Madras High Court

Banshilal vs State By on 25 March, 2025

Author: M.Nirmal Kumar

Bench: M.Nirmal Kumar

                                                                                          Crl.R.C.No.421 of 2025


                                  IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT MADRAS

                                                  DATED : 25.03.2025

                                                           CORAM

                                  THE HONOURABLE MR.JUSTICE M.NIRMAL KUMAR

                                                 Crl.R.C.No.421 of 2025

                     Banshilal                                                        ... Petitioner

                                                               Vs.

                     State By:
                     Station House Officer,
                     Villupuram PS, CBCID-North,
                     Villupuram District.
                     (Crime No.4/2024)

                     Now Pending:
                     State by,
                     Superintendent of Police,
                     CBI/STB/Chennai.
                     RC.5(S)/21025                                                    ... Respondent



                     PRAYER: Criminal Revision Petition filed under Sections 438 and 442 of
                     BNSS, to call for the records and set aside the order passed by the learned
                     Chief Judicial Magistrate, Kallakurichi in Crl.M.P.No.201 of 2025 dated
                     31.01.2025 in RC.5(S)/2025 now pending on the file of the Superintendent
                     of Police, CBI/STB/Chennai and enlarge the petitioner on bail pending


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                                                                                              Crl.R.C.No.421 of 2025


                     investigation in RC.5(S)/2025 on the file of the Superintendent of Police,
                     CBI/STB/Chennai.

                                        For Petitioner         :        Mr.A.Nagarajan
                                                                        for Mr.K.R.Ramesh Kumar

                                        For Respondent         :        Mr.K.Srinivasan
                                                                        Special Public Prosecutor
                                                                        for CBI Cases

                                                                   ORDER

This Criminal Revision Case is filed to set aside the order passed by

the learned Chief Judicial Magistrate, Kallakurichi in Crl.M.P.No.201 of

2025 dated 31.01.2025 in RC.5(S)/2025 now pending on the file of the

Superintendent of Police, CBI/STB/Chennai and enlarge the petitioner on

bail.

2.The petitioner/accused filed a bail application under Section 167(2)

Cr.P.C. before the learned Chief Judicial Magistrate, Kallakurichi in

Crl.M.P.No.201 of 2025 which was dismissed on 31.01.2025 for the reason

that pursuant to the orders passed by this Court on 20.11.2024 confirmed by

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the Apex Court by order dated 17.12.2024, Crime No.4 of 2024 registered

by CBCID, Villupuram has been transferred to CBI and re-registered as RC

5(S)/2025 on 25.01.2025. Since the learned Chief Judicial Magistrate,

Kallakurichi has now become functus officio and ceased of the matter, the

petition was dismissed. Following the same, the petitioner filed a Statutory

bail petition before the learned Chief Judicial Magistrate, Chengalpattu,

who returned the petition on 04.03.2025, which reads as follows:

1) This petitioner/accused has already been filed a petition before the Chief Judicial Magistrate, Kallakurichi in Crl.M.P.No.201/2025 which was dismissed on 31.01.2025.

2) The case was filed by CBCID, Villupuram Cr.No.4/2024 u/s.328, 304(2) IPC and Sec 4(1)(i) and 4(1- A) of TN Prohibition Act relating to death of more persons due to the consumption of illicit arrack has been re- registered as CBI Cr.No.RC5(S)/2025/CBI/STB/Chennai.

3) CBI/STB, Chennai has been filed FIR against the accused in Cr.No.5/S/2025 on 21.01.2025 and the same was received by this Court only on 29.01.2025.

In view of the above reason this bail petition is not maintainable and hence this bail petition is returned.

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Against which, the present petition is filed.

3.The contention of the learned counsel for the petitioner is that since

the bail petition of the petitioner in Crl.M.P.No.201 of 2025 was dismissed

by the learned Chief Judicial Magistrate, Kallakurichi on 31.01.2025, the

petitioner filed a bail petition before the learned Chief Judicial Magistrate,

Chengalpattu on 01.03.2025 but the same not entertained and returned on

04.03.2025. He would submit that the learned Chief Judicial Magistrate,

Chengalpattu returning the petitioner's bail petition without adjudication is

not proper. Admittedly the petitioner was arrested in the above case on

24.06.2024. He would submit that the petitioner appeared before the

Prohibition and Enforcement Department, St.Thomas Mount, gave his

statement, thereafter he was taken to Kallakurichi on the same day and

produced before the Additional Superintendent of Police, Cyber Crime

Wing, Kallakurichi at DSP Camp Office where he was shown arrest. The

allegation against the petitioner is that he is the owner of M/s.Divya

Chemical Corporation at Chennai, he purchased NBA-Normal Butanol

Alcohol (Printing), Toluene (Printing Rubber Solution), Ethyle Acetate

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(Printing), Thinner, MDC-Methylene Di Chloride, N-Hazane, Iso Propelye

Alcohol, Acetone, Xylene, Acide from M/s.Lakshmi Enterprises,

B.R.Traders, Vishnu Enterprises, Hyderabad and sold it to some person who

had mixed with some other chemicals and sold it as illicit arrack and by

consuming the same, many innocent people died. He further submitted that

pursuant to the petitioner's arrest, he was detained under Goondas Act by

the District Collector, Kallakurichi by order dated 25.08.2024 and this

Court in H.C.P.No.2528 of 2024 by order dated 06.01.2025 quashed the

detention order. Thereafter, the petitioner filed the bail petition on the

ground that in this case, the petitioner is in confinement for more than 110

days, interim charge sheet filed on 09.10.2024, returned and as on date,

there is no charge sheet filed in the case but the Court below failed to

consider the same. It is admitted that the interim final report returned to

CBCID on 26.11.2024 and now the present Investigation Agency took up

investigation on 25.01.2025 and as on date, there is no final report filed.

The petitioner's statutory right for bail accrued to him which is a

constitutional guarantee and it cannot be denied to the petitioner on

technicalities. He would further submit that one of the co-accused Madesh

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whose statutory bail application was dismissed by the learned Chief Judicial

Magistrate, Kallakurichi in Crl.M.P.No.133 of 2024 by order dated

30.09.2024 and this Court by order dated 09.01.2025 in Crl.R.C.No.1871 of

2024 finding that the investigation now transferred to CBI would hardly

make any difference while considering the indefeasible right of the

petitioner to be released on default bail.

4.In support of his contention, the learned counsel for the petitioner

relied upon the decision of the Apex Court in the case of Rakesh Kumar

Paul vs. State of Assam reported in (2017) 15 SCC 67 and the decision of

this Court in the case of R.Henry Paul vs. The State of Tamil Nadu

[Crl.O.P.No.14316 of 2021 dated 31.01.2022], wherein this Court referring

to various judgments of the Apex Court and finding that the admitted

position is that the charge sheet on the day of consideration of bail

application not filed whatever may be the reason, granted statutory bail. But

in this case, neither the Chief Judicial Magistrate, Kallakurichi nor the Chief

Judicial Magistrate, Chengalpattu considered the indefeasible right accrued

to the petitioner for default bail for non-filing of charge sheet. The Court

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below denying the Constitutional right and mechanically returning the

statutory bail petition is not proper. He would submit that there are totally

24 accused, of which 15 accused granted bail either by this Court or by the

learned Chief Judicial Magistrate, Kallakurichi or the learned Chief Judicial

Magistrate, Chengalpattu. Hence, prayed for granting of bail.

5.The learned Special Public Prosecutor filed his counter stating

pursuant to the orders of this Court and the Apex Court, the case in Crime

No.4 of 2024 of CBCID, Villupuram has been transferred to CBID and re-

registered as RC 5(S)/2025 on 21.01.2025. The case is that on 19.06.2024

at about 6.00 p.m., one Subramaniam, resident of Raja Veedhi,

Seshasamudram, Sankarapuram Taluk consumed illicit arrack and on

20.06.2024 at about 11.00 a.m., he was rushed to Kallakurichi Government

hospital due to nausea and loss of vision. According to his wife, he

consumed illicit arrack sold in the Village by Ravi Chinna Durai and Joseph

Raja. Thereafter on 22.06.2024, the said Subramaniam died in the

Government Hospital. Based on the complaint given by his wife Vasantha

Maral, a case in Crime No.334 of 2024 for the offence under Sections 328

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and 302 IPC and Section 4(1)(i) and 4(1-A) of Tamil Nadu Prohibition Act

was registered. Thereafter, the case was transferred to the Crime Branch

CID (CBCID) for further investigation vide proceedings of the Director

General of Police and Head of Police Force in Rc.No.02892/C.II(1)/2024

dated 19.06.2024 and the case was re-registered by Villupuram CBCID in

Crime No.4 of 2024. On investigation, it is revealed that in furtherance of

the criminal conspiracy among the accused persons, the petitioner who

owns M/s.Divya Chemicals at Madhavaram. Chennai on 10.06.2024

illegally sold six barrels (each 200 litres capacity) of ethyl alcohol mixed

with methyl alcohol to accused Madesh through another accused Sivakumar

without any receipt on 10.06.2024. Thereafter on 16.06.2024 the accused

Madesh transported three barrels of ethyl alcohol, methyl alcohol mixture to

Kallakurichi and later the same was transferred into 17 cans [each 35 litres

capacity] and sold to the accused Nadupaiyan @ Joseph for human

consumption which was later supplied to the public through the prohibition

offenders and caused liquor tragedy. During the course of investigation by

CBCID, part of illicit liquor seized from the accused persons and forwarded

for chemical analysis. The report received from the Forensic Science

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Department confirms the presence of Ethanol and Methanol which lead to

the death of many persons. It is submitted that the learned Chief Judicial

Magistrate earlier dismissed the bail petition of the petitioner on 31.01.2025

in Crl.M.P.No.201 of 2025 for want of jurisdiction. Subsequently, the bail

petition filed by the petitioner before the learned Chief Judicial Magistrate,

Chengalpattu was returned on 04.03.2025 considering the gravity of the

offences levelled against the petitioner. It is further submitted that

investigation requires to be carried out by CBI to find out as to whether

these chemicals were procured without following the norms and to whom

they were supplied, etc. Hence, prayed for dismissal.

6.Considering the submissions made and on perusal of the materials,

it is seen that no doubt the offence is of serious in nature. As regards the

petitioner, he is the owner of M/s.Divya Chemicals at Madhavaram,

Chennai. He illegally sold six barrels (each 200 litres capacity) of ethyl

alcohol mixed with methyl alcohol to accused Madesh through another

accused Sivakumar without any receipt on 10.06.2024. Thereafter on

16.06.2024 the accused Madesh transported three barrels of ethyl alcohol,

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methyl alcohol mixture to Kallakurichi and later the same was transferred

into 17 cans and sold to the accused Nadupaiyan @ Joseph for human

consumption. Admittedly the petitioner is not a named accused and he was

subsequently arrayed as accused on the confession of co-accused. In this

case, the petitioner appeared before the CBCID Police and thereafter, he

was shown arrest. From the date of his arrest, he is in confinement, he was

detained under Goondas Act and later, the detention order was quashed by

this Court in H.C.P.No.2528 of 2024 by order dated 06.01.2025. The

petitioner is in confinement for more than 110 days, charge sheet though

attempted to be filed earlier returned and as on date, there is no charge sheet

in the above case. It is also to be seen that the case is now transferred to

CBI on the orders of this Court and the CBI took up investigation only on

25.01.2025. The right of statutory bail cannot be denied on these

technicalities and this Court in Crl.R.C.No.1871 of 2024 dated 09.01.2025

considered this aspect and granted bail to the co-accused, who is also

similarly placed as that of the petitioner. In view of the above, this Court

inclined to set aside the impugned order and the petitioner, is therefore

granted bail.

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7.Accordingly, this criminal revision case stands allowed and the

order dated 31.01.2025 passed in Crl.M.P.No.201 of 2025 by the learned

Chief Judicial Magistrate, Kallakurichi, is set aside and the petitioner is

ordered to be released on bail on the following conditions:

(i)The petitioner shall execute a bond for a sum of Rs.10,000/~ (Rupees ten thousand only), with two sureties, each for a like sum to the satisfaction of the learned Chief Judicial Magistrate, Chengalpattu.

(ii)The petitioner and the sureties shall affix their photographs and Left Thumb Impression in the surety bond and the Trial Court may obtain a copy of their Aadhar card or Bank pass Book and mobile numbers to ensure their identity; and

(iii) The petitioner shall appear before the respondent/CBI daily for a period of thirty days and thereafter as and when required.

(iv) The petitioner shall not commit any offences of similar nature;

(v) The petitioner shall not abscond either during investigation or trial;

(vi) The petitioner not tamper with evidence or

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witness either during investigation or trial;

(vii) On breach of any of the aforesaid conditions, the learned Sessions Judge/Trial Court is entitled to take appropriate action against the petitioner in accordance with law as if the conditions have been imposed and the petitioner released on bail by the learned Sessions Judge/Trial Court himself as laid down by the Hon-ble Supreme Court in P.K.Shaji vs. State of Kerala [(2005)AIR SCW 5560]; and