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2018 Supreme(J&K) 704
IN THE HIGH COURT OF JAMMU AND KASHMIR AT SRINAGAR
M.K. Hanjura, J.
Tariq Ahmad Sheikh - Petitioner
Versus
State of J&K through SHO P/S Uri - Respondent
BA No. 78 of 2018 and IA No. 01 of 2018
Decided On : 31-07-2018
Advocate Appeared:
For the Petitioner(s):Mr. Mir Manzoor, Advocate
For the Respondent(s): Mr. Shah Aamir, AAG
Important Point – Principle of res – judicata does not have its application to bail applications.
Headnote:(A) Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985 – – Section 37 read with Sections 8/21 (C) and 29 – Rejection of bail application – No person can be enlarged on bail, if he is found to be in possession of a commercial quantity of narcotics and psychotropic substances – Brown sugar weighing 118 Kgs and 850 gms was seized – Applicant is prima facie involved in commission for offences and there is no reasonable ground to believe that he is not guilty of such offences – Application dismissed.. (Paras 8 and 11)
(B) Criminal Procedure Code, 1973 – Section 439 – Bail application – Maintainability – No successive application for bail can be allowed/entertained unless and until there has been a change in the circumstances of case – Principle of res – judicata does not have its application to bail applications – Orrder rejecting application of bail would not per – se – close doors of applicant in moving another application on a subsequent occasion – But condition precedent is that there should be some fresh material and further developments in the case as will impel and actuate Court to consider the successive application for bail. (Para 10)
Result – Application dismissed.
M.K. Hanjura, J.
By an order dated 19th April, 2018 of the learned 1st Additional Sessions Judge, Baramula, an application for the grant of bail in favour of the accused named Tariq Ahmad Sheikh, came to be rejected. The order of the learned 1st Additional Sessions Judge, Baramulla, is a sequel to the fact that the accused is involved in the commission of offences under Section 8/21 (C) read with Section 29 NDPS Act in case bearing FIR No. 06 of the year 2014, was registered against him at Police Station, Uri.
2. The accused filed yet another application before this Court on 10.05.2018, for admitting him to bail in the aforesaid offences, inter-alia, on the grounds that he has been falsely implicated in the commission of the offences imputed to him. He is the only bread earner in the family and in case he is not released on bail, the members of his family shall suffer an irreparable loss and they may die of starvation. It is also stated that the case is pending trial and the trial Court has already examined 38 witnesses, who have failed to connect the accused with the commission of crime.
3. In the objections filed by the respondent, it is stated that on 17.01.2014, a vehicle bearing registration No. RIS-10/2137 driven by a Pakistani national Shafeeq Ahmad Awan crossed over from across the Line of Control towards this part of the state. It was laden with 148 sacks of almonds and Katha, the permissible items of trade as per the agreement between the two countries of India and Pakistan. The vehicle crossed the Line of Control and reached the Trade Facilitation Centre, Salamabad, Uri. However, on routine inspection of the merchandise, at the said station by the security personnel in observance of the routine procedure, 09 sacks containing 114 packets out of the total consignment were found apparently filled with Brown sugar. In this regard, a case bearing FIR No. 06/2014 under Section 8/21 (c) read with 29 NDPS Act, was registered at Police station Uri, with which the investigation commenced. During the investigation of the case, the present accused/applicant, Tariq Ahmad Sheikh, who was otherwise a prominent trader associated with cross LOC trade, having his own registered firm for the purpose, entered into a criminal conspiracy with Showkat Habib and traders operating from across the Line of Control and one Harjinder Singh @ Happy Singh of Amritsar, Punjab to indulge in illicit transportation of narcotic drugs from across the border to this part of the country. The applicant was fully conversant with the ways and means of the trade, and also with the procedure with which the transported merchandise was being subjected to checking by various authorities at the Trade Facilitation Centre, Salamabad, Uri. He made full use of his familiarity and prevailed upon Showkat Habib to permit him to conduct the trading across LOC by using the name of the firm of the later. In this way, the applicant started trafficking narcotic drugs from across the border to this side of the state and to the other parts of the country till such time that he was caught. It is also stated that during the investigation, the consignment that was intercepted and seized was supposed to land in the hands of Harjinder Singh at Amritsar, The applicant prior to this interception had received consignments in the name of his own firm run under the name and style of “M/s Hamid Brothers” from the suspected consignee from across the Line of Control. On the date of occurrence, the applicant had hired the services of a transporter namely Nazir Ahmad Bhat, to load the consignment from Salamabad Transit point in his vehicle bearing Registration No. JK05B-1215. The applicant, it is further elucidated frequently used the forged documents in the name of two trading firms, one from Srinagar and the other from Baramulla to hide his identity and transported the narcotic shipments in various trucks to Amritsar. The samples were taken from the seized material in presence of
