The court emphasized the importance of fair and fearless investigation of a case of serious nature and the larger public interest in deciding the application for grant of anticipatory bail.

: Kuldip Chand Sood, J. : - All these 13 applications under section 438 of the code of criminal Procedure are being disposed of by this common order as all of them arise from a case FIR No.257/2Kforthe offences punishable under Sections 20/ 27-A/29/32 of the Narcotic Drugs & Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985, (hereinafter referred to as the Drugs Act) registered with the Police Station, Kullu, on 1.6.2000. The applicants are resident of Village Tosh, P.O. Barshiani, Tehsil and District Kullu (H.P).

2. In order to appreciate the respective contentions of the applicants and prosecution, the facts as disclosed in the First information Report may be noticed in brief:

3. On the early morning of 1st June, 2000, ASI Kanwar Singh, Incharge, Police Manikaran, received a secret information that Datti Ram s/o Alam Chand r/o Village Tosh deals in the sale of Charas at large scale and on immediate raid charas can be recovered from his house. ASI Kanwar Singh reduced the information received by him in writing, constituted a raiding party including therein local Vice President of the Panchayat Khushal Chand and Numberdar Tej Ram. A copy of the information so recorded was sent to Dy. S.P. Head Quarter, who, at the relevant time was present at Manikaran itself. The raiding party reached in village Tosh included local inhabitant Chanderkant in the raiding party and went to the house of Datti Ram. His house was searched, in the presence of the witnesses, and 2 kg 150 grams of charas was recovered. Formalities were completed. In the meanwhile, applicant Luddar Chand, his wife Manbhari and mother Kali Devi come to the house of Datti Ram and Manbhari started snatching the sealed parcel of Charas. On which all the sealed parcels and other relevant papers were put in a bag. A camera was taken out so that photographs could be taken. In the meanwhile, several women and men of the village gathered in the varandah of the house of Datti Ram and wanted to snatch the bag. All of them wanted that case against Datti Ram should not be registered. The police officials including Dy. S.P. tried to pacify the crowd but without any success. All the women and men of the village gathered around the house of Datti Ram and the women in the Varandah started snatching the bag. In this sensitive situation, the bag was handed over to constable Darshan Singh, but three of the applicants, namely, Mohari s/o Sindhu, Sher Singh s/o Sindhu and Duni Chand snatched the bag from the aforesaid Constable Darshan Singh and fled away alongwith bag, which contained Charas recovered from the house of Datti Ram. The First Information Report names the applicant Puran Chand, Des Raj, Amar Nath, Dehri Devi, Sita Devi, Kubja Devi, the persons who were gathered in the varandah. It is the further case of the police that all these persons made Datti Ram to fled away and have now screened him. It is in this background the applicants seek pre-arrest bail on the plea that the allegations made against them in the First Information Report are false and they have nothing to do with the alleged recovery of contraband from the house of Datti Ram. It is further case of the applicants that no case on the face of the First Information Report is made out under Section 20/27-A/ 29 and 32 of the Drugs Act against the applicants. Mr. Deepak Gupta, learned counsel for the applicants submits that no case against any of the applicants under any provision of the Drugs Act is made out and at the most the applicants are liable to be proceeded against under the provisions of Indian Penal Code for having obstructed the police in discharge of its duties.

4. It may be noticed that grant of anticipatory bail under Section 438 of code of Criminal Procedure is subject to Section 37 of the Drugs Act which provides that, notwithstanding anything contained in the code of Criminal Procedure, no person shall be released on bail unless the conditions as stipulated under sub-clause(ii) of clause(b) of Section (1) of Sectio