SC grants bail to Gujarat man accused of storing 23 kg cow meat for sale
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New Delhi: The Supreme Court has granted regular bail to a Gujarat man accused of possessing 23 kg of cow meat for alleged commercial sale, ruling that his previous criminal cases alone could not be grounds to presume his guilt in the current matter.
A bench of Justices Aravind Kumar and Vipul M. Pancholi passed the order on October 14 on an appeal filed by Mohammad Aarif Abdul Razak Samol, who had been in custody since January 3, 2026.
According to the prosecution, police recovered the meat from an open plot near Samol's residence. It alleged that the meat had been illegally procured, transported in a Swift car and stored for retail sale. Samol was also accused of fleeing during a police raid.
The Gujarat government opposed bail, citing five previous criminal cases involving similar allegations. It argued that his release could lead to a recurrence of such activities and that the trial was nearing completion.
Samol's counsel challenged the prosecution's version, contending that the case relied largely on circumstantial evidence. The defence maintained that the plot was not owned by Samol, was accessible to others and that the vehicle allegedly used for transportation did not belong to him.
The Supreme Court noted that the meat was recovered from an open plot and that the charge-sheet had been filed and the trial had commenced.
Holding that previous criminal cases could not independently establish guilt in the present matter, the bench granted Samol regular bail while clarifying that it had not examined the merits of the allegations.