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Judgment
Learned counsel for the petitioners undertakes to file typed copy of the relevant pages in order to remove the defect no. 9(ii) within one week.
Heard learned counsel for the petitioners Mr. Prabhat Kumar Sinha and Mr. Prabir Kumar Chatterjee, learned A.P.P.
Petitioners seek protection of anticipatory bail in terms of section 438 of the Cr. P.C in connection with Ramgarh P.S. Case No. 17/2020 instituted
under section 54 of Jharkhand Minor Minerals (Concession) Rule, 2004 and section 21 of Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act,
1957 and pending in the Court of learned Chief Judicial Magistrate, Ramgarh.
Learned counsel for the petitioners submits that none of these petitioners were named in the FIR lodged on the written report of District Mining
Officer, Ramgarh on 15.01.2020. The seizure list was produced in Court on 07.02.2020 which itself renders the whole theory of seizure suspicious.
These petitioners have no criminal antecedent. They have approached this Court for Anticipatory Bail upon service of notice under section 41-A of
the Cr. P.C on 14.08.2020. Name of the petitioner no. 1 has transpired at para-96 of the case diary, as pointed out by the learned A.P.P, that there
was electrical connection in his name in respect of crusher found at the place of occurrence site. However, since the crusher business was
unprofitable, it was closed since long. However, in respect of the remaining petitioners, it is not reported by the concerned Electricity Supply Division,
Ramgarh that they had no electrical connection in their name to run crusher. As such, petitioners had no concern with any of the alleged crushers and
the land upon which crushers were situated. In similar circumstances, a Coordinate Bench of this Court has been pleased to grant anticipatory bail to
the five other co-accused persons in A.B.A No. 5709/2020 vide order dated 10.11.2020 on certain conditions. Petitioner no. 2 to 5 are, in any case,
unconnected with the crusher business, while petitioner no. 1 has categorically stated that the business was closed since long. Petitioners are ready to
abide by any conditions imposed for the purposes of anticipatory bail. They may suffer unnecessary incarceration, if not protected by anticipatory bail.
Learned A.P.P has opposed the prayer. He submits by reference to Para-96 of the case diary that the name of the petitioner no. 1 has transpired at
two places as having electrical connection in his name, though in respect of the remaining petitioners, report of the Electricity Supply Division,
Ramgarh does not mention reference of any electrical connection in their name. However, it is not a matter of speculation that these crushers are run
illegally without any factory licence or Consent to Operate (CTO) and no registration under Jharkhand Minerals (Prevention of Illegal Mining,
Transportation and Storage) Rules, 2017 was either taken to run this crusher. By illegal mining, lot of damage is being done to the natural resources
existing in the district and in the State at large by such persons.
I have considered the submissions of learned counsel for the parties and the facts and circumstances above. It appears that similarly situated co-
accused persons have been granted anticipatory bail in A.B.A. No. 5709/2020 on certain conditions including deposit of cash security of Rs. 10,000/-.
There is no electrical connection in the name of petitioner nos. 2 to 5, so far as seized crushers are concerned. Petitioners do not have any criminal
antecedent. In those circumstances, I am inclined to grant privilege of anticipatory bail to the petitioners. Accordingly, let the petitioners, above named,
in the event of their arrest or surrender within a period of four weeks, be released on bail, on furnishing bail bonds of Rs. 25,000/- (Rupees twenty five
thousand) each, with two sureties of the like amount each, to the satisfaction of learned Chief Judicial Magistrate, Ramgarh in connection with
Ramgarh P.S. Case No. 17/2020, subject to deposit of cash security of Rs. 10,000/- (Rupees ten thousand) each and the conditions as laid down under
section 438(2) of the Cr. P.C. Petitioners shall cooperate in the investigation. Petitioners and their bailors shall not change their address or mobile
number without permission of the learned Trial Court.