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2023 Supreme(P&H) 1504
IN THE HIGH COURT OF PUNJAB AND HARYANA AT CHANDIGARH
Gurvinder Singh Gill, J.
Abhishek Jain @ Lucky – Appellant
Versus
State of Punjab – Respondent
CRM-M No. 23426 of 2021
Decided On : 16-02-2023
Subject
Criminal Law - Bail
Act Referred
NARCOTIC DRUGS AND PSYCHOTROPIC SUBSTANCES ACT: S.21, S.37, S.61, S.85
Headnote
(B) Bail - Consideration - Long custody and slow pace of trial are significant and warrant the grant of bail subject to conditions - Prosecution can apply for cancellation if similar offenses occur in the future. (Paras 7-9)
Facts of the case:
Accused arrested with contraband under NDPS Act - Plea for bail based on prolonged incarceration.
Findings of Court:
Grant of bail merited due to lengthy custody and limited trial progress.
Issues: Whether long custody justifies bail in light of the nature of the charges.
Ratio Decidendi: Court emphasizes that prolonged custody can be a sufficient ground for bail, citing established judicial precedents.
Result: Petition allowed; bail granted.
For the Parties : Mr. Vaibhav Sehgal, Mr. Luvinder Sofat DAG, Punjab
| Table of Content |
|---|
| 1. allegations against the petitioner involve possession of heroin. (Para 1 , 2) |
| 2. arguments for and against bail based on custody duration. (Para 3 , 4) |
| 3. court's analysis of long custody precedents. (Para 5 , 6) |
| 4. decision to grant bail based on long custody. (Para 7) |
| 5. order for release on bail with conditions. (Para 8 , 9) |
Judgment
Mr. Gurvinder Singh Gill, J.
The petitioner has approached this Court seeking grant of regular bail in respect of a case registered against him vide FIR No.122 dated 19.11.2019 at Police Station Division No.4, Ludhiana, under Section 21 , 61, 85 of the NDPS Act.
2. The allegations, in nutshell, are to the effect that pursuant to receipt of a secret information, the petitioner alongwith one Shubham Kumar @ Bump was found in possession of 400 grams of ‘Heroin’ while travelling in a Swift car bearing registration No.PB-10-BV-5773.
3. Learned counsel for the petitioner has submitted that the petitioner came to be involved falsely in the present case. It has further been submitted that the petitioner has been behind bars for a substantial period of more than 3 years & 2 months and that since the trial is proceeding at snail’s pace, the petitioner deserves the concession of regular bail.
4. On the other hand, learned State counsel has submitted that since the petitioner alongwith Shubham Kumar was caught red handed while travelling in a car and a huge quantity of contraband was recovered from the said car, he does not deserve the concession of bail. Learned State counsel has, however, informed that the petitioner has been behind bars since the last about 3 years, 2 months & 24 days. Learned State counsel has also informed that the petitioner stands involved in 2 more cases registered under the Prisons Act. It has also been informed that as on date only 2 PWs out of cited 15 PWs have been examined.
5. This Court has considered rival submissions.
6. Since the petitioner seeks grant of bail mainly on account of long custody, it is apposite to refer to a few judgments of Hon’ble Supreme Court in this regard wherein Hon’ble Supreme Court has granted the concession of bail solely on ground of long custody:
| Case No. | Date of Decision | Title of case | Period which the accused had undergone when granted bail by Hon’ble Supreme Court |
| Criminal Appeal No.245/2020 | 07.02.2020 | Chitta Biswas @ Subhas Vs. The State of West Bengal | 1 year & 7 months |
| Criminal Appeal No.668/2020 | 12.10.2020 | Amit Singh Moni Vs. State of Himachal Pradesh | 2 years & 7 months |
| Special Leave to Appeal (Criminal) No.5769/2022 | 01.08.2022 | Nitish Adhikary @ Bapan Vs. The State of West Bengal | 1 year & 7 months |
| Special Leave to Appeal (Criminal) No.4173/2022 | 04.08.2022 | Shariful Islam @ Sarif Vs. The State of West Bengal | 1 year & 6 months |
| Criminal Appeal No.1169/2022 | 05.08.2022 | Gopal Krishna Patra @ Gopalrusma Vs. Union of India | 2 years, 1 month & 17 days |
| Special Leave to Appeal (Criminal) No.5530/2022 | 22.08.2022 | Mohammad Salman Hanif Shaikh Vs. The State of Gujarat | About 2 years |
| Criminal Appeal No.2027-2022 | 22.11.2022 | Karnail Singh Vs. The State of Odisha | 1 year & 8 months |
| Special Leave to Appeal (Criminal) No.8653-2022 | 25.11.2022 | Karim Adaldar Vs. The State of West Bengal | 10 months |
7. Keeping in view the totality of the facts and circumstances of the case particularly the long custody of the petitioner and the fact that only 2 PWs out of cited 15 PWs have been examined till date, the petition merits acceptance and is hereby accepted.
8. The petition, as such, is allowed and the petitioner is ordered to be released on regular bail on his furnishing bail bonds/surety bonds to the satisfaction of learned trial Court/Chief Judicial Magistrate/Duty Magistrate concerned.
9. It is, however, directed that in case the petit
