Gujarat High Court
Shravansinh Akherajsinh Rajput vs State Of Gujarat on 21 April, 2026
NEUTRAL CITATION
R/CR.MA/8421/2026 ORDER DATED: 21/04/2026
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IN THE HIGH COURT OF GUJARAT AT AHMEDABAD
R/CRIMINAL MISC.APPLICATION (FOR ANTICIPATORY BAIL) NO. 8421
of 2026
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SHRAVANSINH AKHERAJSINH RAJPUT
Versus
STATE OF GUJARAT
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Appearance:
MR NIRAV K PADHIYAR(5678) for the Applicant(s) No. 1
ALPESHSINH B RAJPUT(8982) for the Applicant(s) No. 1
MR YUVRAJ BRAHMBHATT, APP for the Respondent(s) No. 1
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CORAM:HONOURABLE MR.JUSTICE SANJEEV J.THAKER
Date : 21/04/2026
ORAL ORDER
1. By way of this application under Section 482 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 ( for short, "BNSS"), the applicant has prayed for anticipatory bail in the event of arrest in connection with the FIR being C.R. No.11996005250242 of 2025, registered with the Suigam Police Station, District : Vav-Tharad, for the offences punishable under Sections 65(a), 65(e), 116-B, 98(2), 99, 83 and 81 of the Prohibition Act.
2. Rule. Learned Additional Public Prosecutor waives service of notice of rule for respondent - State of Gujarat.
3. Learned advocate for the applicant submits that the nature of allegations are such that custodial interrogation Page 1 of 7 Uploaded by M.H. DAVE(HC00193) on Wed Apr 22 2026 Downloaded on : Thu Apr 23 03:40:23 IST 2026 NEUTRAL CITATION R/CR.MA/8421/2026 ORDER DATED: 21/04/2026 undefined at this stage is not necessary. It is further submitted that the applicant will keep himself available during the course of investigation and trial also and will not flee from justice. He further submitted that the applicant is not aware of the incident and on the basis of the statement of the co-accused, he has been made an accused; that the entire allegation against the accused is that the applicant has loaded the liquor in the vehicle and the applicant has no relation with the allegations made in the FIR; that he never loaded the liquor as alleged in the FIR; that the applicant is residing at Rajasthan and he never supplied liquor in Gujarat; that even if the allegations made in the FIR are taken into consideration, the role attributed to the present applicant is only that he has loaded the liquor in the offending vehicle. 3.1 The learned advocate for the applicant further submits that the applicant shall abide by all the conditions that may be imposed while granting anticipatory bail to the applicant. Accordingly, it is urged that this application may be allowed by granting anticipatory bail to the applicant.
4. As against this, the learned Additional Public Prosecutor appearing on behalf of the respondent - State has opposed grant of anticipatory bail looking to the nature and gravity of the offence and requested not to entertain this Page 2 of 7 Uploaded by M.H. DAVE(HC00193) on Wed Apr 22 2026 Downloaded on : Thu Apr 23 03:40:23 IST 2026 NEUTRAL CITATION R/CR.MA/8421/2026 ORDER DATED: 21/04/2026 undefined application. She submitted that the applicant is dealing in transporting illicit liquor in Gujarat; that the pickup vehicle bearing registration No.GJ-08-AW-6784, which is of his ownership, which was used for transporting the said liquor, is also under investigation.
5. Having heard the learned advocates appearing for the parties and perusing the papers available on record, it is incumbent upon the Court to exercise its discretion judiciously, cautiously and strictly in compliance with the basic principles laid down in plethora of decisions of the Apex Court on the point. It is well settled that, among other circumstances, the factors to be borne in mind while considering an application for bail are (i) the nature and gravity of the accusation; (ii) the antecedents of the applicant including the fact as to whether he has previously undergone imprisonment on conviction by a Court in respect of any cognizable offence; (iii) the possibility of the applicant to flee from justice; and (iv) where the accusation has been made with the object of injuring or humiliating the applicant by having him so arrested. Though, at the stage of granting bail, an elaborate examination of evidence and detailed reasons touching the merits of the case, which may prejudice the case of accused, should be avoided, however, following aspects have been taken into consideration : Page 3 of 7 Uploaded by M.H. DAVE(HC00193) on Wed Apr 22 2026 Downloaded on : Thu Apr 23 03:40:23 IST 2026
NEUTRAL CITATION R/CR.MA/8421/2026 ORDER DATED: 21/04/2026 undefined
a) In investigation, it has been found out that the owner of the vehicle viz., Mafaji Madhaji Thakore had sold the vehicle to one Ilias Iqbalkhan Jamad and thereafter, said Ilias has sold the vehicle to Amjadkhan Rasulkhan and as per the investigation, the owner of the said vehicle is Madevbhi Bhurabhai Rajput.
b) Offence is not punishable with life imprisonment or death penalty;
c) The applicant has no past antecedents;
d) The learned advocate for the applicant has assured that the applicant will not flee from justice and would be available during investigation as well as the trial.
e) Nothing is required to be recovered or discovered from the applicant;
f) No case for custodial interrogation is made out;
g) Even considering the decisions in the case of
Naim Ahamed vs. State NCT of Delhi
reported in 2023 SCC OnLine (SC) 89 as
well as unreported decision of Bombay High Court in the case of Anurag Ravindra Page 4 of 7 Uploaded by M.H. DAVE(HC00193) on Wed Apr 22 2026 Downloaded on : Thu Apr 23 03:40:23 IST 2026 NEUTRAL CITATION R/CR.MA/8421/2026 ORDER DATED: 21/04/2026 undefined Umaley vs. The State of Maharashtra;
6. Considering the aforesaid aspects and the law laid down by the Hon'ble Apex Court in the case of Siddharam Satlingappa Mhetre v. State of Maharashtra and Others, reported in (2011) 1 SCC 6941, wherein the Hon'ble Apex Court reiterated the law laid down by the Constitution Bench in the case of Shri Gurubaksh Singh Sibbia & Others, reported in (1980) 2 SCC 665 and also the decision in the case of Sushila Aggarwal v. State (NCT of Delhi), reported in (2020) 5 SCC 1, the Court is inclined to allow the present application.
7. In the result, this application is allowed by directing that in the event of arrest/ appearance of the applicant in connection with the above-referred FIR, the applicant shall be released on bail on furnishing a personal bond of Rs.10,000/- (Rupees Ten Thousand) with one surety of like amount on the following conditions that applicant:
(a) shall cooperate with the investigation and make available for interrogation whenever required;
(b) shall not directly or indirectly make any inducement, threat or promise to any person acquainted Page 5 of 7 Uploaded by M.H. DAVE(HC00193) on Wed Apr 22 2026 Downloaded on : Thu Apr 23 03:40:23 IST 2026 NEUTRAL CITATION R/CR.MA/8421/2026 ORDER DATED: 21/04/2026 undefined with the fact of the case so as to dissuade him from disclosing such facts to the court or to any police officer;
(c) shall not obstruct or hamper the police investigation and not to play mischief with the evidence collected or yet to be collected by the police;
(d) shall remain present at the concerned Police Station on 30.04.2026 between 11.00 a.m. and 2.00 p.m.;
(e) shall at the time of execution of bond, furnish the address to the investigating officer and the court concerned and shall not change residence till the final disposal of the case till further orders;
(f) shall not leave India without the permission of the Court and if having passport shall deposit the same before the trial Court within a week;
(g) It is open to the police or the investigating agency to move the learned trial Court for a direction under Section 483(2) of the BNSS to arrest the accused, in the event of violation of any term, such as absconding, non-cooperating during investigation, evasion, Page 6 of 7 Uploaded by M.H. DAVE(HC00193) on Wed Apr 22 2026 Downloaded on : Thu Apr 23 03:40:23 IST 2026 NEUTRAL CITATION R/CR.MA/8421/2026 ORDER DATED: 21/04/2026 undefined intimidation or inducement to witnesses with a view to influence outcome of the investigation or trial, etc. 7.1 At the trial, the Trial Court shall not be influenced by the prima facie observations made by this Court while considering the bail application.
8. It is made clear that this order of anticipatory bail does not in any manner limit or restrict the rights or duties of the police or investigative agency to investigate into the charges against the applicant who is granted pre-arrest bail.
9. Rule is made absolute to the aforesaid extent.
Direct service is permitted.
(SANJEEV J.THAKER,J) M.H. DAVE/18 Page 7 of 7 Uploaded by M.H. DAVE(HC00193) on Wed Apr 22 2026 Downloaded on : Thu Apr 23 03:40:23 IST 2026