HC denies bail to man held over alleged Maoist links, arms seizure

Raipur: The Chhattisgarh high court has rejected the bail plea of a 28-year-old man from Maoist-affected Sukma district's Chintalnar tehsil, who was arrested in Sept 2024 for alleged links to Maoist activities, and possession of arms and Naxalite literature.

A division bench of Chief Justice Ramesh Sinha and Justice Ravindra Kumar Agrawal said the trial court was free to expedite the hearing against the accused.

The appeal had challenged the Feb 14 order of the Special Sessions Judge, NIA Act, Bastar at Jagdalpur, Chhattisgarh, which had dismissed the bail plea filed under Section 483 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), 2023.

The Section 483 of the BNSS empowers the high court or session court to grant bail, impose or modify conditions, and ensure the public prosecutor is notified in serious cases.

The appellant, Mantosh Mandal, faces charges under various Acts, including the Explosive Substances Act.

In his appeal, the appellant prayed for the court to set aside the trial court. According to the case details, on Sept 25, 2024, police, acting on a tip-off, raided Mandal's house and apprehended him. During interrogation, he allegedly confessed to involvement in Naxalite activities since 2020.

Police allegedly seized explosive substances, including potassium nitrate, aluminum powder, a tiffin bomb, detonators, Naxalite literature, a laptop, and a mobile phone, from his possession, and subsequently arrested him.

The appellant's counsel argued that the arrest was based on mere suspicion, asserting that the appellant was a simple villager with no connection to any anti-social or Naxalite activity. The counsel claimed the seized articles were not exclusively in the appellant's possession and were attributed to him to strengthen the case.

Given the appellant's arrest, and the anticipated lengthy duration for the appeal's final adjudication, the counsel requested bail for the appellant.

Conversely, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) counsel opposed the bail plea, stating the recovery of explosive substances, including a tiffin bomb and Naxalite literature, directly links the appellant to the alleged offense.

The NIA counsel argued that the appellant's activities affect the public and cause harm to the nation, and considering the prima facie evidence, he was not entitled to bail.

After hearing both parties and reviewing the case material, the high court rejected Mandal's bail application.

The court directed the trial court to proceed and conclude the trial expeditiously, and ordered the HC registry to send a certified copy of the order to the trial court.