Meghalaya High Court: In a bail application, wherein the applicant was seeking grant of bail under Section 439 of Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (‘Cr.PC’) for offence under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985 (‘NDPS Act’), the Single Judge Bench of W. Diengdoh, J., allowed the application and released the applicant on bail.
In the matter at hand, on receiving information, that on 06-03-2023, a drug peddler was proceeding from Kalain, Cachar towards Umkiang Village Meghalaya with his friend in a vehicle being a Maruti Car 800, the police had accordingly set up a checkpoint and had intercepted the said vehicle at Umkiang. The police recovered a packet in which seven soap boxes were found, containing orange colour powder materials suspected to be contraband or banned psychotropic substances, which ultimately, after the preliminary test, was found to be Heroin. Accordingly, the occupants of the said vehicle were arrested. In the course of investigation, the occupants of the car(accused persons) revealed to the police that they were instructed to take the consignment from Kalain on specific instructions of the applicant. Accordingly, the present applicant was also arrested in connection with the case registered under Sections 21(b) and 29 of the NDPS Act.
Thereafter, one of the co-accused persons was released on bail on 18-05-2023 by the Court of Special Judge, NDPS, Khliehriat. The present applicant was seeking a grant of bail under Section 439 of CrPC on the grounds of parity, that since one of the co-accused persons was released on bail, the same benefit should be extended to the present applicant. The applicant’s application was also based on the ground that the charge sheet filed by the Investigating Officer was incomplete. According to the applicant, the prayer for filing of the supplementary charge sheet after receipt of the relevant FSL report amounts to an incomplete charge sheet, which could also be termed as no charge sheet at all and on this premise, the applicant was in custody for more than 100 days and therefore, was entitled to default bail.
Placing its reliance on Divyas Bardewa v. Narcotics Control Bureau,1 wherein the Supreme Court had released the petitioners on bail in connection with a case under the NDPS Act, who were in custody for some time, the Court allowed the present application and released the applicant on bail.
The Court released the applicant on bail on certain conditions, that:
a. the applicant shall not abscond or tamper with the evidence and witnesses;
b. that he shall cooperate with the Investigating Officer;
c. that he shall not leave the jurisdiction of Meghalaya without the prior permission of the Investigating Officer or the concerned Court, and
d. he shall furnish a personal bond of Rs. 2,00,000/-, with one surety of like amount to the satisfaction of the Investigation Officer.
The Court also said that the bail granted would be automatically cancelled on failure to the adherence of any of the stipulated conditions.
[Jopbenik Siangshai v. State of Meghalaya, 2023 SCC OnLine Megh 295, Decided on 20-06-2023]
Advocates who appeared in this case :
For the Applicant: Advocate S. Pandit;
For the Respondent: Government Advocate K.P. Bhattacharjee.
Buy Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 HERE
