NANDA PRASAD SARMA Vs. STATE OF ASSAM

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Heard Mr. B.K. Mahajan, learned counsel for the petitioners and Mr. B.B. Gogoi, learned Additional Public Prosecutor for the respondent, State of Assam.

(2.) By this application under Section 438, Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (CrPC), the petitioners viz. 1) Nanda Prasad Sarma @ Nanda Sarma, 2) Pramod Ch. Barman, 3) Ajit Barman, 4) Kamalendra Nath Sarma, 5) Gunendra Phukan, 6) Debajit Phukan, 7) Kartik Seal, 8) Rahman Ali, 9) Anup Kr. Sarma and 10) Nurzaman Hoque have approached this Court seeking the benefit of pre-arrest bail, apprehending their arrest in connection with Basistha Police Station Case no. 771/2020 registered for offences under Sections 120B/468/471/420, Indian Penal Code (IPC) read with Section 41 of the Assam Forest Regulation Act.

(3.) The First Information Report (FIR) has been lodged by a Sub-Inspector of Police attached to Jorabat Police Outpost on 11.06.2020. In the FIR, it has been stated that on receipt of information to the effect that some antisocial elements had been carrying illegal timbers from different places of Meghalaya/Assam via Jorabat in order to evade tax, he intercepted a ten wheeler truck (ML-06-9516) loaded with timbers suspected to be illegally brought. In the said FIR, the informant has named Faruk Raja @ Bablu Ali, Bishwajit Deka, Pankaj Dutta, Prakash, Bijay Shah, Jintu, Kancha, Aminul Ali, Padam, Ramu, Devid Pandey, Paramananda and Amit to be involved in illegal trade of timbers and transportation of illegal timbers.