The court held that without corroborative evidence, a confession by a co-accused alone is insufficient to justify detention, affirming the necessity for substantive proof in criminal allegations.

Order :

FARJAND ALI, J.

1. The jurisdiction of this court has been invoked by way of filing the instant bail application under Section 439 CrPC at the instance of accused-petitioner. The requisite details of the matter are tabulated herein below:

2. The concise fact of the case are that on 24.03.2024, during blockade duty on NH-68, SHO Rajesh Kumar received information that Bhom Singh S/o Deep Singh was concealing illegal poppy straw in his castor crop and house at his tubewell field in Sarhad Chhodia. Acting on the tip-off, police apprehended Bhom Singh while he was hiding a black plastic bag in the crop. Upon search, six plastic sacks containing poppy husk weighing a total of 153.700 kg (including sack weight) were recovered from the field. As no civilian witness was available, Constables Shri Krishna and Babu Singh acted as motbirs. After issuing a notice under Section 50 NDPS Act, the accused consented to the search. Bhom Singh admitted he had no licence for possession and disclosed that the contraband was brought to his field by Pappasa @ Prashant Singh Khichi at the behest of his brother Tejmal Singh. During his custody he disclosed the name of present petitioner and on the basis of confessional statement, he has been arraigned as an accused in this matter and a case under Section 8 /15 & 8/29 of the NDPS Act has been registered against him. His earlier bail application being SBCRLMB No.2967/2025 was disposed of by this Court vide order dated 30.05.2025. Hence, the instant application for bail.

3. It is contended on behalf of the accused-petitioner that the petitioner is arrested in this 19.07.2024 on the basis of statement of principal accused Bhoom Singh, however he was not present at the spot thus, no case for the alleged offences is made out against him and his incarceration is not warranted. There are no factors at play in the case at hand that may work against grant of bail to the accused-petitioner and he has been made an accused based on conjectures and surmises.

4. Contrary to the submissions of learned counsel for the petitioner, learned Public Prosecutor opposes the bail application and submits that the present case is not fit for enlargement of accused on bail.

5. Have considered the submissions made by both the parties and have perused the material available on record.

6. Perusal of the record revealing that the petitioner is behind the bars in this case since 19.07.2024. The SHO, PS Bhopalgarh along with his team effected search and six plastic sacks containing poppy husk weighing a total of 153.700 kg (including sack weight) were recovered from the field. Based on confessional statement made by the aforementioned accused, the petitioner has been booked and arrested in this matter.

6.1. The record reveals that the Petitioner and the co-accused not only reside in the same village but are also relatives, indicating a natural and ongoing relationship between them. In view of this proximity—both familial and geographical—the occurrence of telephonic communication between them, in the ordinary course of social interaction, appears to be neither unusual nor incriminating on its own. However, it is of particular significance that there is no record of any telephonic exchange on the specific date relevant to the alleged incident in question. While it is true that certain calls w