Gujarat High Court
Manjitsing @ Manna Jashbirsing vs State Of Gujarat on 18 July, 2025
Author: Ilesh J. Vora
Bench: Ilesh J. Vora
NEUTRAL CITATION
R/CR.A/1575/2025 ORDER DATED: 18/07/2025
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IN THE HIGH COURT OF GUJARAT AT AHMEDABAD
R/CRIMINAL APPEAL (TEMPORARY BAIL) NO. 1575 of 2025
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MANJITSING @ MANNA JASHBIRSING
Versus
STATE OF GUJARAT & ORS.
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Appearance:
THROUGH JAIL for the Appellant(s) No. 1
NOTICE NOT RECD BACK for the Opponent(s)/Respondent(s) No. 2,3
MR LB DABHI, APP for the Opponent(s)/Respondent(s) No. 1
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CORAM:HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE ILESH J. VORA
and
HONOURABLE MR.JUSTICE P. M. RAVAL
Date : 18/07/2025
ORAL ORDER
(PER : HONOURABLE MR.JUSTICE P. M. RAVAL)
1. The present Criminal Appeal (Temporary Bail) is preferred by the appellant - Manjitsing @ Manna Jashbirsing through jail for granting him temporary bail for 30 days on the following grounds.
(a) That he is in judicial custody since long and is falsely impllicated.
(b) That due to his pretrial custody, his family is Page 1 of 13 Uploaded by H.M. PATHAN(HC00167) on Mon Jul 21 2025 Downloaded on : Mon Jul 21 21:45:02 IST 2025 NEUTRAL CITATION R/CR.A/1575/2025 ORDER DATED: 18/07/2025 undefined disturbed financially, mentally and socially.
(c) That his mother is having multiple health issues due to age factor and presently she is getting treatment from local government hospital.
(d) That there is no adequate facilities for his mother's treatment and hence, she is required to be admitted in the multispeciality hospital at Amritsor / Chandigarh.
(e) That his brother is not in a position to take care of his mother due to his old age.
(f) That his wife is living separately with his mother and father and that she has also filed domestic violence case against the appellant accused and is residing with his small son.
(g) That the temporary bail is required to convey her wife and keep her with his family so that she can take care Page 2 of 13 Uploaded by H.M. PATHAN(HC00167) on Mon Jul 21 2025 Downloaded on : Mon Jul 21 21:45:02 IST 2025 NEUTRAL CITATION R/CR.A/1575/2025 ORDER DATED: 18/07/2025 undefined of his parents and that family dispute is also required to be settled in view of his small child and has thus prayed to allow temporary bail on humanitarian grounds and also shown readiness and willingness to abide by the conditions that may be imposed while granting temporary bail.
2. Heard learned APP Mr.L.B.Dabhi for the respondent State, learned Mr.Kshitij Amin and learned advocate Mr.Sandip Sadvarat for the respondent NIA.
3. Learned advocate Mr.Kshitij Amin and learned advocate Mr.Sandip Sadvarat have relied upon the affidavit- in-reply of NIA and have argued to reject the temporary bail application in view of the fact that the present appellant accused is involved in serious crime which came to be detected after in-depth investigation for the case registered by STF, S.A.S.Nagar, Punjab bearing FIR No.23 of 2020 dated 31.1.2020 under sections 21, 25, 27(A) and 29 of the NDPS Act whereby seizure of 188.9 kg of heroin which came to be smuggled from Pakistan to Gujarat and was Page 3 of 13 Uploaded by H.M. PATHAN(HC00167) on Mon Jul 21 2025 Downloaded on : Mon Jul 21 21:45:02 IST 2025 NEUTRAL CITATION R/CR.A/1575/2025 ORDER DATED: 18/07/2025 undefined transported to Punjab came to be seized by the STF, Punjab. That vide order dated 13.10.2021, the Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India directed the NIA to investigate FIR No.23 of 2020 and FIR No.20 of 2020 being connected offence as per the provisions of section 8 of the NIA Act 2008 and that NIA after investigation arrested 26 accused and filed 7 supplementary chargesheets against 25 arrested accused apart from the main chargesheet submitted by the ATS, Gujarat in Crime No.111-01/2018 dated 12.8.2018 which relates to seizure of 4.949 kg of heroin from the possession of Aziz Abdul Bhagad which during the investigation was revealed of total 500 kg of narcotic drugs (heroin) was brought into Gujarat in two trips between 9.3.2018 and 31.5.2018 and the said offence was also taken over by the NIA. That the NIA on 7.7.2023 filed a supplementary chargesheet against the present appellant accused No.22 - Manjit Singh @ Manna before the Special NIA Court, Ahmedabad under the provisions of section 120-B of the Indian Penal Code, Section 21(c), 8(c), 25 and 29 of the NDPS Act and sections 17 and 18 of the Page 4 of 13 Uploaded by H.M. PATHAN(HC00167) on Mon Jul 21 2025 Downloaded on : Mon Jul 21 21:45:02 IST 2025 NEUTRAL CITATION R/CR.A/1575/2025 ORDER DATED: 18/07/2025 undefined UAPA Act. That further investigation is also proceeding as per the provisions of section 173(8) of CrPC. That the learned trial Court has framed the charge against the present appellant accused on 11.9.2023 and in all, 25 accused are chargesheeted and the trial has commenced against all 25 accused including the present appellant accused. That the present appellant accused has collected chemical from Delhi and brought it to Ludhiana, Punjab for adulteration and purification of smuggled drungs on the direction of Tanvir Singh Bedi. That Harminder Singh Randhawa - accused No.21 had arranged warehouse at Tazpur Road in Ludhiana in the name of one Rajan Sharma on a rental basis and also purchased one land plot around 500 yards at village Bhamian, Tazpur Road in Ludhiana, Punjab in the name of Manojkumar and constructed warehouse through the appellant accused No.22 on the direction of wanted accused No.2 - Simranjit Singh Sandhu and wanted accused No.15 - Tanveer Singh Bedi for the purpose of storing the drugs / heroin. That accused No.21 - Harminder Singh Randhawa indicted the present appellant Page 5 of 13 Uploaded by H.M. PATHAN(HC00167) on Mon Jul 21 2025 Downloaded on : Mon Jul 21 21:45:02 IST 2025 NEUTRAL CITATION R/CR.A/1575/2025 ORDER DATED: 18/07/2025 undefined accused since he was financially handicapped and along with one another accused No.25 - Manoj Kumar Sharma in the narcotic drugs syndicate on the direction of wanted accused No.15 - Tanveer Singh Bedi who then as a part of conspiracy, distributed 60 kg heroin at the various locations in Ludhiana.
4. That during investigation, it is also revealed that wanted accused No.15 - Tanveer Singh Bedi sent Rs.10 lakhs (drug proceeds) to accused No.21 - Harminder Singh Randhawa for purchasing a car which was purchased by him being Maruti Ciaz bearing registration No.PB-10-FC- 1458 from True Value, Sandhu Motors, Cheema Chowk, Ludhiana for consideration of Rs.6,50,000/- which was used for procuring 30 racks of chemicals from Delhi to Ludhiana by the appellant accused at the instructions of wanted accused No.15 - Tanveer Singh Bedi. It also revealed from the investigation that wanted accused No.15 - Tanveer Singh Bedi is a master-mind of the entire network who recruited accused No.21 - Harminder Singh Randhawa Page 6 of 13 Uploaded by H.M. PATHAN(HC00167) on Mon Jul 21 2025 Downloaded on : Mon Jul 21 21:45:02 IST 2025 NEUTRAL CITATION R/CR.A/1575/2025 ORDER DATED: 18/07/2025 undefined who in turn recruited the present appellant accused and thus, the present appellant accused has played pivotal role in smuggling, transporting, purifying and distributing drugs / heroin in Punjab and other State of India and the amount from the proceeds, at the behest of wanted accused No.2 and wanted accused No.15, was used for further funding to wanted accused No.4 - Bhaijan.
5. That there are ample evidences against the appellant accused which reveals from the disclosure memo under section 27 of the Indian Evidence Act recorded by the STF, Amritsar. That there are details of vehicles passing from Ghaggar Toll Plaza towards Delhi and Punjab from 25.3.2019 to 31.3.2019 which establishes that vehicle No.PB-10-FC-1458 was used by accused Nos.21 and 22.
6. It is further argued that no grounds are made out in the application for temporary bail since as per the verification of the appellant's family status conducted by Tibba Police Station, Ludhiana on 14.7.2025, it is found Page 7 of 13 Uploaded by H.M. PATHAN(HC00167) on Mon Jul 21 2025 Downloaded on : Mon Jul 21 21:45:02 IST 2025 NEUTRAL CITATION R/CR.A/1575/2025 ORDER DATED: 18/07/2025 undefined that the appellant's father - Jasvir Singh and his mother - Baljit Kaur are residing together at House No.8485, Street No.5/2, New Subhash Nagar, Ludhiana. That the appellant's younger brother - Baljinder Singh is settled in Austria and his sister - Harpreet Kaur is married to Manpreet Singh way back in 2017 and residing at Shankar Road, Nakodar, District Jalandhar. That the present appellant accused married to Chinki - daughter of Dharminder Singh, resident of Sector-49, Chandigarh in the year 2017 and after one year of marriage, they separated from appellant's parents and lived at Mohalla Bhagwan Nagar, Tower Line No.2, Ludhiana. It further reveals that the appellant's father is engaged in the business of suttering and building material at G.K.Estate, Tibba Road, Ludhiana and that the appellant's mother is undergoing treatment for a heart condition at CMC Hospital, Ludhiana and is being cared for by the appellant's father. That there is no financial crisis in the family.
7. It is further argued that three cases are registered Page 8 of 13 Uploaded by H.M. PATHAN(HC00167) on Mon Jul 21 2025 Downloaded on : Mon Jul 21 21:45:02 IST 2025 NEUTRAL CITATION R/CR.A/1575/2025 ORDER DATED: 18/07/2025 undefined against the present appellant accused being (i) FIR No.39 of 2020, STF Mohali under sections 21, 22, 23, 25, 27(A) of the NDPS Act, (ii) FIR No.144 of 2020, STF Mohali under sections 21, 21(c), 23, 27(A), 29 of the NDPS Act and (iii) Case No.0085 dated 3.12.2021 at Women's Cell, Chandigarh.
8. It is further argued that the present appellant accused cannot be released on bail since he is involved in grave offences and there are number of witnesses residing in the vicinity where the present appellant accused is residing and would certainly vitiate the investigation by tampering the prosecution's case and win over the prosecution witnesses by influencing them.
9. It is also argued that a witness in the instant case approached the learned NIA Court alleging that family members and associates of the accused No.11 - Shahid Kasim Sumra were attempting to influence them to give a false statement during deposition and in this regard, Page 9 of 13 Uploaded by H.M. PATHAN(HC00167) on Mon Jul 21 2025 Downloaded on : Mon Jul 21 21:45:02 IST 2025 NEUTRAL CITATION R/CR.A/1575/2025 ORDER DATED: 18/07/2025 undefined learned NIA Court directed the registration of FIR against the suspected individuals and accordingly, the Superintendent of Police, Kutch (West), Gujarat is conducting the investigation after registration of FIR No.1 of 2025 dated 5.1.2025 under sections 232(1) and 54 of the Bhartiya Nyay Sanhita 2023.
10. It is argued that further investigation under section 173(8) of CrPC is also underway and hence, at this stage of investigation, the appellant accused cannot be released on temporary bail.
11. Lastly, it is argued that SLP No.40465 of 2024 before the Honourable Apex Court also came to be withdrawn by the applicant and that learned NIA Court has also rejected Criminal Misc. Application No.23 of 2025 vide order dated 17.5.2025 and earlier also, Criminal Misc. Application No.6 of 2025 preferred by the appellant accused before the learned NIA Court came to be withdrawn and thus, it is argued that as per the law settled by the Page 10 of 13 Uploaded by H.M. PATHAN(HC00167) on Mon Jul 21 2025 Downloaded on : Mon Jul 21 21:45:02 IST 2025 NEUTRAL CITATION R/CR.A/1575/2025 ORDER DATED: 18/07/2025 undefined Honourable Apex Court in the case of Gurwinder Singh Vs State of Punjab, reported in 2024 Lawsuit (SC) 96 in the offence under the UAPA Act, bail is exception and has thus argued to reject the appeal.
12. This Court has gone through the application preferred by the appellant accused through jail; the contents thereof and the affidavit-in-reply on behalf of the NIA as well as we have heard learned advocates for the respective parties.
13. As a part of conspiracy, huge quantity of narcotic drugs (heroin) came to be brought into Gujarat for which the offence came to be registered as Crime No.111-01/2018 by the ATS Police Station, Ahmedabad, Gujarat. That on input by the STF, SAS Nagar, Punjab, the FIR No.23 of 2020 dated 31.1.2020 in relation to seizure of 188.9 kg of consignment of heroin by the STF, Punjab which was smuggled from Pakistan to Gujarat and transported to Punjab and on further investigation, 26 accused were Page 11 of 13 Uploaded by H.M. PATHAN(HC00167) on Mon Jul 21 2025 Downloaded on : Mon Jul 21 21:45:02 IST 2025 NEUTRAL CITATION R/CR.A/1575/2025 ORDER DATED: 18/07/2025 undefined arrested and in the present case, the appellant accused is accused No.22 against whom, supplementary chargesheet came to be filed by the NIA on 7.7.2023 for the offence punishable under section 120-B of IPC, sections 21(c), 8(c), 25 and 29 of the NDPS Act read with sections 17 and 18 of the UAPA Act. It also transpires from the papers of further investigation that vehicle alleged to have been used in transporting chemical from Delhi to Ludhiana by the present appellant accused and accused No.21 - Harminder Singh Randhawa which appears from the details of vehicle passing from Ghaggar Toll Plaza as provided by Sunil Jangra who is Deployment Manager at the said Toll Plaza. It also transpires that the contentions raised by the appellant accused in his application through jail does not inspire confidence inasmuch as the verification carried out by Tibba Police Station on 14.7.2025 and placed on record by the Dy.SP, NIA, Ahmedabad on affidavit does not disclose that the appellant accused is seriously needed treatment of her mother and that there is financial crisis. Be that as it may. At this stage, we are not inclined to exercise Page 12 of 13 Uploaded by H.M. PATHAN(HC00167) on Mon Jul 21 2025 Downloaded on : Mon Jul 21 21:45:02 IST 2025 NEUTRAL CITATION R/CR.A/1575/2025 ORDER DATED: 18/07/2025 undefined discretionary powers in favour of the appellant accused, more particularly, when the appellant accused has suppressed registration of at least two cases other than the present one registrered against him bearing FIR No.39 of 2020 by STF, Mohali under sections 21, 22, 23, 25 and 27- A of the NDPS Act and FIR No.144 of 2020 by STF Mohali under sections 21, 21(c), 23, 27A read with section 29 of the NDPS Act.
14. Since the present appellant accused is involved in grave offence where the huge quantity of narcotic drugs (heroin) is transported by him as a part of larger conspiracy, we do not find it fit to exercise discretionary powers in favour of the appellant accused. Hence, the present appeal stands rejected. Notice is discharged.
(ILESH J. VORA,J) (P. M. RAVAL, J) H.M. PATHAN Page 13 of 13 Uploaded by H.M. PATHAN(HC00167) on Mon Jul 21 2025 Downloaded on : Mon Jul 21 21:45:02 IST 2025