[NDPS case] Allahabad High Court grants bail to man accused of possessing 21 kg Charas

The Allahabad High Court recently granted bail to a man accused of offences under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985 (NDPS Act) after 21 kilograms (42 packets) of charas was allegedly recovered from him..Single judge Justice Siddharth granted bail to one Lal Babu who was in jail since February 23, 2021 for offences under Sections 8 and 20 of the NDPS Act.The Court while granting bail, placed reliance on the dictum laid down by the Supreme Court in Shiv Shankar Keshari v. Union of India."The Apex Court in the case of Union of India vs. Shiv Shankar Keshari, [(2007) 7 SCC 798] has held that the court while considering the application for bail with reference to Section 37 of the Act, is not called upon to record a finding of not guilty. It is for the limited purpose essentially confined to the question of releasing the accused on bail that the court is called upon to see if there are reasonable grounds for believing that the accused is not guilty and records its satisfaction about the existence of such grounds," the order said..Interestingly, the alleged quantity recovered from the applicant/accused was 21 kilo gram (kg) way beyond normal commercial quantity of 1 kg..The counsel for applicant, advocate Praveen Kumar Yadav argued that the Police officials took 100 gms of Charas only from one packet for sampling which is against the settled rules of the sampling under NDPS Act.Further, it was submitted that there was no compliance with Sections 50 and 57 of the Act and at the stage of consideration of bail, it cannot be decided whether offer given to the applicant and his consent obtained was voluntary. These are the questions of fact which can be determined only during trial and not at the present stage. In case of prima facie non-compliance with the mandatory provision of Section 50 and 57, the accused is entitled to be released on bail within the meaning of Section 37 of the NDPS Act, submitted the counsel for applicant. .On the other hand, Additional Government Advocate opposed the prayer for bail contending that the innocence of the applicant cannot be adjudged at pre-trial stage and, therefore, the applicant does not deserve any indulgence. It was further submitted that the reasonable grounds mentioned in Section 37(1)(b)(ii) of NDPS Act mean something more than prima facie grounds and implies substantial probable causes for believing that accused is not guilty of the offence charged..Considering the facts of the case and keeping in mind the arguments advanced on behalf of the parties, the ratio of the apex court's judgment in the case of Union of India vs. Shiv Shankar Keshari and larger mandate of Article 21 of the constitution of India, the court granted bail to the applicant. "The severity of punishment which conviction will entail, the character of the accused-applicant, circumstances which are peculiar to the accused, reasonable possibility of securing the presence of the accused at the trial, reasonable apprehension of the witnesses being tampered with, the larger interest of the public/State and other circumstances, but without expressing any opinion on the merits, I am of the view that it is a fit case for grant of bail," the Court said..[Read Order]