BABU ABDUL RUF SARDAR Vs. STATE OF MAHARASHTRA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The present application is filed under Sec. 439 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 ( "Cr.P.C. " for short), by the applicant seeking his release on regular bail in connection with Crime Register No.1276 of 2024, registered with Wagle Estate Police Station. The applicant is facing prosecution for offences punishable under Ss. 335, 336(3), and 340 read with Sec. 3(5) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 ("BNS" for short), along with offences under Ss. 3(a) and 6(a) of the Passport (Entry into India) Act, 1950 and Ss. 3(1), 3(2), and 14 of the Foreigners Order, 1948.

(2.) As per the case of the prosecution, the applicant is alleged to have entered the territory of India without valid passport or travel documents, and to have deliberately suppressed his foreign nationality by creating and using forged Indian identity documents, such as Aadhaar Card and PAN Card. It is alleged that by falsely showing himself as a citizen of India, he not only misrepresented his status before the authorities but also obtained the Aadhaar Card by submitting fabricated documents.

(3.) The record further shows that at the time of his apprehension, the applicant was found in possession of a mobile phone which, upon forensic examination, contained digital copies of birth certificates of the applicant and his mother, allegedly issued by authorities in Bangladesh. The contents of these documents raise a strong prima facie suspicion that the applicant is a Bangladeshi national, who entered India in violation of immigration laws.