Gourav Kesan vs. The State Of Bihar

Facts

The petitioner, Gourv Kesan, is seeking bail in connection with Tatarpur P.S. Case No. 26 of 2023, registered for offences under the NDPS Act. The prosecution alleges that during a raid at the house of Khagesh Jha, 4200 bottles of codeine-rich cough syrup were seized from two individuals, Pappu Mishra and Amit Sah. Subsequently, at the instance of Khagesh Jha, papers related to Baba Enterprises and M.S. Garv Enterprises were seized from the petitioner's house. A raid at TCI Freight Godown resulted in the recovery of 24050 bottles of codeine-rich cough syrup, 39600 nitrazepam tablets, 35200 Tepantodal tablets, and 88400 Eudol and Tepantado tablets. The petitioner was arrested from FCI Godown and allegedly disclosed that he procured these substances from Uttar Pradesh through Baba Enterprises and Garv Enterprises and supplied them in Bhagalpur. Further, a raid at Agrav Carrier godown led to the arrest of Raj Kumar Singh and seizure of 6000 bottles of codeine-rich cough syrup. Raj Kumar Singh reportedly disclosed that the cough syrup belonged to M/s Gary Enterprises, licensed in the name of Kumar Gaurav, but operated by the petitioner. The petitioner claims to be an accountant for Baba Enterprises and Garv Enterprises, handling billing, accounts, and GST deposition.

Held

The Court granted bail to the petitioner. The reasoning was based on the submissions made by the learned Senior Counsel for the petitioner, particularly the fact that the main accused, Pappu Sonar, has already been released on bail. The Court also took into account that the petitioner has been in custody since January 20, 2023, and has no criminal antecedents. The Court found these factors sufficient to incline it towards granting the privilege of bail. The operative directions included releasing the petitioner on bail upon furnishing a bail bond of Rs. 50,000/- with two sureties of like amount, subject to several conditions, including appearing before the Trial Court on each date, monthly attendance at the police station for one year, not inducing or threatening witnesses, not tampering with evidence, and refraining from committing any further criminal offences. The Court expressly left no issues undecided.

Key Issues

1. Whether the petitioner is entitled to bail in connection with Tatarpur P.S. Case No. 26 of 2023 for offences under the NDPS Act, considering his role as an accountant and the release of co-accused on bail. The petitioner's counsel argued that the petitioner is merely an accountant for M/s Baba Enterprises and M.S. Garv Enterprises, responsible for billing, account maintenance, and GST deposition. They contended that the presence of invoices in his house was therefore not unusual. Furthermore, they highlighted that the main accused, Pappu Sonar, on whose confession the petitioner was implicated, has already been released on bail by a coordinate bench of this Court. The petitioner also stated that he has no prior criminal antecedents. The State, through the learned APP, opposed the prayer for bail, primarily relying on the recovery of invoices of alleged codeine syrup from the petitioner's house.