Bail applications must disclose prior criminal history, with courts assessing the risk of re-offending and societal safety when considering bail requests.

Judgment :

Rakesh Kainthla, J.

The petitioner has filed the present petition for seeking regular bail in FIR No. 211 of 2023 dated 23.12.2023, registered at Police Station Jawali, District Kangra, H.P., for the commission of offences punishable under Sections 20, 25 and 29 of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act (for short ‘NDPS’ Act).

2. It has been asserted that, as per the prosecution, the petitioner was driving a vehicle bearing registration No. HP37H- 0393 on 23.12.2023. The police intercepted the vehicle and recovered 1.043 Kilograms of Charas from the dashboard of the vehicle. The allegations are false, and the petitioner is not connected to the commission of crime. The grounds of arrest were not communicated to the petitioner. The petitioner has been in judicial custody for the last one year and nine months. The prosecution has failed to complete the evidence; hence, it was prayed that the present petition be allowed and the petitioner be released on bail.

3. The petition is opposed by filing a status report asserting that the police party was on patrolling duty on 23.12.2023. They received a secret information at 12:50 p.m. that a vehicle bearing registration No. HP37H-0393 was transporting the charas, and a huge quantity could be recovered by its search. The police reduced the information into writing and sent it to the Sub Divisional Police Officer (SDPO), Jawali, District Kangra, H.P. The police associated Bharat Singh and Ardesh Kumar as independent witnesses and waited for the car, which reached the spot at 1:30 p.m. The police stopped the car. The driver identified himself as Sham Lal (present petitioner). The police searched the vehicle and recovered a transparent polyzip from the dashboard containing 1.043 kilograms of charas. The police seized the charas and arrested the petitioner. The charas was sent to SFSL, Junga, and as per result of analysis, it was found to be an extract of cannabis and a sample of charas. The petitioner named Lata as a supplier and Sohan Singh as a receiver of the charas. The police arrested them. The charge sheet has been filed before the Court. Fifteen witnesses have been examined, and the matter is now listed for recording the statements of prosecution witnesses on 17.11.2025. F.I.R. No. 16 of 2016, dated 20.02.2016, was registered against the petitioner at Police Station Aut, District Mandi, for the commission of an offence punishable under Section 20 of the NDPS Act. He would indulge in the commission of a similar offence in case of his release on bail. Hence, the status report.

4. I have heard Mr Yashveer Singh Rathore, learned counsel for the petitioner and Mr Lokender Kutlehria, learned Additional Advocate General, for the respondent/State.

5. Mr Yashveer Singh Rathore, learned counsel for the petitioner, submitted that the petitioner is innocent and that he was falsely implicated. The allegations made against the petitioner are false. The grounds of arrest were not communicated to him, and his arrest is illegal. The charas was weighed with the carry bag, and the actual quantity of charas may be less than one kilogram. The report of the analysis shows a discrepancy regarding the weight of the sample. There is a delay in the progress of the trial, and the petitioner’s right to a speedy trial is being violated. Hence, he prayed that the present petition be allowed and the petitioner be released on bail.

6. Mr Lokender Kutlehira, learned Additional Advocate General, for the respondent/State, submitted that the petitioner was found in possession of a commercial quantity of charas and the rigours of Section 37 of the NDPS Act apply to the present case. The petitioner has failed to satisfy the twin conditions of Section 37 of the NDPS Act, and he is not entitled to bail. The petitioner was caught red-handed with the charas, and the requirement of supplying grounds of arrest will not apply to his case. Hence, he prayed that the present petition be allowed and the petitioner be