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IN THE HIGH COURT OF PUNJAB AND HARYANA AT CHANDIGARH
Arun Kumar Tyagi, J.
Jorawar Singh - Appellant
Versus
State Of Punjab - Respondent
CRM-M-906-2020
Decided On : 14-01-2021
Fact of the Case:
The petitioner filed a bail application under Section 439 of Cr.P.C for a case registered under Section 22 of the NDPS Act.Finding of the Court:
Considering previous judicial precedents and the circumstances of the case, the court granted regular bail to the petitioner.Issues:
Conscious possession, compliance with mandatory provisions of NDPS Act, satisfaction of rigors under Section 37(l)(b) NDPS Act.Ratio Decidendi:
The decision was based on whether the petitioner could be said to be in conscious possession and if rigors under Section 37(l)(b) NDPS Act were satisfied.Final Decision:
The petition was allowed, and the petitioner was ordered to be released on regular bail subject to certain conditions.JUDGMENT
Arun Kumar Tyagi, J (Oral). - (The case has been taken up for hearing through video conferencing.)
2. The petitioner has filed the present (first) petition under Section 439 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (for short, "the Cr.P.C") for grant of regular bail in case FIR No.288 dated 11.09.2019 registered under Section 22 of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985 (for short, "the NDPS Act") at Police Station Talwandi Sabo, District Bathinda.
3. As per the prosecution version the police party headed by SI Gurpreet Singh Nahel was present at T-point Gurusar Jagga, Talwandi Sabo, Raman Road for patrolling duty. The petitioner came from the side of Village Gurusar Jagga and on seeing the police party threw the polythene bag/envelope held in his hand and tried to return. The petitioner was apprehended and on search 40 strips having 10 tablets each totaling 400 tablets make Tredol-l00 Tramadol-Hydrochloride Tablets-100 MG from polythene bag thrown on the road. Pursuant to registration of FIR, the police investigated the case and charge-sheeted the accused.
4. The petitioner being in custody has filed the present petition for grant of regular bail.
5. The petition has been opposed by learned State Counsel in terms of reply filed by way of affidavit of Narinder Singh, PPS, Deputy Superintendent of Police, Sub Division Talwandi Sabo.
6. I have heard learned Counsel for the petitioner and learned State Counsel and gone through the relevant record.
7. Learned Counsel for the petitioner has argued that the petitioner has been falsely implicated in the case. Recovery was allegedly made from plastic bag/envelope thrown on the road side and the petitioner cannot be said to be in conscious possession thereof. Mandatory provisions of the NDPS Act were not complied with. No sample was drawn out of the intoxicating tablets. Batch number, name of manufacturer and other details of all the strips were not mentioned. The FSL report cannot be said to be based on representative sample of entire quantity. Rigors of Section 37(l)(b) of the NDPS are not applicable qua the petitioner. The petitioner is not involved in any other case under the NDPS Act. Trial is likely to take long time and no useful purpose will be served by his further detention in custody. Therefore, the petitioner may be ordered to be released on bail. In support of his arguments, learned Counsel for the petitioner has placed reliance on the observations in CRM-M-963-2020 titled as 'Sanjay Kumar Tori Vs. State of Punjab' decided on 01.12.2020; CRM-M-13662-2020 titled as 'Niranjan Kumar @ Kaka Vs. State of Punjab' decided on 06.07.2020; CRM-M-14474-2020 titled as 'Dharminder Singh Vs. State of Punjab' decided on 24.06.2020; CRM-M-21020-2020 titled as 'Amritpal Singh Lamberdar Vs. State of Punjab' decided on 11.08.2020; CRM-M-6433-2018 titled as 'Pawan Kumar Vs. State of Punjab' decided on 23.02.2018; CRM-M-16380-2020 titled as 'Buta Singh Vs. State of Punjab' decided on 13.08.2020; CRM-M-16960-2020 titled as 'Hardeep Singh Vs. State of Punjab' decided on 16.07.2020 and 'Chitta Biswas @ Subhash Vs. State of West Bengal' Criminal Appeal No.245 of 2020 SLP (Criminal) No.8823 of 2019.
8. On the other hand, learned State Counsel has argued that the petitioner kept in conscious possession 40 strips having 10 tablets each totaling 400 tablets make Tredol-100 Tramadol-Hydrochloride Tablets-100 MG which fell in the category of commercial quantity. The petitioner does not deserve the concession of regular bail. Therefore, the petition may be dismissed.
9. However learned State Counsel has conceded that the petitioner is not involved in any other case under the NDPS Act.
10. In CRM-M-13662-2020 titled as 'Niranjan Kumar @ Kaka Vs. State of Punjab' decided on 06.07.2020; CRM-M-14474-2020 titled as 'Dharminder Singh Vs. State of Punjab' decided on 24.06.2020; CRM-M-21020-2020 titled as 'Amritpal Singh Lamberdar Vs. State of Punjab' decided on 11.08.2020; CRM-M-6433-2018 titled
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