Manoj Prasad v. State of West Bengal
Case brief
What is this about?
The Calcutta High Court applied the legal principle that 'falsus in uno is not falsus in omnibus' in a bail matter under the NDPS Act. The court held that doubts arising from the electronic records of a co-accused did not affect the credibility of the petitioner who could not be equated with the co-accused.
What did the court decide?
Interim bail of the petitioner was cancelled and the bail application was rejected.
What the court decided
15.05.2023. 07. Ct.No.28 As (Rejected).
C.R.M. (NDPS) 591 of 2023
In Re:- An application for bail under Section 439 of the Code of Criminal Procedure in connection with NDPS Case No.14 of 2022 arising out of Raniganj P. S. Case No.293 of 2022 dated 20.05.2022 under Sections 20(b)(ii)(C)/25/29 of the NDPS Act.
In the matter of : Manoj Prasad. … Petitioner. Mr. Ayan Bhattacharjee, Mr. Indrajit Adhikari, Mr. Kunal Ganguly, Mr. Tirupati Mukherjee, Ms. Sanchari Chakraborty. …for the Petitioner.. Mr. Sanjoy Bardhan, Mr. Palash Ch. Majhi. ...for the State.
Petitioner submits that the prosecution case with regard to recovery of narcotics is improbabilised by the electronic records produced by co-accused viz., Montu Prasad. Though prosecution claimed five persons including co-accused viz., Montu Prasad were apprehended in a vehicle containing narcotics, electronic records produced by co-accused viz., Montu Prasad in the form of CCTV and pen drive show he was apprehended from his residence and not the spot. He has been enlarged on bail in CRM (NDPS) 1303 of 2022. Petitioner may also be enlarged on bail on parity.
Learned Advocate for the State submits electronic records do not improbabilise the presence of the petitioner at
2
the spot. Statements of official witness are corroborated by independent witnesses and other materials on record. Hence, he does not stand on the same footing with co-accused viz., Montu Prasad and his bail application may be rejected.
Issues for consideration
3 issues framed by the court
Whether the prima facie probability derived from the electronic records of a co-accused applicable to him also inevitably renders the petitioner's case improbable.
Whether the principle of falsus in uno falsus in omnibus applies when the discrepancy exists only in the evidence of one accused person.
Whether the presence of independent witness corroboration at the spot negates the appellant's claim of improbability regarding his presence at the recovery scene.
Parties & counsel
- petitioner
Manoj Prasad
- respondent
State
Coram
Ajay Kumar Gupta
Case details
As recorded by the court registry
- Court
- Calcutta HC
- Decided on
- · May
- Registered
- Case no.
- CRM (NDPS)/591/2023
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