Ambikapur, Sep 30 (PTI) Surguja district administration has alleged “errors” in the order of a subordinate court in Ambikapur granting bail to an accused in a case involving the purported illegal ownership transfer of tribal land.
Surguja collector Ajeet Vasant on Wednesday wrote to the Principal District and Sessions Judge, Ambikapur, seeking action as per the rules.
In his letter, the collector referred to a report submitted by the Deputy Director of Prosecution, Ambikapur, which alleged that the accused was granted bail without hearing the prosecution.
The case relates to an offence registered on September 24 at Manipur police station in the district against Azad Iraqi, a resident of Jayanagar in Surajpur district, officials said.
The Court of Judicial Magistrate First Class Arindam Neral, Ambikapur, granted bail to the accused on September 25.
The collector’s letter stated that the bail plea was accepted based on a record indicating the presence of an ADPO (Assistant District Prosecution Officer) representing the State, even though no ADPO was actually present in court during the proceedings.
“Furthermore, the case involves land belonging to a person of the Gond caste, which falls under the Scheduled Tribe category. Accused persons belonging to the general category allegedly entered into a criminal conspiracy to have the land mutated in their own names by using forged documents and concealing the original owner’s caste status.
“Given these circumstances, Section 3(f) of the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989, is prima facie applicable to the case. Jurisdiction to hear this matter lies exclusively with the Special Court under the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act in Ambikapur,” it said.
The collector said that because the prosecution was denied the opportunity to present its case before the court, this crucial fact could not be placed on record.
“Despite this, the bail application submitted by the accused was accepted. Therefore, a report is being submitted for further action in the matter in accordance with the rules,” the letter said.
The Deputy Director of Prosecution, in his report to the collector, claimed that the investigation was still at a preliminary stage when the court granted bail without hearing the prosecution.
The report said the court order recorded that an ADPO was present on behalf of the state and that a copy of the bail application had been supplied to the prosecution. However, the prosecution office maintained that none of its officers was present in court for a hearing and it had not received a copy of the bail application.
The prosecution further contended that the bail order was passed after considering the submissions and documents placed by the accused’s counsel, without examining the seriousness and nature of the case and the facts mentioned in the FIR.
In a statement, the collector on Wednesday said the case concerning the alleged illegal transfer of ownership stemmed from a complaint of alleged encroachment of land, which exists in the form of a pond.
A complaint was received in April 2026 regarding the alleged illegal filling of the ‘Ring Bandh’ pond land in the Pratiksha bus stand area of Ambikapur, the Surguja headquarters, Vasant said.
Following the complaint, officials from the Revenue Department and the Municipal Corporation were ordered to clear the illegally filled pond.
While Municipal Corporation staff were removing soil from the pond, the accused, Azad Iraqi, allegedly obstructed official work and used abusive language against the officers and employees, he said.
Following the incident, a case was registered against Iraqi at Manipur police station under relevant sections of the BNS, and his anticipatory bail plea was rejected by the court of the Additional Sessions Judge, Ambikapur.
Subsequently, Iraqi approached the Chhattisgarh High Court in Bilaspur, which granted him anticipatory bail on May 13, the collector said.
The investigation found irregularities regarding the mutation of the said land. Consequently, the Sub-Divisional Officer (Revenue), Ambikapur, initiated proceedings to examine the validity of the mutation.
Meanwhile, another complaint was received stating that the land (Khasra No. 3714) was registered in the name of an individual belonging to a tribal community.
The investigation confirmed that Iraqi had allegedly purchased land belonging to a tribal in his own name, despite being a non-tribal, by allegedly fabricating documents, the collector said.
Based on this investigation report, another case was registered against Iraqi at the Manipur police station on September 24 under various provisions of the BNS.
On September 25, the accused was granted bail by the JMFC court. In a report submitted to the collector, the Deputy Director of Prosecution highlighted several alleged errors in the bail order, he said.
“Therefore, considering the gravity of the matter and the interests of the Scheduled Tribe community, it has been directed to immediately file an appeal against the said bail order in the competent court,” the collector added. PTI Cor TKP NSK
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