Gujarat High Court
Bidhan Makardhwaj Nayak vs State Of Gujarat on 27 June, 2025
NEUTRAL CITATION
R/CR.MA/12344/2025 ORDER DATED: 27/06/2025
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IN THE HIGH COURT OF GUJARAT AT AHMEDABAD
R/CRIMINAL MISC.APPLICATION (FOR REGULAR BAIL - AFTER
CHARGESHEET) NO. 12344 of 2025
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BIDHAN MAKARDHWAJ NAYAK
Versus
STATE OF GUJARAT
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Appearance:
ANURAG V AGRAWAL(9295) for the Applicant(s) No. 1
MR DHAWAN JAYSWAL APP for the Respondent(s) No. 1
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CORAM:HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE M. R. MENGDEY
Date : 27/06/2025
ORAL ORDER
1. The Applicant has filed this Application under Section 483 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS) for enlarging the Applicant on Regular Bail in connection with FIR being CR No. 11212010240183 of 2024 registered with Bharuch Railway Police Station, Bharuch for the offences punishable under Sections 8(c), 20(b)(ii)(C) and 29 of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985 (for short 'NDPS Act').
2. Heard learned advocate Mr. Anurag Agrawal for the applicant and learned APP Mr. Dhawan Jayswal for the respondent- State.
3. Learned advocate Mr. Anurag Agrawal appearing for the applicant submitted that the applicant was arrested in connection with the alleged offence on 04.09.2024 and since then he is in custody. The investigation of the offence is over and charge sheet has been filed. The applicant has undergone incarceration for almost nine months and there is no likelihood of trial of the offence to be concluded in the near future. He further submitted that as per the case of prosecution itself, as mentioned in the charge sheet, the age of the present applicant at the time of the offence was 17 Page 1 of 3 Uploaded by Radhika Srinivasan(HCD0042) on Tue Jul 01 2025 Downloaded on : Wed Jul 02 00:21:05 IST 2025 NEUTRAL CITATION R/CR.MA/12344/2025 ORDER DATED: 27/06/2025 undefined years. The applicant had been brought to Ankleshwar from Orrisa, by luring him of providing employment, the person who had handed over the packets of contraband substance to the present applicant has absconded after receiving them. He further submitted that the process of sampling and seizure was not been carried out by the investigating agency in an appropriate manner, therefore, there is violation of provisions of section 52(a) of the NDPS Act. Moreover, the quantity which had been seized from the present applicant is an intermediate quantity. He therefore submitted to allow the present application and enlarge the applicant on bail subject to suitable conditions.
4. Learned APP Mr. Dhawan Jayswal has opposed the application contending that the present applicant had travelled from Orrisa to Ankleshwar when the other accused person including the present applicant herein, were found in possession of contraband substance of ganja worth 40 kilograms, which is a commercial quantity. So far as the aspect of age of the applicant is concerned, the investigating agency had obtained a school leaving certificate of the present applicant from the school where the applicant had studied and the said school leaving certificate indicates the date of birth of applicant to be 20.02.2005, by which the age of the applicant at the time of offence was above 19 years. He therefore submitted to dismiss the application.
5. Heard learned advocates appearing for the respective parties.
6. At the outset, it appears that the applicant and the co- accused got down at Ankleshwar Railway Station from the Rajkot Superfast Express train. Upon a search being carried out by the investigating agency, the contraband substance weighing 40 Page 2 of 3 Uploaded by Radhika Srinivasan(HCD0042) on Tue Jul 01 2025 Downloaded on : Wed Jul 02 00:21:05 IST 2025 NEUTRAL CITATION R/CR.MA/12344/2025 ORDER DATED: 27/06/2025 undefined kilograms was seized from the accused persons including the applicant. The quantity of the contraband substance recovered from the applicant was 10.240 kilograms. It is required to be noted that, all the accused persons including the present applicant had travelled together in the train in question.
6.1 Though it is contended on behalf of the applicant that the age of the applicant at the relevant point of time was 17 years, based on the date of birth cited by the prosecution in the charge sheet, the record indicates that the investigating agency had obtained School Leaving Certificate of the applicant from the school where the applicant had studied and the date of birth of the applicant mentioned in the certificate is 20.02.2005. Thus, the age of the applicant was above 19 years at the time of the offence. Therefore, there is no reason for this Court to disbelieve the School Leaving Certificate, which has been sought to be relied upon by the prosecution for proving the age of the applicant.
6.2 It is also sought to be contended by the applicant that the investigating agency has committed a breach of the provisions of Section 52(a) of the NDPS Act. Whether the said provisions of Section 52(a) of the NDPS Act have been duly complied with or not, is a question to be considered at the stage of trial.
7. Having regard to the aforesaid aspects, no case is made out. The present application stands dismissed.
(M. R. MENGDEY,J) Radhika Page 3 of 3 Uploaded by Radhika Srinivasan(HCD0042) on Tue Jul 01 2025 Downloaded on : Wed Jul 02 00:21:05 IST 2025