Case brief
What is this about?
High Court of Chhattisgarh, Bilaspur - MCRC No. 799 of 2025, order dated 12.03.2025, single Bench of Hon'ble Shri Justice Narendra Kumar Vyas. Second regular bail application under Section 483 BNSS by Devesh Jaiswal, arrested 23.08.2024 in Crime No. 97/2024, P.S. Ambikapur (offences under Sections 21(C) & 22(C) NDPS Act; seizure of NRX Alprazolam tablets, Buprenorphine hydrochloride injections and Pheniramine maleate injections narrated). Rejected: trial progressing with 8 witnesses listed for 22-25.03.2025; six months elapsed; delay partly caused by applicant's absconding; gravity of offence and drug quantity weighed against release. Counsel: Mr. Neeraj Kumar Mehta (applicant); Mr. Kishan Lal Sahu, Dy. Government Advocate (State).
What did the court decide?
The trial is not at slow progress: the order sheets show hearings fixed on 22.03.2025, 24.03.2025 and 25.03.2025 with 8 witnesses to be examined on those dates, so the applicant's plea of delayed trial does not justify bail.