The pre-arrest bail was granted subject to the petitioner’s cooperation with the investigation. (Image Credit: https://www.sci.gov.in)
New Delhi/Dimapur, May 29 (MExN): The Supreme Court has granted interim pre-arrest bail to a retired Nagaland judicial officer in connection with a case involving alleged “misappropriation” of cash surety deposits amounting to Rs 14.35 lakh.
The relief came after Gauhati High Court Kohima Bench (GHCKB) on May 29 had declined to grant interim bail, citing the need to examine the case diary.
Thereafter, he approached the Supreme Court by filing a Special Leave Petition (SLP) and challenging the High Court order.
The retired judicial officer Inalo Zhimomi was seeking protection from arrest in connection with West P.S. Case No. 40/2025, registered under Sections 316(4)(5)/337/3(5) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).
During the hearing on June 16, the apex court bench of Justice Ujjal Bhuyan and Justice Manmohan held as the High Court has “deemed it appropriate to call for the case diary for further examination, we are of the view that the petitioner should have been granted the benefit of pre-arrest bail till the matter is decided by the High Court.”
Accordingly, the petitioner was “granted pre-arrest bail subject to cooperating with the investigation” till an anticipatory bail petition pending before the High Court is decided.
In must be noted here that during the May 29 proceedings at GHCKB, the petitioner’s counsel highlighted procedural lapses in the FIR and alleged irregularities in the treatment of cash surety deposits.
It was further submitted that the petitioner intends to challenge his compulsory retirement before the Supreme Court, following the dismissal of his Writ Petition in the High Court.
The petitioner contended that the FIR failed to specify the date and time of the alleged incident, even though it accuses him of misappropriating Rs 14.35 lakh deposited by bailors in various criminal cases.
It was also argued that the judicial officer was not personally responsible for receiving the cash deposits, and no objections were raised during his assumption of charge as Principal District Judge in April 2024.
In response, the State argued that the investigation was at a preliminary stage and sought additional time for the Investigating Officer (IO) to examine the matter and submit the case diary. The Public Prosecutor maintained that serious allegations were involved and pressed for deferring any decision on bail.
After considering the arguments, the High Court noted that the matter required further scrutiny.
Although it was submitted that petitioner’s counsel submitted that he was not “directly involved in receiving the cash amount, the case diary will be necessary to ascertain the facts and before passing any order on bail,” the Court held.
“Prima facie, it appears that serious allegations have been brought against the petitioner, a judicial officer who was discharging his duties as Principal District Judge at the relevant time of the incident,” the Court observed, adding that the role of the accused in the alleged misappropriation of cash sureties could not be ruled out without examining the case diary.
Thus, the Court declined to grant interim relief and fixed June 3 for the next hearing. However, on June 3, the matter was deferred, citing the present SLP pending before the Supreme Court.
As per the May 29 order of the GHCKB, Inalo Zhimomi, former Principal District Judge, was compulsorily retired from service on March 27, 2025, under Rule 20(20) of the Nagaland Judicial Service Rules, 2006.
This was followed by an order dated March 28, 2025, issued by the Registrar (Vigilance), revoking his suspension and directing him to hand over charge of his office by 4:30 PM on March 31, which he duly complied with.
