The High Court of Patna granted bail to the petitioner in an NDPS case after the prosecution failed to conclude evidence within statutory timelines, noting the delay in trial and duration of custody.
Release on bail subject to provision of bond of Rs. 20,000 with two sureties and compliance with court dates and conditions.
This page shows the compact analysis of this judgement. The full analysis — procedural history, issue-by-issue holdings with ratio and obiter, advocates, and paragraph-level evidence for every claim — is being added to the record in batches and will appear here when this judgement has been through it.
IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT PATNA CRIMINAL MISCELLANEOUS No.16719 of 2023
Arising Out of PS. Case No.-573 Year-2021 Thana- KANTI District- Muzaffarpur
======================================================
Narad Sahani @ Narad Sahni Son of Tufani Sahani @ Jay Prakash Sahni Resident of Village - Imadpur (Wrongly Mentioned as Imayatpur in the F.I.R.), P.S.- Bhagwanpur, District - Vaishali.
... ... Petitioner/s
Versus
The State of Bihar
... ... Opposite Party/s
====================================================== Appearance : For the Petitioner/s : Mr. Raju Kumar, Advocate For the Opposite Party/s : Mr. Navin Kumar Pandey, APP ======================================================
CORAM: HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE ARUN KUMAR JHA ORAL ORDER
5 21-06-2023
Heard learned counsel for the petitioner and learned APP for the State.
Patna High Court CR. MISC. No.16719 of 2023(5) dt.21-06-2023 2/3
Criminal Misc. No. 3178 of 2022, but his prayer for bail was rejected vide order dated 06.06.2022 and the learned trial court was directed to conclude the trial within a period of six months and the petitioner was granted liberty to renew his prayer for bail, if the trial was not concluded within the aforesaid period. Learned counsel further submits that the petitioner has been falsely implicated in this case on the basis of false seizure as the allegedly seized articles are planted one. There is no independent witness to the alleged occurrence and there is noncompliance of Section 57 of the N.D.P.S. Act. The petitioner is in custody since 09.09.2021 and only two witnesses have been examined so far in this case and there is no likelihood for conclusion of the trial in the near future. The petitioner has got no criminal history.
Patna High Court CR. MISC. No.16719 of 2023(5) dt.21-06-2023 3/3
petitioner along with submission of charge-sheet, the petitioner above named is directed to be released on bail on furnishing bail bonds of Rs. 20,000/- (twenty thousand) with two sureties of the like amount each to the satisfaction of learned 2nd Additional Sessions Judge, Muzaffarpur in connection with N.D.P.S. Case No. 128 of 2021 arising out of Kanti P.S. Case No. 573 of 2021, subject to the conditions mentioned in Section 437(3) of the Cr.P.C. and the following conditions:
(i) One of the bailors will be a close relative of the petitioner.
(ii) The petitioner will remain present on each and every date fixed by the court below.
(iii) In case of absence for three consecutive dates or in violation of the terms of the bail, the bail bond of the petitioner will be liable to be cancelled by the court concerned.
(Arun Kumar Jha, J)
Ashish/-
U T
2 issues framed by the court
Whether the petitioner should be released on bail given the delay in concluding the prosecution evidence and extended custody.
Whether the petitioner should be granted bail in connection with offences under Sections 8 and 20(b) of the NDPS Act.
2 provisions across 2 enactments
Narad Sahani
The State of Bihar
Arun Kumar Jha
As recorded by the court registry
Judgements on the same questions, provisions and authorities, from every court
