Allowed

Gurpreet Singh @ Happy v. State of Rajasthan

Rajasthan HC26 Jul 2023CRLMB/1951/2023

Case brief

AI extract

What is this about?

The High Court of Rajasthan at Jodhpur allowed bail for petitioners Gurpreet Singh and Amandeep Singh, charged with narcotics offences. Relying on Supreme Court precedents regarding custody periods exceeding substantial parts of prescribed sentences, the Court granted bail solely on the ground of prolonged incarceration despite opposing submissions.

What did the court decide?

Petitioners released on bail upon furnishing personal bond of Rs.1,00,000/- and two sureties of Rs.50,000/- each.

Gurpreet Singh @ Happy Vs State of Rajasthan — Narcotics (NDPS) | Rajasthan HC (2023)

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HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE FOR RAJASTHAN AT JODHPUR

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S.B. Criminal Miscellaneous II Bail Application No. 1951/2023

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Gurpreet Singh @ Happy S/o Sh. Manjit Singh, Aged About 23 Years, R/o Ward No. 2, Gajsinghpur Police Station Gajsinghpur, District Sri Ganganagar

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(Presently Lodged At Central Jail, Bikaner)

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----Petitioner

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Versus

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State Of Rajasthan, Through Pp

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----Respondent

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Connected With

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S.B. Criminal Miscellaneous Bail Application No. 5163/2023 Amandeep Singh S/o Bakhshish Singh, Aged About 40 Years, Rajawali Gali, (Bagdadi Gate), Firozpur City Teh. And Dist. Firozpur (Punjab).

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(At Present Lodged In Sub Jail, Raisinghnagar).

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----Petitioner

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Versus

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State Of Rajasthan, Through Pp

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----Respondent

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For Petitioner(s) : Mr. D.L. Rawla Mr. S.R. Godara Mr. Jagdish Kumar Vishnoi Mr. Ashok Kumar For Respondent(s) : Mr. M.K. Trivedi, P.P.

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HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE MADAN GOPAL VYAS

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Order

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26/07/2023

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The petitioner - Gurpreet Singh @ Happy has been arrested in connection with FIR No.273/2019 of Police Station Raisinghnagar, District Sri Ganganagar for the offences punishable under Sections 8/22, 25, 29 of the NDPS Act. He has preferred the

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second bail application under Section 439 Cr.P.C. The petitioner - Amandeep Singh has been arrested in connection with FIR No.273/2019 of Police Station Raisinghnagar, District Sri Ganganagar for the offences punishable under Sections 8/22, 25 29 of the NDPS Act.

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The first bail application of the petitioner – Gurpreet @ Happy was dismissed as not pressed on 27.07.2021. 3. Arguing on these bail applications, learned counsel for the petitioners submits that the petitioners have falsely been implicated in this case. It is further submitted that as per the prosecution story, 12250 tablets of TRIO SR weighing 5022.50 gms were recovered in the present case. It is also submitted that accused-petitioners are in judicial custody since 29.09.2019 and the prosecution is required to examine 23 witnesses, out of which, statements of only four witnesses have been recorded till date. Lastly, it is submitted that the petitioners are in judicial custody for last more than three years and ten months and the delay in trial is not attributable to them, they deserve to be enlarged on bail.

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In support of his contentions, learned counsel placed reliance on the order dated 13.07.2023 passed by Hon’ble the Supreme Court in the case of Rabi Prakash vs. The State of Odisha (Special Leave to Appeal (Crl.) No.4169/2023), wherein Hon’ble the Supreme Court held as under:-

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“3. We are informed that the trial has commenced but only 1 out of the 19 witnesses has been examined. The conclusion of trial will, thus, take some more time.

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As regard to the twin conditions contained in Section 37 of the NDPS Act, learned counsel for

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the respondent – State has been duly heard. Thus, the 1st condition stands complied with. So far as the 2nd condition re: formation of opinion as to whether there are reasonable grounds to believe that the petitioner is not guilty, the same may not be formed at this stage when he has already spent more than three and a half years in custody. The prolonged incarceration, generally militates against the most precious fundamental right guaranteed under Article 21 of the Constitution and in such a situation, the conditional liberty must override the statutory embargo created under Section 37(1)(b) (ii) of the NDPS Act.”

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In support of his contentions, learned counsel has also placed reliance on the order dated 10.05.2023 passed by Hon’ble the Supreme Court in the case of Dinesh Kumar @ Dinesh Kumar Bishnoi Vs. State of Jharkhand (Special Leave to Appeal (Crl.) No.11614/2022)

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Per contra, learned Public Prosecutor has vehemently opposed the bail application.

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Heard learned counsel for the petitioners and the learned Public Prosecutor. Perused the material available on record.

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Hon’ble the Supreme Court in the case of Union of India Vs. K.A. Najeeb reported in (2021) 3 SCC 713, while dealing with the cases where fetters are placed on Court’s power to grant bail and the trial has not been completed within a reasonable time, observed as under:

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“17. It is thus clear to us that the presence of statutory restrictions like Section 43-D(5) of the UAPA per se does not oust the ability of the constitutional courts to grant bail on grounds of violation of Part – III of the Constitution. Indeed, both the restrictions under a statute as well as the powers exercisable under constitutional jurisdiction can be well harmonised. Whereas at commencement of proceedings, the courts are expected to appreciate the legislative policy against grant of bail but th rigours of such provisions will melt down where there is no likelihood of trial being completed within a

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reasonable time and the period of incarceration already undergone has exceeded a substantial part of the prescribed sentence. Such an approach would safeguard against the possibility of provisions like Section 43-D(5) of the UAPA being used as the sole metric for denial of bail or for wholesale breach of constitutional right to speedy trial.”

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A coordinate Bench of this Court in the case of Umesh Vyas

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vs. State of Rajasthan (S.B. Criminal Misc. II Bail Application No.14958/2022), vide order dated 17.03.2023, also observed as

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follows:

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“The Hon’ble Supreme Court in the cases of Abdul Majeed Lone Vs. Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir [Special Leave to Appeal (Crl.) No.3961/2022], Amit Singh Moni Vs. State of Himachal Pradesh (Criminal Appeal No.668/2020), Tapan Das Vs. Union of India [Special Leave to Appeal (Criminal) No.5617/2021], Kulwant Singh Vs. State of Punjab [Special Leave to Appeal (Criminal) No.5187/2019], Ghanshyam Sharma Vs. State of Rajasthan [Special Leave to Appeal (Criminal) No.5397/2019], Nadeem Vs. State of UP [Special Leave to Appeal (Criminal) No.1524/2022] and Mukesh Vs. The State of Rajasthan [Special Leave to Appeal (Criminal) No.4089/2021] has granted bail to the accused persons, against whom the allegations are of transporting or possessing narcotic contraband above commercial quantity, on the ground of custody period and taking into consideration the fact that the trial against the said accused persons will take time in completion. The Hon’ble Supreme Court has ordered for release of the accused persons who were in custody from two years to four years. Learned Public Prosecutor has opposed the bail application.

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Having regard to the totality of the facts and circumstances of the case, I deem it appropriate to allow this fifth bail application solely on the ground of custody period of the accused petitioner and keeping in view the fact that the trial against him has not been completed till date.

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Accordingly, without expressing any opinion on the merits of the case, this third bail application filed under Section 439 Cr.P.C. is allowed and it is directed that petitioner Umesh Vyas S/o Shri Ganeshlal Ji shall be released on bail in connection with FIR No.15/2019 of Police Station Charbhuja, District Rajsamand provided he

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executes a personal bond in a sum of Rs.50,000/with two sound and solvent sureties of Rs.25,000/- each to the satisfaction of learned trial court for his appearance before that court on each and every date of hearing and whenever called upon to do so till the completion of the trial.”

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Having considered the rival submissions, facts and circumstances of the case, without expressing any opinion on merits/demerits of the case, this Court is of the opinion that the bail applications filed by the petitioners deserves to be accepted.

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Consequently, both these bail applications under Section 439 Cr.P.C. is allowed. It is ordered that the accused-petitioners (1) Gurpreet Singh @ Happy S/o Sh. Manjit Singh, (2) Amandeep Singh S/o Bakhshish Singh, arrested in connection with F.I.R. No.273/2019 of Police Station Raisinghnagar, District Sri Ganganagar , shall be released on bail, if not wanted in any other case, provided each of them furnishes a personal bond of Rs.1,00,000/- and two sureties of Rs.50,000/- each, to the satisfaction of learned trial court, for their appearance before that Court on each & every date of hearing and whenever called upon to do so till completion of the trial.

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(MADAN GOPAL VYAS),J

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47-48 Bharti/-

Gurpreet Singh @ Happy v. State of Rajasthan

Case brief

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Gurpreet Singh @ Happy v. State of Rajasthan

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