Ratan Biswas Vs the State of West Bengal — Narcotics (NDPS) | Calcutta HC (2024)

Ratan Biswas Vs the State of West Bengal — Narcotics (NDPS) | Calcutta HC (2024)

What the court decided

AI extract

Outcome

Release on statutory bail upon furnishing a bond of Rs.25,000/- with two sureties of Rs.12,500/- each (one of whom must be local), to the satisfaction of the learned Judge, Special Court under the NDPS Act at Siliguri; conditions: petitioner to remain within the jurisdiction of the local police station and report to its Officer-in-Charge once a fortnight, appear before the trial court on every date of hearing, and refrain from intimidating witnesses, tampering with evidence or committing any cognizable offence; on breach of any condition without justifiable cause the trial court may cancel bail in accordance with law without further reference to this Court.

Issue for consideration

Whether the petitioner, whose charge-sheet in the NDPS case was filed without the FSL report, is entitled to statutory bail notwithstanding the commercial quantity of contraband involved.

Court's answer

This Court holds that the petitioner is entitled to statutory bail because the charge-sheet was filed on 10.07.2024 without the accompanying FSL report, a defect which (per two earlier Division Benches of this Court, relied on herein) renders such a charge-sheet of no value; bail is therefore granted despite the commercial quantity of contraband involved.

Detailed headnote1 paragraphs

Calcutta High Court (Circuit Bench, Jalpaiguri), CRM (NDPS) 475 of 2024, dictated by Arijit Banerjee, J. with Biswaroop Chowdhury, J., 11.11.2024 — Allowed. Renewed bail plea of Ratan Biswas, in custody over nine months in Matigara PS Case No.66/2024 (dated 30.01.2024) under S.21(c) NDPS Act. Earlier plea rejected 24.07.2024. Charge-sheet filed 10.07.2024 WITHOUT the FSL report; State admitted this while opposing bail on commercial-quantity grounds; FSL report since prepared (samples positive) but still not filed. Relying on the determination of two Division Benches of this Court that an NDPS charge-sheet unaccompanied by the FSL report is of no value, the Court concluded the petitioner is entitled to STATUTORY BAIL and released him on a Rs.25,000/- bond with two sureties of Rs.12,500/- each (one local), subject to residence restriction, fortnightly reporting, attendance at trial hearings and non-interference provisions. Statutory framework invoked: S.439 CrPC 1973 / S.483 BNSS 2023.

11.11.2024 Item no. 10. Court No.1. AB (Allowed)

Calcutta High Court In the Circuit Bench at Jalpaiguri

CRM (NDPS) 475 of 2024

In Re: An Application for Bail under Section 439 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973/Under Section 483 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 in connection with Matigara Police Station Case No.66 of 2024 Dated 30.01.2024 under Sections 21(c) of the NDPS Act, 1985

And

In the matter of : Ratan Biswas ……Petitioner.

Mr. Sourav Ganguly, Mr. Gopal Roy Ms. Rishita Chakraborty……for the Petitioner.

Mr. Nilay Chakraborty, ld. APP

Mr. Aniruddha Biswas ……for the State.

Dictated by Arijit Banerjee, J.

The petitioner renews his prayer for bail, which was rejected earlier on July 24, 2024. The petitioner says that he is in custody for more than nine months. He says that the charge sheet was filed on July 10, 2024, but without the FSL report. Such a charge sheet is of no value. He prays for statutory bail.

Learned Advocate for the State, while opposing the prayer for bail, on the ground of commercial quantity of contraband being involved, candidly admits that the charge sheet was filed without the FSL report. However, the FSL report is now available and the samples have

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tested positive for the presence of contraband items. However, the FSL report has still not been filed.

Two Division Benches of this Court have held that unless the FSL report accompanies the charge sheet in an NDPS case, the charge sheet is of no value.

For the reason aforestated, we are of the view that the petitioner is entitled to statutory bail.

Accordingly, we direct that the petitioner, namely Ratan Biswas shall be released on bail upon furnishing a bond of Rs.25,000/-, with two sureties of Rs.12,500/each, one of whom must be local, to the satisfaction of the learned Judge, Special Court under the NDPS Act at Siliguri, and on further condition that the petitioner shall remain within the jurisdiction of local police station and he shall report to the Officer in charge of that police station once in a fortnight until further orders.

The petitioner shall appear before the trial court on every date of hearing until further orders and shall not intimidate the witnesses and/or tamper with evidence and/or commit any cognizable offence in any manner whatsoever.

In the event the petitioner fails to adhere to any of the conditions stipulated above without justifiable cause, the trial court shall be at liberty to cancel the

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petitioner’s bail in accordance with law without further reference to this Court.

The application for bail is, accordingly, allowed.

All parties shall act in terms of server copy of the order downloaded from the official website of this Court.

(Biswaroop Chowdhury, J.) (Arijit Banerjee, J.)