MANOJ KUMAR LADHA Vs. CENTRAL BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The petitioner is an accused in Special Case No. 3 of 2022 arising out of RC 8(A) of 2022 registered by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI for short) for the offences punishable under Ss. 7 and 8 of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988 read with Sec. 120-B of the Indian Penal Code. A copy of the FIR has been brought on record by way of Annexure-1 to the writ petition, from which it transpires that the petitioner is one of the Directors of M/s Abha Agro Industries Private Limited and M/s Abha Agro Export Private Limited. Based on a secret information to the effect that the petitioner and other persons, under a well-made conspiracy with the officials of East Central Railway Headquarter (ECR), Hajipur were availing out-of-turn allotment of railway rake services, having extra stacking time for their firms and other undue advantages in exchange of payment of huge bribes on monthly basis to the public servants, a trap was laid by a CBI team on 31/7/2022, during the course of which the petitioner's driver was caught giving bribe to a co-accused Sanjay Kumar, CFTM, ECR, Hajipur at his residence at Patna to the tune of Rs.6.00 lakhs. From the possession of said Sanjay Kumar further incriminating materials in terms of cash were subsequently recovered.

(2.) The petitioner who is a chargesheeted accused in the aforesaid case has been arrested by the CBI on 25/10/2022 and has been sent to judicial custody by an order dtd. 26/10/2022 passed by the learned Special Judge, CBI-I, Patna, which has been brought on record by way of Annexure-10 to this writ application.

(3.) The petitioner has filed the present writ application seeking issuance of a writ in the nature of writ of Habeas Corpus by directing the respondents for production of the petitioner and his immediate release from the judicial custody. The relief is being sought on the premise that the order of remand dtd. 26/10/2022 passed by the learned Incharge Court of CBI-I, Patna is in violation of the provisions of Sec. 41-A of the Code of Criminal Procedure as well as the guidelines issued by the Supreme Court in case of Arnesh Kumar vs. State of Bihar and another reported in (2014) 8 SCC 273 and Satender Kumar Antil vs. Central Bureau of Investigation and another reported in (2022) 10 SCC 51.