220 IN THE HIGH COURT OF PUNJAB & HARYANA AT CHANDIGARH CRM-M-67525-2025 Date of Decision:-10.02.2026 VIPAN .....Petitioner VERSUS STATE OF PUNJAB ......Respondent CORAM:- HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE JASJIT SINGH BEDI Present:- Mr. Yashpal Thakur, Advocate for the Petitioner.

Mr. M.S. Toor, AAG Punjab.

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JASJIT SINGH BEDI, J.

The prayer in this petition under Section 483 BNSS, 2023 is for the grant of regular bail in case FIR No.209 dated 06.08.2025 (Annexure P-1) registered under Sections 21 & 29 of the NDPS Act at Police Station STF, Mohali, Punjab.

2. The brief facts of the case are that Mindo Kaur was apprehended with 303 grams of heroin. She disclosed that she was to supply the same to Lakho Rani from whom the present petitioner-Vipan was to further receive the contraband.

3. The learned counsel for the petitioner contends that the petitioner has been falsely implicated in the present case. He contends that the name of the petitioner figured in the disclosure statement of his co-accused. Pursuant to his arrest, no recovery whatsoever had been effected. Reliance is placed on the judgments in the cases of Tofan Singh Versus State of Tamil Nadu, 2020 AIR (Supreme Court) 5592, Rakesh Kumar Singla Versus Union of India, 2021(1) RCR (Criminal) 704, Surinder Kumar Khanna Versus Intelligence Officer Directorate of Revenue Intelligence, 2018(3) RCR (Criminal) 954, State by (NCB) Bengaluru Versus Pallulabid Ahmad Arimutta & Anr. 2022(1) RCR (Criminal) 762, Sanjeev Chandra Agarwal & Anr. Versus Union of India 2021(4) RCR (Criminal) 590, Vijay Singh Versus The State of Haryana, bearing Special Leave to Appeal (Crl.) No.(s).1266/2023 decided on 17.05.2023 & Vikrant Singh Versus State of Punjab, CRM-M-39657- 2020”, wherein it has been held that the accused can be granted the concession of regular bail where he has been named in the disclosure statement of his co-accused and there is no other corroborative evidence against the accused. As the petitioner is a first-time offender, is in custody since 13.09.2025 but none of the 19 prosecution witnesses has been examined so far, he is entitled to the concession of bail.

4. On the other hand, the learned State counsel contends that in view of the serious allegations levelled against the petitioner, he is not entitled to the grant of bail. He, however, admits that the petitioner is named in the disclosure statement of his co-accused and no recovery was effected from him. He also concedes that the petitioner is a first-time offender, is in custody since 13.09.2025 but none of the 19 prosecution witnesses has been examined so far.

5. I have heard the learned counsel for both the parties at length.

6. The Hon'ble Supreme Court in the case of State of Haryana Versus Samarth Kumar (supra), held as under:-

“4. The High Court decided to grant pre-arrest bail to the respondents on the only ground that no recovery was effected from the respondents and that they had been implicated only on the basis of the disclosure statement of the main accused Dinesh Kumar. Therefore, reliance was placed by the High Court in the majority judgment of this Court in Tofan Singh v. State of Tamil Nadu reported in (2021) 4 SCC 1.

5. But, it is contended by the learned Additional Advocate General appearing on behalf of the State of Haryana that on the basis of the anticipatory bail granted to the respondents, the Special Court was constrained to grant regular bail even to the main accused-Dinesh Kumar and he jumped bail. Fortunately, the main accused-Dinesh Kumar has again been apprehended. According to the learned Additional Advocate General, the respondent in the second of these appeals is also a habitual offender.

6. Learned counsel appearing on behalf of the respondent in the first of these Appeals contends that the State is guilty of suppression of the vital fact that the respondent was granted regular bail after the charge-sheet was filed and that therefore, nothing survives in the appeal. But,we do not agree.

7. The order of the Sp