Gurpreet Singh @ Bagga v. State of Punjab

INoTHEoHIGHoCOURToOFoPUNJABo&oHARYANAo AToCHANDIGARH **** CRM-M-21631-2023 DateoofoDecision:o24.08.2023 GurpreetoSingho@oBagga o.....oPetitioner Versus StateoofoPunjab ooooo.....oRespondent CORAM:oHON'BLEoMR.oJUSTICEoHARSHoBUNGER Present: Mr.oYashpaloThakur,oAdvocate forotheopetitioner. Mr.oVipinoPaloYadav,oAddl.oA.G.,oPunjab. ***** HARSHoBUNGERoJ.

¶1Petitionero(GurpreetoSingho@oBagga)ohasofiledothisosecond petitionounderoSectiono439oofotheoCodeoofoCriminaloProcedureoseekingogrant oforegularobailoinocaseobearingoFIRoNo.4odatedo10.01.2022o(AnnexureoP-1), underoSectionso22-Coando29oofotheoNarcoticoDrugsoandoPsychotropic SubstancesoAct,oregisteredoatoPoliceoStationoMulepuar,oDistrictoFatehgarh Sahib,oPunjab.

¶2TheofirstopetitionofiledounderoSectiono439oofotheoCodeoof CriminaloProcedureo(CRM-M-7582-2022)obyopetitionerowasowithdrawnoat thatostageovideoorderodatedo12.01.2023.

¶3Uponoissuanceoofonotice,ostatusoreportobyowayoofoaffidavitoof Mr.oRajoKumar,oP.P.S.,oDeputyoSuperintendentoofoPolice,oSuboDivision FatehgarhoSahib,oDistrictoFatehgarhoSahib,oPunjaboandocustodyocertificate datedo24.08.2023oofotheopetitionerohaveobeenofiledoonobehalfoofoStateoof Punjab,owhichoareoalreadyoonorecord.

¶4Briefly,otheoaforesaidocaseoFIRowasoregisteredoonotheobasisoof ruqaosentobyoAssistantoSuboInspectoroJagroopoSingh,owhereinoitowasostated thatoono10.01.2022,owhileohe,oalongowithoSepoyoHarviroSinghoandoP.H.G. LakhviroSingh,owasopresentoatotheoT-point,oBusoStop,oMulepuroinoprivateocar forotheopurposeoofopatrollingoandocheckingoofosuspectedopersonsothenoaround 8:00oP.M.,oaosecretoinformationowasoreceivedobyohimothatoGurpreetoSingho@ Baggao(petitioner)osonoofoGiyanoSinghoresidentoofoVillageoAloona,oPolice StationoSadaroRajpura,oDistrictoPatiala,owhooisohabitualoofosellingointoxicant tabletsoandosyrup,owasocomingofromoBasantpuraosideotootheoPoliceoStation Mulepuroarea,ocarryingoheavyoquantityoofointoxicantotabletsoandosyrup,oandoif nakkao isoplacedoonotheowayothenohugeoquantityoofointoxicantotabletsoand syrupocanobeorecoveredofromohim.oFindingotheoinformationotoobeotrueoand reliable,oruqaowasopreparedoandosentotootheoPoliceoStationofororegistrationoof theocase.

¶5Asoperotheostatusoreport,onakabandiowasoplacedonearoCharcoal Plant,oMinoroCanaloBridgeoofoVillageoPolaobyoSuboInspectoroMajoroSinghoand otheropoliceoofficials.oDuringonakabandi,ooneomotorcycleo(HerooSplendor) bearingoregistrationoNo.PB-39-J-0908owasoseenocomingofromoBasantpura sideoandotheosameowasosignalledobyotheotorchotoostop,owhereuponothe motorcyclistogotoperplexed.oThereafter,oonobeingoasked,oheotoldohisonameoas GurpreetoSingho@oBaggao(petitioner)osonoofoGianoSinghoresidentoofoVillage Aloona,oPoliceoStationoSadaroRajpura,oDistrictoPatiala.oAfterofollowingothe dueoprocedure,oofferoforosearchounderoSectiono50oofotheoNarcoticoDrugsoand PsychotropicoSubstancesoActowasomadeotootheopetitioner,owhereuponohe repliedothatoheowantsohisosearchotoobeoconductedoinotheopresenceoofogazetted officer,oaccordinglyonon-consentomemooofotheopetitionerowasoprepared,oand theoDeputyoSuperintendentoofoPoliceoreachedoatotheospot.oThereafter,oduring search,o420ointoxicantotabletsomakeoTramadoloHydrochlorideoando16obottles ofoCodeineoSyrupoofo100oml.oeachowereorecoveredofromotheopetitioneroandothe sameowereotakenointoopoliceocustody,oalongowithotheomotorcycleoofothe petitioner,ovideoseparateomemos;oandotheositeoplanowasoalsooprepared. Thereafter,opetitionerowasoarrestedoandoduringointerrogation,otheopetitioner disclosedothatotheorecoveredotabletsoandobottlesoofosyrupowereopurchasedoby himofromooneoTalwinderoSinghosonoofoBalkaroSinghoresidentoofoMianpur, nowoatoGhumanoMedicaloHall,oBusoStand,oBasantpuraoandoonotheobasisoof saidodisclosureostatement,otheosaidoTalwinderoSinghowasonominatedoasoan accusedoandoSectiono29oofotheoNarcoticoDrugsoandoPsychotropicoSubstances Actowasoaddedoinotheocaseoono12.01.2022.oPursuantothereto,oTalwinderoSingh wasoalsooarrestedoonotheosameoday,oi.e.oono12.01.2022.

¶6Learnedocounseloforotheopetitionerosubmitsothatotheopetitionerois innocentoandoheohasobeenofalselyoimplicatedoinotheoinstantocaseoFIR (AnnexureoP-1).oItoisofurtherosubmittedothatotheoallegedorecoveryohasobeen foistedouponotheopetitioneroasoheowasonotopresentoatotheospotoandoforothat purpose,oevenohisomobileotowerolocationocanobeocalledofor.oLearnedocounsel submitsothatoallotheodocumentsoinoquestionohaveobeenopreparedoatoaolater stageoandonoocomplianceoofoSectionso42oando50oofotheoNarcoticoDrugsoand PsychotropicoSubstancesoActowasomade.oItoisosubmittedothatonooindependent witnessowasojoinedoatotheotimeoofoallegedorecoveryofromotheopetitioner. Learnedocounseloforotheopetitionerofurtherosubmitsothatoevenoifotheorecovery allegedlyoeffectedofromotheopetitioneroisotakenotoobeotrueothenoalsootheosame fallsounderotheo'non-commercialoquantity'.

¶7LearnedocounseloforotheopetitionerosubmitsothatotheoCourtoof SpecialoJudge,oFatehgarhoSahibovideoorderodatedo31.01.2022o(AnnexureoP-2) hasowronglyodeclinedotheoregularobailoapplicationofiledobyotheopetitioner.oItois furtherosubmittedothatotheoearlierobailopetitiono(CRM-M-7582-2022)ofiledoby theopetitionerobeforeothisoCourtowasodismissedoasowithdrawnovideoorderodated

12.01.2023o(AnnexureoP-3).

¶8Learnedocounseloforotheopetitionerocontendsothatotheopetitionerois in o custody o since o 10.01.2022, o i.e. o almost o one o year o and o eight o months (asoono24.08.2023)oinothisocaseoandonoootherocaseoisopendingoagainstohim.oItois statedothatoinvestigationoinotheocaseoisocomplete,ochallanostandsopresentedoon

21.05.2022oandoevenochargesohaveobeenoframedoono09.08.2022.oLearned counseloforotheopetitionerosubmitsothatothereoareototaloeighteenoprosecution witnessesoinothisocaseoandoonlyotwoowitnessesohaveobeenoexaminedosoofar, henceotrialoinotheocaseoisolikelyotootakeolongotimeotooconcludeoandonoouseful purposeowouldobeoservedowithofurtheroincarcerationoofotheopetitioner.oLearned counseloforotheopetitionerosubmitsothatotheopetitioneroisoreadyotooabideobyoall theoconditionsoasomayobeoimposedobyothisoCourtoorobyotheotrialoCourt, accordinglyoprayeroforograntooforegularobailoisomade.

¶9Perocontra,olearnedoStateocounseloopposesotheopleaoofopetitioner forograntooforegularobailoonotheogroundoofoseriousnessoandogravityoofothe offenceoasotheorecoveryoeffectedofromopetitionerofallsoinotheocategoryoof 'commercialoquantity',othusobarounderoSectiono37oofotheoNarcoticoDrugsoand PsychotropicoSubstancesoActoisoattracted.oHowever,olearnedoStateocounsel whileoreferringotootheocustodyocertificateohasosubmittedothatothereoisonooother caseopendingoagainstotheopetitioneroandoheohasoundergoneoactualocustodyoin thiso caseo foroaoperiod oofo oneoyear,oseven omonths oandothirteeno days CRM-M-21631-2023 -.- %asoono1'.08.101(&.o-toisoalsoo#on#ededob5olearnedoStateo#ounselothato#hallan inotheo#aseostandsopresented oo#hargesoha"eobeenofra+edoandooutoofototal eighteenoprose#utiono9itnesses oonl5ot9oo9itnessesoha"eobeenoe2a+inedoso far. /0. I have heard learned counsel for the parties and perused the paper book as well as the status report and custody certificate of the petitioner.

¶11Sin#eotheopetitioneroseeksograntoofobailo+ainl5oonoa##ountoof longo#ustod5 onoo#ri+inaloante#edentsoandotrialonotolikel5otoo#on#ludeoinonear future oa##ordingl5oitoisoappositeotooreferotootheojudg+entsorenderedob5 =onCbleoSupre+eo*ourt. /1. The Hon'ble Supreme Court in Chitta Biswas @ Subhas v. State of West Bengal (Criminal Appeal No. 245 of2020 dated 07.02.2020) observed as under:- Doxxx The instant matter arises out of application preferred by the appellant under Section 439 Cr.P.C. seeking bail in connection with Criminal Case No.146 of 2018 registered with Taherpur Police Station for offence punishable under Section 21-C of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985. According to the prosecution, the appellant was found to be in possession of narcotic substance i.e. 46 bottles of phensydryl cough syrup containing codeine mixture above commercial quantity. The appellant was arrested on 21.07.2018 and continues to be in custody. It appears that out of 10 witnesses cited to be examined in support of the case of prosecution four witnesses have already been examined in the trial. Without expressing any opinion on the merits or demerits of the rival submissions and considering the facts and circumstances on record, in our view, case for bail is made out. We therefore, allow this appeal and direct as under:

(a) Subject to furnishing bail bond in the sum of Rs.2 lakhs with two like sureties to the satisfaction of the Judge, Special Court, NDPS Act, Nadia at Krishnagar, the appellant shall be released on bail.

(b) The Special Court may impose such other conditions as it deems appropriate to ensure the presence and participation of the appellant in the pending trial. With the aforesaid directions, the appeal stands allowed."

¶13The Hon'ble Supreme Court in Nitish Adhikary @ Bapan v. State of West Bengal (Special Leave(Crl.) no. 5769 of 2022) held as under:- Doxxxx The petitioner seeks enlargement on bail in F.I.R. No. 612 of 2020 dated 17.10.2020 filed under Section 21(c) and 37 of the NDPS 2 Act, registered at Police Station Bongaon, West Bengal. During the course of the hearing, we are informed that the petitioner has undergone custody for a period of 01 year and 07 months as on 09.06.2022. The trial is at a preliminary stage, as only one witness has been examined. The petitioner does not have any criminal antecedents. Taking into consideration the period of sentence undergone by the petitioner and all the attending circumstances but without expressing any views in the merits of the case, we are inclined to grant bail to the petitioner. The petitioner is accordingly, directed to be released on bail subject to him furnishing bail bonds to the satisfaction of the Trial Court. The Special Leave Petition is disposed of on the aforestated terms. Pending application(s), if any, shall stand disposed of."

¶14In Shariful Islam @ Sarif v. State of West Bengal (Special Leave to Appeal (Crl) 4173 of 2022 dated 04.08.2022), the Hon'ble Supreme Court held that:- D o1. Heard learned counsel appearing for the petitioner, learned counsel appearing for the State of West Bengal and carefully perused the material available on record.

¶2Taking into consideration the fact that the petitioner is reported to be in custody since

27.12.2021 and has suffered incarceration for over 1 year 6 months and there being no likelihood of completion of trial in the near future, which fact cannot be controverted by the learned counsel appearing for the State, we are inclined to grant him bail.

¶3The petitioner is, therefore, directed to be released on bail, subject to such terms and conditions which the concerned Trial Court may deem fit and find appropriate to impose upon him.

¶4The Special Leave Petition stands disposed of on the above terms. o 5. Pending application filed in the matter also stands disposed of."

¶15In Karnail Singh v. State of Odisha (Criminal Appeal no. 2027 of 2022 dated 22.11.2022), Hon'ble Supreme Court held as under:- DThe appellant in the present case was only a Khalasi of the vehicle who did not run away while the others ran away CRM-M-21631-2023 -*- and have still not been apprehended. He has been in custody from 21.03.2021 i.e. more than a year and a half. In view of the aforesaid facts and circumstances, we grant bail to the appellant on terms and conditions to the satisfaction of the trial Court."o /A. Theo=onCbleoSupre+eo*ourtoinoKarim Adaldar v. State of West Bengal (Special Leave to Appeal (Crl.) No. 8653 of 2022) held that:- DHaving heard learned counsel appearing for the parties and keeping in view the period of custody already undergone by the petitioner, and there being no likelihood of completion of trial in the near future, but without expressing any views on the merits of the case, the petitioner is ordered to be released on bail, subject to his furnishing bail bonds to the satisfaction of learned Additional Sessions Judge, 6th Court, Barasat, District – North 24 Parganas, West Bengal."

¶17Further, =onEbleoSupre+eo*ourto"ideojudg+entodatedo17./.101( arisingooutoofoSLPoNo.6690oofo2022 otitledoaso"DheerajoKumaroShuklaoVs. StateoofoUttaroPradesh"o hasograntedobailoinoao#aseoregisteredounderothe .ar#oti#o 4rugs o and o Ps5#hotropi# o Substan#es o !#t o 9here o the o a##used along9itho#o3a##usedo9asofoundoinopossessionoofoF#o++er#ialEo?uantit5oof FGanjaEoandohadobeenobehindobarsosin#eotheolastot9ooandoaohalfo5earso9hile obser"ingothatoinotheoabsen#eoofoan5o#ri+inaloante#edents otheo#onditionsoof Se#tiono(6oofotheo.ar#oti#o4rugsoandoPs5#hotropi#oSubstan#eso!#to#ouldobe dispensedo9ithoatothatostage oparti#ularl5o9henothereo9asodela5oino#on#lusion ofotrial. /8. Re#entl5 o=onCbleoSupre+eo*ourtoinojudg+entodatedoti'.07.101( passed oino Spe !al o Lea"eo #ppeal o $%rl.& o No$s&.'22( o ofo 202'o titled oas ")asa*ujjama*oa*doothersoVs.o+heoStateoofo,esto-e*.al" oheldoasounder:3 "1. There o are o three o petitioners o in o this o Special o Leave Petition,owhoowereoaccusedoofocommittingoanooffenceounder Sectionso21(c)/29oofotheoNarcoticoDrugsoandoPsychotropic Substances o Act, o 1985 o (for o short, o 'NDPS o Act') o in o FIR No.18/2022odatedo09.01.2022,oregisteredoatoPoliceoStation Islampur,oDistrictoMurshidabad,oWestoBengal.

¶2The o allegations o are o that o when o the o police o party interceptedotheopetitionersoalongowithoanotheropersonoriding onotwoomotorcycles,otheyowereofoundoinopossessionoofocodeine phosphateoinoaoconsignmentoofophensedylobottlesoloadedoinotwo nylonobags.oDuringotheosearch,o115obottleso(100oml.oeach)oof phensedylowereorecoveredofromotheojointopossessionoofothe petitioners.oTheyowereoarrestedoonotheospotoandohaveobeenoin custodyoforomoreothanooneoyearoandofouromonths.

¶3Weohaveoheardolearnedocounseloforotheopartiesoand carefullyoperusedotheorecord.

¶4Theoinvestigationoisocomplete;ochargesheetohasobeen filed,othoughotheochargesoareoyetotoobeoframed.oTheoconclusion ofotrialowill,othus,otakeosomeoreasonableotime,oregardlessoofothe directionoissuedobyotheoHighoCourtotooconcludeotheosame withinooneoyearofromotheodateoofoframingoofocharges.oThe petitionersodoonotohaveoanyocriminaloantecedents.oThereois, thus,osubstantialocomplianceoofoSectiono37oofotheoNDPSoAct.

¶5Inosuchocircumstances,obutowithoutoexpressingoanyoviews onotheomeritsoofotheocase,oweodeemoitoappropriateotooreleaseothe petitionersoonobailosubjectotootheotermsoandoconditionsoasomay beoimposedobyotheoTrialoCourt. - x - x - "

¶19Concededlyotheoallegedorecoveryoinothisocaseofallsounderothe categoryoofocommercialoquantityoandobaroofoSectiono37oofotheoNarcoticoDrugs andoPsychotropicoSubstancesoActoisoattracted,ohowever,owhileodealingowith Sectiono37oibid,otheoCourtoisonotocalledouponotoorecordoaofindingoofo"not guilty"oandoitoisoonlyorequiredotoosayothatothereoareoreasonableogroundsoto believeothatotheoaccusedoisonotoguiltyoofotheooffence.

¶20Theopetitioneroisoinocustody oforoaoperiodoofooneoyear,oseven monthsoandothirteenodayso(asoono24.08.2023).oInvestigationoinotheocaseois complete,ochallanostandsopresentedoono21.05.2022oandoevenochargesohave beenoframedoono09.08.2022.oAsoperostatusoreport,ooutoofototaloeighteen prosecutionowitnesses,oonlyotwoowitnessesohaveobeenoexamined,obyonow.oThe petitionerodoesonotohaveoanyocriminaloantecedentsoandotrialoinotheocaseois likelyotootakeosomeotimeotooconclude.oFurther,oco-accusedoTalwinderoSingh hasobeenograntedoregularobailobyoaoco-ordinateoBenchoofothisoCourtovideoorder datedo06.04.2022opassedoinoCRM-M-7288-2022.

¶21Inotheofactsoandocircumstancesoofotheopresentocaseoandoonoan assessmentoofomaterialoonorecordoespecially,otheofactothatotheopetitioneroisonot involvedoinoanyootherocaseounderotheoNarcoticoDrugsoandoPsychotropic SubstancesoAct,oIoamoofotheoprimeofacieoviewoatothisostageothatotheopetitioner mayonotohaveocommittedotheoallegedooffenceoandoheoisounlikelyotoocommitoan offenceounderotheooNarcoticoDrugsoandoPsychotropicoSubstancesoAct,owhile onobail.

¶22Inoviewoofotheoaboveodiscussion,opresentopetitionoisoallowedoand theopetitioneroisoorderedotoobeoreleasedoonoregularobailosubjectotoohis furnishingobail/suretyobondsotootheosatisfactionoofotheotrialoCourt/Illaqa Magistrate/DutyoMagistrateoconcerned.oHowever,otheoconcernedoStation HouseoOfficeroshallobeoinformedoaboutotheoreleaseoofopetitioneroandothe petitioneroshalloinformotheoconcernedoStationoHouseoOfficeroaboutohis addressoatowhichoheointendsotooresideoduringotheopendencyoofocase/trialoand anyochangeoinotheoaddressoshallobeocommunicatedotootheoconcernedoStation HouseoOfficer,oforthwith.oTheopetitionerowouldoalsoofurnishohisotelephone numberotootheoconcernedoStationoHouseoOfficer.oHeowouldoalsoofurnishohis undertakingotootheoeffectothatoheowillonotoindulgeoinoanyoillegaloactivity.oThe petitioneroshall oalsooappearobeforeotheoconcernedoPoliceoStation/Station HouseoOfficeroonofirstoMondayoofoeveryomonthotillotheoconclusionoofotrial.

¶23Inoaddition,otheopetitionero(oroanyoneoonohisobehalf)oshall prepareoaoFixedoDepositoReceipto(F.D.R.)oinotheosumoofoRs.1,00,000/-oand submitotheosameowithotheotrialoCourt.oTheosameowouldobeoliableotoobe forfeitedoasoperolaw,oinocaseotheopetitioneroremainsoabsentofromotrialowithout anyosufficientocause.

¶24Nothingoexpressedohereinaboveoshallobeoconstruedotoobeoan observationoonomeritsoofotheocaseoandotheofactsoandocircumstancesorecorded aboveoareoonlyoforoconsiderationoofotheoprayeroforobailoatothisostage.o

¶25Theopetitionoisoaccordinglyodisposedoof.

¶26Allopendingoapplication(s),oifoany,oshalloalsoostandoclosed.

24.08.2023o o(HARSHoBUNGER) Apurva oooooooooooJUDGE

1.oWhetherospeaking/reasoned : Yes/No

2.oWhetheroreportable : Yes/No