Himachal Pradesh High Court
Rajni Kant vs The State Of Himachal Pradesh on 29 November, 2019
Author: Anoop Chitkara
Bench: Anoop Chitkara
IN THE HIGH COURT OF HIMACHAL PRADESH, SHIMLA .
Cr.MP(M) No.2030 of 2019 Date of Decision : 29th November, 2019 Rajni Kant ...Petitioner.
Versus The State of Himachal Pradesh ...Respondent.
Coram:
The Hon'ble Mr. Justice Anoop Chitkara, Judge.
Whether approved for reporting?1 No For the petitioner : Mr. Sandeep Chauhan, Advocate. For the respondent-State : Mr. Anil Jaswal, Mr. Ashwani K. Sharma and Mr. Nand Lal Thakur, Additional Advocates General.
Anoop Chitkara, Judge For possessing 6.65 grams of Heroin, the petitioner, who is under arrest, on being arraigned as an accused in F.I.R.
No.202 of 2019, dated 21.09.2019, registered under Sections 21 and 29 of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985, (herein after referred as the "NDPS Act"), in the file of Police Station, Sadar, District Solan, H.P., disclosing non-
bailable offence, has come up before this Court under Section 439 Cr.P.C., seeking regular bail.
1Whether reporters of Local Papers may be allowed to see the judgment?
::: Downloaded on - 30/11/2019 20:24:44 :::HCHP 22. Status report stands filed. I have seen the status report as well as the Police file to the extent it was necessary .
for deciding the present petition and the same stands returned to the police official. I have heard learned counsel for the petitioner and learned Additional Advocate General for the respondent-State.
FACTS
3. The gist of the First Information Report and the investigation is as follows:-
The Police Party headed by Head Constable Virender Kumar, I.O., SIU, Solan, was present for patrolling in Solan Bazaar on 21.09.2019. At about 11:30 a.m., the I.O. received a secret information that two persons, who are residents of Delhi, have come to Solan to sell heroin and they are staying in Akshay Hotel near ZH Chowk Solan in Room No.206. The Informant further told that if the room is searched then a large quantity of heroin is likely to be recovered. On this information, after complying with the provisions of NDPS Act, the police conducted the search of the said ::: Downloaded on - 30/11/2019 20:24:44 :::HCHP 3 room and noticed two persons present therein including bail petitioner, Rajni Kant. They also found .
tell-tales of consumption of psychotropic substance due to presence of foil paper and burnt papers etc. The police also recovered a polythene packet from the bed and on opening it, noticed a brown colour substance, which was deducted to be heroin by testing from Drug Deduction Kit. The substance on weighment on Electronic Scale, was found to be 6.65 grams of heroin. Consequently, the petitoner/accused was arrested. Thereafter, the other procedural formalities were completed and the aforesaid F.I.R.
came to be registered.
REASONING
4. Keeping in view the quantity of contraband, I am of the considered view that the judicial custody of the petitioner is not going to serve any purpose whatsoever and I am inclined to grant him bail on the following grounds:-
::: Downloaded on - 30/11/2019 20:24:44 :::HCHP 4(a) As per the F.I.R., the substance involved in is Heroin, mentioned at Sr. No. 56 of the Notification, .
issued under Section 2(viia) and (xxiiia) of NDPS Act, specifying small and commercial quantities of drugs and psychotropic substances.
(b) The quantity of drugs involved is 6.65 grams (Heroin), which is less than Commercial Quantity but greater than Small Quantity. As such the rigors of Section 37 of NDPS Act shall not apply in the present case. Resultantly, the present case has to be treated like any other case of grant of bail in a penal offence.
(c) The investigation is complete and the Challan is likely to be filed in near future.
(d) No recovery was effected from the personal search of the present petitioner.
(e) The petitioner is a permanent resident of the address mentioned in the memo. of parties.
Therefore, his presence can always be secured.
::: Downloaded on - 30/11/2019 20:24:44 :::HCHP 5(f) I am satisfied that no purpose will be served if the bail petitioner is sent to judicial custody.
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(g) I am of the considered view that, prima facie, the petitioner has made out a case for grant of bail. His custodial interrogation is not required at all.
5. In the result, the present petition is allowed. The petitioner shall be released on bail in the present case, in connection with the F.I.R. mentioned above, on his furnishing personal bond in the sum of Rs.10,000/- with two sureties in the like amount to the satisfaction of the learned Trial Court/ Sessions Judge/Additional Sessions Judge, Solan, District Solan. The Court executing the personal and surety bonds shall ensure that in the bonds, the details of identity of the bail petitioner and sureties, like phone numbers, Aadhar Card, PAN Card, if available, are mentioned and shall also ensure that the names, addresses and phone numbers of the family members of the petitioner/accused are also mentioned in the personal bonds. The learned Counsel for the petitioner as well as ::: Downloaded on - 30/11/2019 20:24:44 :::HCHP 6 the attesting person shall explain the conditions of this bail to the petitioner.
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6. This Court is granting the bail, subject to the conditions mentioned herein. The petitioner undertakes to comply with all directions given in this order and furnishing of bail bonds by the petitioner is acceptance of all such conditions:-
(i) The petitioner is directed to join the r investigation as and when called by the Investigating Officer and the petitioner undertakes to appear before the Investigating Officer as and when directed to do so.
However, whenever the investigation takes place within the boundaries of the Police Station or the Police Post, then the petitioner shall not be called before 9:00 a.m. and shall be let-off before 5:00 p.m.
(ii) The petitioner shall co-operate in the investigation.
(iii) The petitioner shall not hamper the investigation.
(iv) The petitioner undertakes not to contact the complainant and witnesses, to threaten or browbeat them or to use any pressure tactics.
::: Downloaded on - 30/11/2019 20:24:44 :::HCHP 7(v) The petitioner shall neither influence nor try to control the Investigating Officer, in any .
manner whatsoever.
(vi) The petitioner undertakes not to make any inducement, threat or promise, directly or indirectly, to the Investigating Officer or any person acquainted with the facts of the case to dissuade him from disclosing such facts to the Court or any Police Officer or tamper with the evidence.
(vii) In case, the petitioner is arraigned as an accused of the commission of any offence, prescribing the sentence of imprisonment of more than three years and in case the bail petitioner is arraigned as an accused in any case, under the provisions of the NDPS Act, irrespective of the quantity, be it a small quantity, then within thirty days of knowledge of such F.I.R., the petitioner shall intimate SHO of the present Police Station, with all the details of the present F.I.R. as well as the new F.I.R. It shall be open for the State to apply to this Court, for cancellation of this bail, if it deems fit and proper.
(viii) The petitioner shall surrender all the fire arms alongwith ammunition and arms licences, if taken, before the authority which has given him such permission, within 30 days from today.
::: Downloaded on - 30/11/2019 20:24:44 :::HCHP 8(ix) The petitioner undertakes to attend the trial.
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7. It is clarified that the present bail order is only with respect to the above mentioned F.I.R. It shall not be construed to be a blanket order of bail in all other cases, if any, registered against the petitioner.
8. Any observation made herein above shall not be taken as an expression of opinion on the merits of the case and the Trial Court shall decide the matter uninfluenced by any observation made herein above.
9. Petition stands allowed in the aforesaid terms.
Copy dasti.
(Anoop Chitkara), Judge.
29th November, 2019 (Bhardwaj) ::: Downloaded on - 30/11/2019 20:24:44 :::HCHP