Basanta Behera Vs State of Odisha — Orissa HC (2026) — LawSathi Research

Basanta Behera Vs State of Odisha — Orissa HC (2026) — LawSathi Research

What the court decided

AI extract

Outcome

Pre-arrest bail refused; ABLAPL disposed of with directions: surrender before learned J.M.F.C.-III, Bhubaneswar within one month; bail application thereafter to be considered on merits in the first hour of the day; if rejected, liberty to move the higher forum for bail in the second hour on the same day, with the higher forum requested to endeavour same-day disposal; ground of parity, if any, left for consideration by the courts below.

Issue for consideration

Whether the Petitioner is entitled to pre-arrest (anticipatory) bail in connection with C.T. Case No.140 of 2026 / Sahidnagar P.S. Case No.56 of 2026 for offences punishable under Sections 126(2)/296/351(2)/115(2)/74/3(5) of BNS Act read with Section 25(1)(B) of Arms Act. +2 more

Court's answer

Considering the nature of allegations, the Court declined to entertain the ABLAPL, thereby refusing pre-arrest bail to the Petitioner.

Ratio / Principle

The Petitioner is directed to surrender before the learned J.M.F.C.-III, Bhubaneswar in connection with the aforementioned case within one month from the date of the order.

Key takeaways

If the Petitioner surrenders and moves for bail, the learned J.M.F.C.III, Bhubaneswar is to consider the bail prayer on merits in the first hour of the day.ratio¶20
In the event of rejection of the prayer for bail by the learned J.M.F.C.-III, Bhubaneswar, the Petitioner is at liberty to move the higher forum for bail in the second hour on the same day.ratio¶21
On being so moved, the higher forum is requested to endeavour to dispose of the Petitioner's bail application on the same day.

Detailed headnote1 paragraphs

Anticipatory bail (ABLAPL No.2278 of 2026, High Court of Orissa at Cuttack, Justice V. Narasingh, order dated 13.05.2026) sought by Basanta Behera in C.T. Case No.140 of 2026 before J.M.F.C.-III, Bhubaneswar, arising out of Sahidnagar P.S. Case No.56 of 2026, for offences under Sections 126(2)/296/351(2)/115(2)/74/3(5) of BNS Act read with Section 25(1)(B) of Arms Act. Counsel urged that the allegations were omnibus and that a similarly placed co-accused had already been released; the State opposed the prayer citing four prior cases (2021-2025) against the Petitioner. Considering the nature of allegations, the Court declined to entertain the ABLAPL but disposed of it with procedural safeguards: surrender within one month, first-hour merits consideration of bail by the J.M.F.C.-III, recourse to the higher forum in the second hour on the same day upon rejection, case diary to be made available, and the ground of parity left for consideration by the courts below.

IN THE HIGH COURT OF ORISSA AT CUTTACK ABLAPL No.2278 of 2026

Basanta Behera

Petitioner

Mr. S. Sahoo, Advocate

-versus-

State of Odisha

…. Opposite Party

Mr. M.R. Mohanty, AGA

CORAM: JUSTICE V. NARASINGH ORDER

13.05.2026

Order No.

02. 1. Heard learned counsel for the Petitioner and learned counsel for the State.

The Petitioner is seeking pre-arrest bail in connection with C.T. Case No.140 of 2026 pending on the file of learned J.M.F.C.-III, Bhubaneswar, arising out of Sahidnagar P.S. Case No.56 of 2026, for commission of offences punishable under Sections 126(2)/296/351(2)/115(2)/74/3(5) of BNS Act read with Section 25(1)(B) of Arms Act.

It is submitted by the learned counsel for the Petitioner that the allegations are omnibus in nature and the co-accused who is similarly placed has since been released from custody. Hence, the Petitioner may be protected by pre-arrest bail.

Learned counsel for the State opposes the prayer for pre-arrest bail in view of the criminal antecedents of the Petitioner which run thus:-

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“1. Saheednagar P.S. Case No-175 dt.19.04.2021 U/s-294/ 332/ 341/ 353/ 379/ 427/ 506/ 34 IPC

Saheednagar P.S Case No528 dt.26.12.2021 U/s- 379/34 IPC 3. Saheednagar P.S Case No. 468 dt. 05.10.2022 U/s-294/323/336/341/506 IPC 4. Saheednagar P.S Case No. 16 dt.20.01.2025 U/s 126(2)/ 296/ 351(2)/ 115(2)/ 125 BNS.”

Considering the nature of allegations, this Court is not inclined to entertain the ABLAPL. However, it is directed that the Petitioner may surrender before the learned J.M.F.C.-III, Bhubaneswar in connection with the aforementioned case within one month from today.

In the event of his surrender and motion for bail, the same be considered by the learned J.M.F.C.III, Bhubaneswar on merits, in the first hour of the day.

In the event of rejection of the prayer for bail by the learned J.M.F.C.-III, Bhubaneswar, the Petitioner is at liberty to move the higher forum for bail in the second hour on the same day.

On being so moved, the higher forum is requested to make an endeavor to dispose of the bail application of the Petitioner on the same day.

The case diary be made available to the concerned courts to facilitate disposal of the bail

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application of the Petitioner and learned J.M.F.C.-III, Bhubaneswar is called upon to transmit the case record to the higher forum at the earliest in the event of rejection of such bail application.

Ground of parity, if any, may be considered by the learned court(s) below.

The ABLAPL is accordingly disposed of.

(V. NARASINGH)

Judge

Ayesha

Signature Not Verified

Digitally Signed Signed by: AYESHA ROUT Reason: Authentication Location: High Court of Orissa, C utta ck Date: 14-May-2026 19:25:54

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