JUDGMENT :

DINESH MAHESHWARI, J.

1. Leave granted.

2. This appeal by the State of West Bengal is directed against the order dated 24.11.2021, as passed by the Division Bench of Calcutta High Court in CRM No. 3152 of 2021, whereby the respondent, an accused of the offences under Sections 21 (b)/29/27A of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985¹ [Hereinafter also referred to as ‘the NDPS Act’] has been ordered to be enlarged on bail with certain additional conditions, apart from bail bonds and sureties.

3. Though, the validity of the order granting bail is in question in this appeal and final determination of all the contentious issues is not called for but, looking to the nature of rival submissions made before us as also the nature of accusations concerning the respondent, a somewhat lengthy reference to the relevant background aspects is rather inevitable.

4. The matter in issue in this appeal has its genesis in FIR No. 65 of 2021 dated 19.02.2021, registered at New Alipore Police Station, Kolkata, initially in respect of offences under Sections 21 (b)/29 NDPS Act; after recovery of 76 grams of cocaine from a motorcar bearing Registration No. WB-06P-0233 with three occupants, namely, Somnath Chattopadhyay (security guard), Prabir Kumar De and Pamela Goswami. However, on 23.02.2021, the respondent Rakesh Singh @ Rakesh Kumar Singh was arrested in this matter with the accusations essentially pertaining to the offence under Section 27A of the NDPS Act, i.e. financing illicit trafficking in contrabands and harbouring offenders and with the allegations that he got the contraband procured and then got it planted in the vehicle occupied by the aforesaid three persons.

5. It is the accusations concerning the respondent which forms the core of the subject-matter of this appeal. Thus, we may take note of the salient features of the prosecution case against the respondent as follows:

5.1. As per the prosecution, the respondent had hatched a criminal conspiracy with the other charged co-accused persons for falsely implicating the said Prabir Kumar De and Pamela Goswami of offences under the NDPS Act out of personal grudge. It is alleged that in order to fulfil his designs, the respondent financed the activity of procuring cocaine, a contraband drug, to the tune of Rs. 8,50,000/- from the co-accused Amrita Singh @ Sweety; that upon receiving instructions and payment from the respondent, the said co-accused Amrita Singh @ Sweety procured the contraband from other co-accused persons, namely, Daim Akhtar and Farhan Ahmed and that after procurement, the contraband was handed over to the respondent by the co-accused Amrita Singh @ Sweety.

5.2. According to the prosecution, the respondent, thereafter, engaged the co-accused Amrit Raj Singh, who allured the said Prabir Kumar De and Pamela Goswami to attend a meeting with a senior political leader at New Alipore area on 19.02.2021 in relation with the ensuing Legislative Assembly elections and the said Amrit Raj Singh went to the house of the respondent on 18.02.2021 and was also seen using the vehicle of the respondent.

5.3. It has further been alleged that on 19.02.2021, the said Prabir Kumar De and Pamela Goswami, accompanied by their security guard Somnath Chattopadhyay, picked up Amrit Raj Singh in their vehicle and proceeded for the meeting scheduled at New Alipore area. Upon reaching the place of occurrence, Amrit Raj Singh, on the pretext of changing his clothes, stayed in the vehicle while Prabir Kumar De, Pamela Goswami,