandra v. Central Bureau of Investigation reported

in [2012] 1 SCC 40.

8.     In the facts and circumstances of the case and


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     R/CR.MA/8991/2026                                ORDER DATED: 20/04/2026




considering the nature of the allegations made against

the applicants in the First Information Report, 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 applicants on regular bail.




9.     Hence, the applicants are ordered to be released on

bail in connection with F.I.R. registered as C.R. No.

11200011260403 of 2026 registered with Valsad Rural

Police Station, District-Valsad, on executing a bail bond of

Rs.25,000/- (Rupees Twenty Five Thousand only) each

with one surety each                  of the like amount to the

satisfaction         of the   trial   Court     and     subject       to        the

conditions that they shall;




     [a] not take undue advantage of liberty or misuse

     liberty;

     [b] not act in a manner injurious to the interest of the

     prosecution;

     [c] surrender their passports, if any, to the trial court

                                  Page 5 of 7
   R/CR.MA/8991/2026                        ORDER DATED: 20/04/2026




  within a week, and if they does not possess a passport,

  they shall file an affidavit to that effect;

  [d] not leave the local limits of Valsad district without

  prior permission of the Trial Court concerned;

  [e] furnish the present address of their residence to

  the I.O. and to the Court at the time of execution of the

  bond and shall not change their residence without

  prior intimation to the I.O. and the court;

  [f] mark their presence on every alternate day for one

  month, and thereafter, applicant no.1 shall mark his

  presence on every Monday before the concerned police

  station, and applicant no.2 shall mark his presence on

  every Tuesday, till the trial is over;

  [g] not indulge in similar kind of offence hereinafter,

  for which, they shall file an affidavit before the

  concerned court and the police station.

10. The Authorities will release the applicants only if

they are not required in connection with any other

offence for the time being. If breach of any of the above



                            Page 6 of 7
      R/CR.MA/8991/2026                                                               ORDER DATED: 20/04/2026




conditions is committed, the Sessions Court concerned

will be at liberty to take appropriate action in accordance

with law.

11. Bail bond to be executed before the trial 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.

12. At the stage of trial, the competent court shall not be

influenced by any observations of this Court which are of

preliminary nature, made at this stage only for the

purpose of enlarging the applicant on regular bail. The

application is allowed in the aforesaid terms. Rule is

made absolute to the aforesaid extent. Direct service is

permitted.




                                                              (UTKARSH THAKORBHAI DESAI, J)
R.S. MALEK


Original copy of this order has been signed by the Hon'ble Judge.
Digitally signed by: RIYAZMIYA SABIRMIYA MALEK(HC00180), PRINCIPAL PRIVATE SECRETARY, at High Court of Gujarat on 21/04/2026 10:41:27




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