IMPORTANT POINT
The judgment establishes the stringent parameters for granting bail under the NDPS Act, emphasizing the need to satisfy reasonable grounds for believing in the innocence of the accused and ensuring they will not commit a similar offence while on bail.

JUDGMENT :

1. Rule returnable forthwith. Learned APP waives service of notice of rule for and on behalf of the respondent No.1 and learned advocate Mr. Kartik Pandya waives service of notice of rule for and on behalf of the respondent No.2.

2. The present application is filed under Section 439 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973, for regular bail in connection with the FIR being C.R. No.05 of 2021 (CR No.NCB/AZU/CR NO.-06 of 2022) registered with the ATS Police Station, Ahmedabad of the offence punishable under Sections 8 (C ), 21(c ), 23 (c), 25, 27 (a), 28, 29, 35 and 54(a) of the NDPS Act.

3. The factual matrix in the instant case, as submitted by the prosecution, is as under:

3.1 On 14.11.2021, when the complainant along with the other police personnel were on duty at the A.T.S Office, at that time at around 12:30 hours, Superintendent of Police Mr. K.K. Patel received a tip-off that one Mukhtahussain @ Jabbar Jodiya Noormamad in company with his uncle Isha Rav and his punter Gulmahussain Umar Bhagad have brought the cache of contraband substance heroin from Pakistan through seaway and kept the same hidden at the newly constructed house situated near the house of one Samsuddin Hussainmiya Saiyed (Pirzada) at village Zinjuda and are going to shift the same at some hidden location. The said information was then reduced into writing and forwarded to the superior officer, who then instructed them to carry out the raid.

3.2 Thereafter, for the purpose of carrying out raid, Panchas were also called for and after following the due procedure of raid, all the members of the raiding party reached at the house under information and found one person present over there and upon asking his name he identified himself as Samsuddin Hussainmiya Saiyed. Thereafter, when the police asked him about Jabbar Jodiya, Isha Rav and Gulam Bhagad, he told that Jabbar Jodiya and Gulam Bhagad are present inside the house. Thereafter, when the police called both of them by their names, two persons came out and, thereafter, the police introduced themselves to those two persons and asked them about their names, whereupon, they identified themselves as Mukhtarhussain @ Jabbar Jodiya Noormamad and Gulamhussain Umar Bhagad. The police then got acquainted all the aforesaid three persons with the secret information received by them that they have illegally kept the cache of contraband substance heroin in the newly constructed house owned and occupied by them and, therefore, they have to carry out the search of the said premises.

3.3 Thereafter, personal search of all of them was carried out, however, nothing objectionable was found upon his personal search. After that, the police entered into the premises from where they found some suspicious substances lying in various plastic bags hidden under the mattresses, and upon asking about the same to the aforesaid three persons, Mukhtarhussain @ Jabbar Jodiya and Gulamhussain Umar Bhagad admitted it to be the contraband psychotropic substance heroin, whereas Samsuddin Hussainmiya Saiyed told that the said bags belong to Mukhtarhussain @ Jabbar Jodiya, his brother Isha Rav and Gulamhussain Umar Bhagad and he does not know what is lying in the same. The quantity of the contraband substance found from the said premises was of 118.650 kg. Thereafter, samples were taken and upon testing with the drug detection kit, the samples tested positive for heroin. Hence, the present FIR.

4. Learned advocate Mr. Kishan Prajapati appearing for the applicant submits that the applicant-accused is an innocent person, aged about 57 years languishing in the judicial custody since 27.11.2021. It is further submitted that the investigation has already been completed and charge-sheet has also been filed. Learned advocate Mr. Prajapati further submits that the applicant-accused has not been named in the FIR and his name come on fore during the course of investigation on the basis of the statement made by one of the co-accused, namely, Michael Ug