Bharani @ Paranidaran v. State Represented By
IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT MADRAS
DATED: 13-05-2026
CORAM
THE HON'BLE MR.JUSTICE P. DHANABAL CRL OP No. 12318 of 2026 Bharani @ Paranidaran ..Petitioner(s) Vs State represented by The Inspector of Police, CSCID Police Station, Coimbatore District.
(Crime No.73 of 2026) ..Respondent(s) PRAYER: Criminal Original Petition filed under Section 482 of BNSS, 2023, praying to enlarge the petitioner on bail in the event of his arrest in Crime No.73 of 2026 pending investigation on the file the respondent police and pass such other orders deems fit and proper for the circumstances of the case and thus render justice.
For Petitioner(s):
Mr.C. Ramkumar For Respondent(s):
Mr.S.Balaji Government Advocate (Crl. Side)
ORDER
The petitioner / Accused 5, who apprehends arrest in the hands of the respondent police for the offences punishable under Sections 4(1)(b), 7(1)(a), 7(1)(b), and 7(1)(c) of the Liquefied Petroleum Gas (Regulation of Supply and Distribution) Order, 2000, read with Section 7(1)(a)(ii) of the Essential
Commodities Act, 1955, in connection with Cr. No. 73 of 2026, seeks anticipatory bail.
2.The case of the prosecution is that the petitioner is an authorized dealer of LPG commercial gas cylinders, running an agency named "Aditya Total Gas Agency" along with co-accused A-2. The respondent police intercepted other co-accused persons who are neither authorized dealers nor sub-dealers, and seized 122 commercial LPG cylinders (86 empty and 36 filled cylinders) from their possession. It is further alleged that they lacked the mandatory PESO license and GST registration, and the petitioner has been implicated on the suspicion of creating an artificial demand to sell cylinders at higher prices. Hence, the case.
3.The learned counsel for the petitioner would contend that there are totally five accused in this case and this petitioner has been arrayed as A-5 solely on the basis of the confession statement of the co-accused. He would submit that the petitioner runs a legitimate gas agency under a valid license and possesses clear invoices to demonstrate that the recovered cylinders were never supplied by his agency. He further submits that this is the second anticipatory bail application, as the earlier application in Crl. O.P. No. 9542 of 2026 was dismissed as withdrawn on 17.04.2026. Since the main co-accused persons (A-1 and A-2) have already been arrested and released on bail by the learned Judicial
Magistrate Court-IV, Coimbatore, in Crl. M.P. No. 3133 of 2026 and Crl. M.P. No. 3250 of 2026, and given that the petitioner has no previous cases, he prays for the grant of anticipatory bail.
4.The learned Government Advocate (Criminal Side) appearing for the respondent police would submit that a large cache of 122 LPG cylinders was seized from unauthorized individuals linked to the petitioner's network. He confirms that the petitioner was implicated based on the confession statements of the co-accused and that the primary co-accused persons have already been enlarged on regular bail. However, he opposed the grant of anticipatory bail on the ground that the investigation is still ongoing. 5.Heard both sides and perused the materials available on record. 6.Considering the rival submissions on either side, the nature of the offences, and the fact that the petitioner has been implicated primarily on the basis of a co-accused's confession statement, and taking note of the fact that the co-accused persons have already been arrested and released on regular bail, and there are no previous cases of similar nature pending against the petitioner, I am inclined to grant anticipatory bail to the petitioner subject to the following conditions.
7.Accordingly, the petitioner is ordered to be released on bail in the event of arrest or on his appearance, within a period of fifteen days from the date on which the order copy made ready, before the learned Judicial Magistrate CourtIV, Coimbatore, on condition that the petitioner shall execute a bond for a sum of Rs.10,000/- (Rupees Ten Thousand only) with two sureties each for a like sum to the satisfaction of the learned Magistrate concerned and on further condition that:
[a] the petitioner shall report before the respondent police on every Saturday at 10.00 a.m for a period of four weeks and thereafter as and when required for interrogation;
[b] the petitioner shall not, directly or indirectly, make any inducement, threat or promise to any person acquainted with the facts of the case so as to dissuade her from disclosing such facts to the Court or to any police officer; [c] the petitioner shall not leave India without the previous permission of the Court;
[d] the petitioner shall not abscond either during investigation or trial; [e] On breach of any of the aforesaid conditions, the learned Magistrate/Trial Court is entitled to take appropriate action against the petitioner in accordance with law as if the conditions have been imposed and the petitioner released on bail by the learned Magistrate/Trial Court himself as laid down by the Hon'ble Supreme Court in P.K.Shaji vs. State of Kerala [(2005)AIR SCW 5560];
[f] If the accused thereafter abscond, a fresh FIR can be registered under Section 269 BNSS, 2023.
13-05-2026 SHA/MKA Note:
1. Registry is directed to forthwith upload this order in the Official Website of this Court.
2. All concerned to act on this order being uploaded in Official Website of this Court without insisting on certified hard copies. To be noted, this order when uploaded in the official website of this Court will be watermarked and will also have a QR code.
To:
1.The Judicial Magistrate Court-IV, Coimbatore.
2.The Inspector of Police, CSCID Police Station, Coimbatore District.
3.The Public Prosecutor, Madras High Court, Chennai.
P.DHANABAL, J.
SHA/MKA CRL OP No. 12318 of 2026 13-05-2026