Judicial Analysis Court Copy Headnote Facts Arguments Court observation

2021 Supreme(Online)(GAU) 110

HIGH COURT OF GAUHATI
MR. JUSTICE MANISH CHOUDHURY, J
AHADUL HUSSAIN – Appellant
Versus
THE STATE OF ASSAM – Respondent
Bail Appln./126/2021|Bail Appln./498/2021|Bail Appln./139/2021|Bail Appln./367/2021|Bail Appln./130/2021|Bail Appln./361/2021|Bail Appln./129/2021|Bail Appln./575/2021

Advocates:
For the Appellants/Petitioners: MR H R A CHOUDHURY
For the Respondents: PP, ASSAM

In bail applications under the NDPS Act, mere accusations are insufficient; substantial evidence is required to link the accused to drug offenses before denying bail.

Headnote:(A) Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, 1985 - Sections 21(c) and 29 - Bail applications filed under Section 439, CrPC by accused-petitioners arrested in connection with a narcotics case involving commercial quantity of brown sugar. The Court noted absence of substantial evidence connecting accused with the alleged crime aside from confessions obtained in custody. The denial of bail is subject to strict statutory conditions under Section 37 of the NDPS Act which were not satisfied here. (Paras 10, 13, 21)

(B) The Court reasoned that due to lack of concrete evidence linking accused with drug trafficking activities, there exist reasonable grounds to believe that they may ultimately be acquitted. The seriousness of the allegations alone does not justify further incarceration when no substantial proof has been provided. (Paras 24, 27, 28)

Facts of the case:
Nine accused-petitioners, arrested in connection with Case No. 312/2020 for drug offences, sought bail after being in custody for several months. All were implicated based on statements from a single arrested co-accused, with no contraband found in their possession. (Paras 1, 4, 8, 24)

Findings of Court:
The court allowed bail based on insufficient evidence and the ongoing nature of the investigation, emphasizing that incarceration without concrete evidence is unjustified. Conditions were imposed on bail to ensure cooperation with the investigation. (Paras 28, 30)

Issues: The main issues concerned the sufficiency of evidence against the petitioners for drug-related charges and the appropriateness of granting bail under statutory restrictions. (Paras 4, 10, 21)

Ratio Decidendi: The court reaffirmed that for bail under the NDPS Act, there must be significant evidence demonstrating the accused's guilt, and mere accusations or confessions will not suffice to deny bail. (Paras 15, 27)

Result: Bail applications allowed.

Table of Content
1. introduction of the bail applications and the context. (Para 1 , 2 , 3)
2. details on the seizure of narcotics and the registration of cases. (Para 5 , 6)
3. arguments of the petitioners focusing on insufficient evidence. (Para 7 , 8)
4. legal framework surrounding ndps act and general principles regarding bail. (Para 10 , 11)
5. court's analysis of the conditions under the ndps act. (Para 12 , 13 , 14)
6. justification for a stringent approach to bail in narcotics cases. (Para 15 , 16)
7. necessity of fsl report for determining bail. (Para 17 , 18)
8. previous judgments as references for the current decision. (Para 19 , 20)
9. critique of evidence gathered against the accused. (Para 22 , 24)
10. legal implications of confessions and their admissibility. (Para 25 , 26)
11. conclusion granting bail with conditions. (Para 27 , 28 , 29)

ORDER

Date : 30-04-2021 By these 8 (eight) nos. of applications filed under Section 439 , Code of Criminal Procedure , 1973 (CrPC), 9 (nine) nos. of accused-petitioners have prayed for their release on bail as they are in custody in connection with Badarpur Police Station Case no. 312/2020 (G.R. Case no. 2170/2020) registered for offences under Sections 21 (c)/29 of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, 1985.

2. The accused-petitioners viz. (i) Ahadul Hussain and (ii) Noor Ahmed in Bail Appln. 126/2021 are in custody since 08.12.2020. The accused-petitioner viz. Rahim Uddin in Bail Appln. 130/2021 is in custody since 21.11.2020. The accused-petitioner viz. Faruk Ahmed in Bail Appln. 139/2021 is in custody since 12.11.2020. The accused-petitioner viz. Shamim Uddin @ Shamim Ahmed in Bail Appln. 129/2021 is in custody since 06.11.2020. The accused-petitioner viz. Forid Uddin @ Md. Farid Uddin in Bail Appln. 361/2021 is in custody since 21.11.2020. The accused-petitioner viz. Ikbal Bahar @ Ikbal Bahar Khondakar in Bail Appln. 367/2021 is in custody since 29.11.2020. The accused-petitioner viz. Kabir Ahmed in Bail Appln. 498/2021 is in custody since 11.02.2021. The accused-petitioner viz. Jillul Hoque in Bail Appln. 575/2021 is in custody since 14.11.2020.

3. As all these applications have arisen out of the same police case i.e. Badarpur Police Station Case no. 312/2020, the same are taken up together, as agreed to by the learned counsel for the parties.

4. Heard Mr. K.N. Choudhury, learned Senior Counsel for the accused- petitioner in Bail Appln. 498/2021 and Mr. H.R.A. Choudhury, learned Senior Counsel for the accused-petitioners in Bail Appln. 126/2021, Bail Appln. 129/2021, Bail Appln. 575/2021, Bail Appln. 130/2021, Bail Appln. 139/2021, Bail Appln. 361/2021 & Bail Appln. 367/2021.Also heard Mr. N.K. Kalita and Mr. T.K. Mishra, learned Additional Public Prosecutors for the State of Assam.

5. The First Information Report (FIR) was lodged by an Assistant Sub- Inspector of Police (ASI) attached to Badarpur Police Station on 04.11.2020. In the FIR, it has inter-alia been stated that based on a specific information received by the Officer In-Charge, Badarpur Police Station that one Maruti Suzuki Wagon R car bearing registration no. AS-10/E-1339 (white colour) was coming from Silchar side to Karimganj side with huge quantity of drugs, a General Diary Entry being G.D. Entry no. 67 dated 04.11.2020 was registered. Pursuant thereto, the Officer In-Charge, Badarpur Police Station deputed a team of police personnel for special Naka checking in front of Badarpur Police Station on National Highway 37 for checking of vehicles and interception of the said car particularly. Accordingly, the team took position at 10-47 a.m. on 04.11.2020. At around 11-00 a.m., the white colour Maruti Suzuki Wagon R car bearing registration no. AS-10/E-1339 was stopped at the Naka checking when it was found coming from Silchar side towards Karimganj side. The said car was found driven by one Sabbir Ahmed and when questioned, his replies were found unsatisfactory. The Officer In-Charge, Badarpur Police Statio

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2021 Supreme(Online)(GAU) 110

HIGH COURT OF GAUHATIMR. JUSTICE MANISH CHOUDHURY, JAHADUL HUSSAIN – AppellantVersusTHE STATE OF ASSAM – RespondentBail Appln./126/2021|Bail Appln./498/2021|Bail Appln./139/2021|Bail Appln./367/2021|Bail Appln./130/2021|Bail Appln./361/2021|Bail Appln./129/2021|Bail Appln./575/2021

In bail applications under the NDPS Act, mere accusations are insufficient; substantial evidence is required to link the accused to drug offenses before denying bail.

Cases Referred (2)

HIGH COURT OF GAUHATI
MR. JUSTICE MANISH CHOUDHURY, J
AHADUL HUSSAIN – Appellant
Versus
THE STATE OF ASSAM – Respondent
Bail Appln./126/2021|Bail Appln./498/2021|Bail Appln./139/2021|Bail Appln./367/2021|Bail Appln./130/2021|Bail Appln./361/2021|Bail Appln./129/2021|Bail Appln./575/2021