IN THE HIGH COURT OF HIMACHAL PRADESH, SHIMLA Cr. MP(M) No. 431 of 2026 Reserved on: 21.04.2026 Date of Decision: 27.04.2026.

G0urav …. Petitioner Versus State of HP …. Respondent Coram Hon’ble Mr Justice Rakesh Kainthla, Judge.

Whether approved for reporting?¹ No For the Petitioner : Mr Umesh Kanwar, Advocate.

For the Respondent/State: Mr Ajit Sharma, Deputy Advocate General.

Rakesh Kainthla, Judge The petitioner has filed the present petition seeking regular bail in FIR No. 151 of 2025, dated 03.10.2025, registered at Police Station Nagrota Bagwan, District Kangra, H.P., for the commission of offences punishable under Sections 20, 25 & 29 of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act.

2. It has been asserted that, as per the prosecution, the police were on patrolling duty on 03.10.2025 at about 1:20 PM at

1 Whether reporters of Local Papers may be allowed to see the judgment? Yes.

53 miles. They stopped and checked a bus bearing registration No HP-68A-2525 based on secret information. The police recovered 1.06 kg of charas from Harish Kumar and Rocky. The police registered the FIR and investigated the matter. Rocky made a disclosure statement that the petitioner had paid him ₹54,000/- to purchase the charas from Mandi. The police arrested the petitioner based on the statement made by the co-accused. The police failed to recover any substance from the petitioner’s possession or any other material to connect the petitioner to the commission of the crime. The investigation is complete, and no fruitful purpose would be served by detaining the petitioner in custody. FIR No 46 of 2024, dated 03.04.2024, was registered against the petitioner at Police Station Shahpur, District Kangra, which is pending disposal. The petitioner would abide by the terms and conditions that the Court may impose. Hence, it was prayed that the present petition be allowed and the petitioner be released on bail.

3. The petition is opposed by filing a status report asserting that the police were on patrolling duty on 03.10.2025 at 53 miles. They received secret information at 1:20 PM that two persons travelling in a bus bearing registration No. HP-68A-

2525 were transporting a huge quantity of charas. The information was credible, and the delay in procuring the search warrant would have led to the destruction of the case property. Hence, the police reduced the information into writing under Section 42 (2) of the NDPS Act and sent it to the Supervisory Officer. The police intercepted the bus bearing registration No. HP-68A-2525 and checked the luggage of the passengers in the presence of the driver, Parvinder Kumar, and conductor Shyam Lal. Harish Kumar was occupying seat No. 20, and Rocky was occupying seat No. 21. They had kept a carry bag between themselves. The police checked the carry bag in the presence of the witnesses and recovered 1.06 kg of charas/cannabis. The police seized the charas, arrested Harish Kumar and Rocky and interrogated them. Rocky revealed during the interrogation that the petitioner had paid ₹54,000/- to him for purchasing charas and promised to pay ₹20,000/- on delivery of the charas. The police obtained the call detail record and found that the petitioner and Rocky were in constant touch with each other. The police arrested the petitioner, and the petitioner confirmed Rocky's version during the interrogation. The charas was sent to the State Forensic Science Laboratory (SFSL) and was confirmed to be an extract of cannabis and a sample of charas after the analysis. FIR No. 46/2024 and FIR No. 151/2024 are pending against the petitioner. The police filed the chargesheet before the court on 24.03.2026. Hence, the status report.

4. I have heard Mr Umesh Kanwar, learned counsel for the petitioner, and Mr Ajit Sharma, learned Deputy Advocate General for the respondent/State.

5. Mr Umesh Kanwar, learned counsel for the petitioner, submitted that the petitioner is innocent and he was falsely implicated based on the statement made b