Allowed

Rohit v. State of U.P.

Allahabad HC6 Sept 2023BAIL/39156/2023

Case brief

AI extract

What is this about?

The High Court allowed bail in a narcotics case under the N.D.P.S. Act. The court found violations of mandatory recovery and sampling procedures under the Act and Rules, noting no independent witness to recovery and lack of F.S.L. report. The applicant has no criminal antecedents, and no reasonable apprehension of tampering was established.

What did the court decide?

Released on bail on personal bond and two sureties in like amount, subject to conditions against tampering with evidence and pressurizing witnesses.

Rohit Vs State of U.P. — Narcotics (NDPS) | Allahabad HC (2023)

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Neutral Citation No. - 2023:AHC:176030

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Court No. - 74

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Case :- CRIMINAL MISC. BAIL APPLICATION No. - 39156 of 2023

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Applicant :- Rohit Opposite Party :- State of U.P. Counsel for Applicant :- Abhishek Mayank,Abhishek Srivastava Counsel for Opposite Party :- G.A.

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Hon'ble Vivek Varma,J.

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Learned A.G.A. for the State submits that the instructions have been received and he has no objection in case the bail application is decided on merits.

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Heard counsel for the applicant, learned A.G.A. for the Stateopposite party and perused the record.

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The instant bail application, under Section 439 Cr.P.C., has been filed with a prayer to enlarge the applicant on bail in Case Crime No. 318 of 2023, under Sections 8/20/60 N.D.P.S. Act, Police Station- Garh Mukteshwar, District- Hapur during the pendency of trial.

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Counsel for the applicant submitted that the applicant has been falsely implicated in the instant case. False recovery of 25 Kg. (five packets) Ganja has been shown from a car. There is no independent witness to the alleged recovery. The applicant has no concern with the alleged Ganja being transported in the vehicle. The applicant was the passenger in the said car. No accurate scientific instruments were used for weighment. The police has deliberately shown the quantity of the alleged narcotics substance higher in order to add gravity to the offence. The mandatory provisions contained under Sections 42, 50 and 51 of the N.D.P.S. Act have not been complied with. It is next contended that procedure prescribed in the Rule 10 (1) of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (Seizure, Storage, Sampling and Disposal) Rules, 2022 have been violated. There is no F.S.L. report to establish that the packets contain Ganja. The applicant is in jail since 20.07.2023, having no criminal history. In case, he is enlarged on bail, he will not misuse the said liberty.

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Learned AGA has opposed the prayer for bail but could not satisfactorily dispute the aforesaid submissions from the record.

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Having heard counsel for the parties this Court prima facie finds

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that the mandate of Chapter 5 of the N.D.P.S. Act has not been followed. There is no independent witness to the recovery. The procedure of sampling adopted is in violation of the Rule 10 (1) of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (Seizure, Storage, Sampling and Disposal) Rules, 2022. Further the applicant has no criminal antecedents and has remained confined for more than one and a half month and after submission of the charge-sheet there is no hope of early conclusion of trial, more so when no reasonable apprehension has been brought to the fore by the State that the applicant, if enlarged on bail, would either tamper with the evidence or delay the trial or intimidate the witness, without commenting on merits of the case, I am of the opinion that the applicant is entitled to be enlarged on bail.

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Let the applicant Rohit involved in the aforesaid case crime be released on bail on his furnishing a personal bond and two sureties each in the like amount to the satisfaction of the court concerned subject to the conditions that he:

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(i) shall appear on the date fixed by the trial court;

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(ii) shall not tamper with the prosecution evidence;

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(iii) shall not pressurize the prosecution witnesses.

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