Jharkhand HC grants Anticipatory Bail to Scrap Dealer with GST reg, Citing Lack of Criminal Antecedents [Read Order]

The Jharkhand High Court, in its recent ruling, has granted anticipatory bail to a scrap dealer with a Goods and Services Tax (GST) registration, who was apprehending arrest in a case concerning the seizure of iron scrap.

The court held that the petitioner's status as a legitimate scrap dealer with a GST registration, coupled with his clean criminal record, was sufficient grounds to grant the relief, outweighing the prosecution's allegations.

The petitioner, Dineshwar Saw, was apprehending his arrest in connection with Telaiya P.S. Case No. 240 of 2025, registered under sections 303(2), 317(2), and 317(5) of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNS), 2023. He approached the High Court seeking pre-arrest bail.

Counsel for the petitioner submitted that he is a scrap dealer and the owner of the seized iron scrap, which was legitimately sold to M/s Tushyam Mattel Pvt. Limited and was not stolen property. It was also emphasised that the petitioner has no criminal antecedents.

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Per contra, counsel for the State opposed the prayer, though the primary submission was that the scrap had been sold by the petitioner, a fact which the petitioner's own counsel had already asserted.

A single bench of Mr. Justice Sanjay Kumar Dwivedi, considering that the petitioner is a scrap dealer with no criminal history, was inclined to grant anticipatory bail. Accordingly, the court directed the petitioner to surrender before the learned court within three weeks. Upon his surrender or arrest, he shall be released on bail upon furnishing bail bonds of Rs. 25,000/- with two sureties of the like amount, subject to the conditions laid down under Section 482(2) of B.N.S.S, 2023.

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