IMPORTANT POINT
A fresh bail application requires a substantial change in circumstances since the previous denial; adjournments sought by the petitioner do not justify bail.

JUDGMENT :

Rakesh Kainthla, J

The petitioner has filed the present petition for seeking regular bail. It has been asserted that the petitioner was arrested vide FIR No. 210 of 2023, dated 5.8.2023, registered at Police Station Baddi, District Solan, H.P. It was falsely asserted that the contraband was supplied by the petitioner to the main accused. The investigation is complete, and a charge sheet has been filed before the Court. The prosecution case hinges on the transaction of Rs.47,500/- from Anuj Kumar (petitioner) to Mahendra Singh. This was a friendly loan extended by the petitioner. This transaction is not sufficient to connect the petitioner with the commission of the crime. There is a delay in the progress of the trial. Hence, it was prayed that the present petition be allowed and the petitioner be released on bail.

2. The petition is opposed by filing a status report, asserting that the police searched the house of Mohinder based on the information and recovered 14500 tablets weighing 5133 grams of Tramadol Hydrochloride, 11400 tablets weighing 1413.6 grams of Alprazolam tablets, and 600 tablets of Alprazolam weighing 61.2 grams. The drugs were seized, and a screenshot of the WhatsApp chat was taken into possession. According to the WhatsApp chat, the drugs were supplied by Anuj Sharma, the present petitioner. The drugs were found to be Tramadol and Alprazolam after the analysis. The challan was prepared and presented before the Court. The account details of the petitioner and Amit Kumar were checked, and it was found that Rs.10,000 was transferred on 22.07.2023 and Rs.47,500 was transferred on 24.07.2023 to the account of the petitioner. A supplementary challan was filed before the learned Court, and the matter has been listed before the learned Trial Court on 1.5.2025 for consideration on the charge. Hence, the status report.

3. I have heard Mr. Hemant Kumar Thakur, learned counsel for the petitioner and Mr. Jitender Sharma, learned Additional Advocate General, for the respondent-State.

4. Mr. Hemant Kumar Thakur, learned counsel for the petitioner, submitted that the petitioner is innocent and he was falsely implicated. There is no material to connect the petitioner with the commission of the crime except the statement made by the co-accused, which is inadmissible in evidence. There is delay in the progress of the trial. Hence, he prayed that the present petition be allowed and the petitioner be released on bail.

5. Mr. Jitender Sharma, learned Additional Advocate General, for the respondent-State, submitted that the Court has already dismissed the bail petition filed by the petitioner on an earlier occasion. A fresh bail petition only lies when there is a change in the circumstances. The petitioner has not shown any change in the circumstances, and he is not entitled to bail. The petitioner had himself sought adjournment before the learned Trial Court, which led to the delay. The petitioner cannot take advantage of the adjournments sought by him to claim that the trial is not progressing. Therefore, he prayed that the present petition be dismissed.

6. I have given considerable thought to the submissions made at the bar and have gone through the records carefully.

7. The parameters for granting bail were considered by the Hon’ble Supreme Court in Ramratan v. State of M.P. , 2024 SCC OnLine SC 3068 , wherein it was observed as follows: -

“12. The fundamental purpose of bail is to ensure the accused's presence during the investigation and trial. Any conditions imposed must be reasonable and directly related to this objective. This Court in Parvez Noordin Lokhandwalla v. State of Maharastra (2020) 10 SCC 77 observed that though the competent court is empowered to exercise its discretion to impose “any condition” for the grant of bail under Sections 437(3) and 439(1)(a) CrPC, the discretion of the court has to be guided by the need to facilitate the administration of justice, secure the presence of the accused and ensure that