The court ruled that credible and corroborative evidence is necessary to deny bail under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, emphasizing the lack of reasonable grounds for the petitioner's innocence.

ORDER

By way of this petition filed under Section 439 of the Code of Criminal Procedure , the petitioner has prayed for his release in FIR No. 336/20, dated 07.11.2020, registered at Police Station Kullu, in terms whereof, the petitioner is being prosecuted for commission of an offence punishable under Sections 20 & 29 of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act.

2. Mr. N.K. Tomar, learned counsel for the pet itioner submits that the petitioner has been falsely implicated in the case and he has no connection whatsoever with the other accus ed in the case and, therefore, the petitioner deserves to be released on bail. He contends that the petitioner is an agriculturist by profession, who otherwise also is not involved in the commission of such kind of matters and he has been falsely implicated in the case at the behest of Police. He further states that the petitioner has no past criminal history and there is not even a remote possibility of the petitioner having committed the offence alleged against him and in these circumstances, if released on bail, he will comply with all such conditions as may be imposed by the Court.

3. The bail petition is opposed by the learned Additional Advocate General, who states that on the fateful day, i.e., 7th November, 2020, a huge hall of contraband, i.e., charas weighing 3 Kg. 850 grams was recovered from a bag which was kept in the rack just above Seat Nos. 25 and 26 of a KTC Transport Bus bearing No. HP66-1742, which was on its way from Manikaran to Bhuntar. The bag was grey in colour and none in the bus claimed the ownership thereof. The contraband was discovered in the course of a routine checking of the bus by the police officials. When the bag was opened in the presence of witnesses, the same was found containing besides other articles, as have been mentioned in the status report, five packets, inside which, the contraband was found. These when weighed, were found to be 3 Kg. 850 grams and on the basis of experience, it was discovered that the same was charas. After recovery of the contraband, investigation was carried by the Police an d the same revealed that on 06.11.2020, in Room No. 101 of one Sharma Guest House at Manikaran, three persons, namely, Piare Singh, Chet Ram and Gita Nand had stayed together, who checked out of the Room on 07.11.2022 at 8:00 a.m. At the relevant time, the bag which was recovered from the bus was being carried by one of the said three persons, namely, Gita Nand. Incidentally, investigation further revealed that one of these three persons, Piare Singh, was one of the passengers of the bus, from which the contraband was recovered. Investigation also revealed that the bag was kept in the rack of the bus by Chet Ram and Gita Nand, who had paid an amount of Rs.5,000/- to Piare Singh to take care of the bag, from whom the same was to be collected by the other accused at Bhuntar, who had already left for Bhuntar prior in time before the bus was to reach there. It is in this backdrop and in the course of what was revealed in the investigation that the accused were arrested, which includes Chet Ram also. Accordingly, learned Additional Advocate General has argued that it is not as if the petitioner has been taken into custody on the basis of some confessional statement only, made by the co-accused, as the involvement of the petitioner stands clearly spelled out by the investigation which was carried in the matter, which includes the statements of employee of the Guest House and also one Dhabha owner, who had disclosed that all these th ree persons were together on the night before the fateful day when the charas was recovered from the bus. The bag in issue was also i