Gauhati High Court
Muthu vs Union Of India on 24 April, 2020
Author: Manash Ranjan Pathak
Bench: Manash Ranjan Pathak
Page No.# 1/3
GAHC010065302020
THE GAUHATI HIGH COURT
(HIGH COURT OF ASSAM, NAGALAND, MIZORAM AND ARUNACHAL PRADESH)
Case No. : Bail Appln. 815/2020
1:MUTHU
S/O- LATE MUNIYANDI, WARD NO. 5, P.O AND P.S- MOREH, DIST-
TENGNOUPAL, MANIPUR
VERSUS
1:UNION OF INDIA
REP. BY THE SC, DRI, ASSAM
Advocate for the Petitioner : MR H R A CHOUDHURY
Advocate for the Respondent : SC, DRI
BEFORE
HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE MANASH RANJAN PATHAK
ORDER
Date : 24-04-2020 Heard Mr. A. Ahmed, learned counsel for the petitioner and Mr. B. Sarmah, learned Standing Counsel, DRI.
By this application under Section 439 CrPC, the petitioner, namely, Muthu has prayed for his bail in DRI Case No. 15/CL/IMP/NDPS/METH/DRI/GZU/2019-20 registered under Sections 8(c)/21/22/29 of the NDPS ACT, 1985, as amended, wherein he was arrested on 16.11.2019 and since then, he is in custody.
Mr. Azad Ahmed, placing the offence report, submitted that it is the other accused of Page No.# 2/3 the case Ashok Sahu, who was carrying the bag involved in the case, wherefrom the contrabands drugs was recovered and therefore submitted that no contraband article was seized from the petitioner, he should be released on bail and his mere presence with the other accused persons of the case from whom the contraband article was recovered and seized cannot be a ground to detain him in custody in the said DRI case.
Mr. B. Sarmah, learned counsel for the respondent DRI, submitted that from the accused persons 9 rectnengular boxes made of hard paper rapped with layers of transparent adhesive tape its containing 5 smaller block of white coloured hard paper covered with transparent plastic sheet its containing 10 small blue/black coloured plastic pouches/sachets its containing approximately 200 tablets altogether 450 Numbers of blue/black coloured plastic pouches/sachets its containing 200 tablets amounting to 90,000 Nos. of tablets weighing about 8.934 kgs of Methamphetamine were recovered from the accused persons of the case. The Directorate of Forensic, Assam by its report dated 28.11.2019 confirmed that those tablets recovered and seized from the accused persons gave positive test for Methamphetamine.
Placing the status report of the case, Mr. Sarmah, learned counsel for the DRI, submitted that the accused persons in their statement under Section 67 of the NDPS Act admitted of their involvement in the illegal trade of contraband WY and Methamphetamine tablets procuring it from various parts of the North-East and transporting it to Guwahati and outside the State of Assam for his monitory gain. In the present case, the petitioner in his statement under Section 67 of the NDPS Act stated that he procured the said 90,000 Nos. of tablets of Methamphetamine from a resident of Khachin, Myanmar whom he knew as Paite and used to meet him at Tamu market whenever needed and that the other accused Ashok Sahu also admitted in his statement under Section 67 of the NDPS Act that he is also in the illegal trade of Methamphetamine with the petitioner and that the petitioner is his handler.
The status report reveals that the other accused came to Guwahati on 04.11.2019 under the direction of the petitioner to collect the consignment of Methamphetamine tablets that was supposed to come from Imphal and the petitioner arrived Guwahati on 12.11.2019 and stayed in a hotel at Guwahati. Both the accused persons on 14.11.2019 went to Jorabat collected the said illegal consignment from a truck that came from Imphal and it was kept by Page No.# 3/3 the petitioner with him on the night of 14.11.2019 and on 15.11.2019 during the delivery of the said illegal consignment, they were intercepted by the DRI personnel.
Mr. Sarmah also pointed out that the petitioner though resides in Manipur and he procured land at Tiruvottiyur in the State of Tamil Nadu and that was purchased in the name of his wife in the year 2007 and that he does not have any moveable or immovable property in the State. Mr. Sarmah therefore submitted that for the reasons above, the petitioner's bail should be rejected and once he is released on bail as he is from a different State, not having any moveable or immovable property in the State, he shall not appear in the Trial of the case.
Finding sufficient incriminating materials in the status report submitted by Mr. Sarmah, learned counsel for DRI and considering his submission having force in it, finding sufficient incriminating materials against the petitioner with regard to his involvement in said DRI Case No. 15/CL/IMP/NDPS/METH/DRI/GZU/2019-20 registered under Sections 8(c)/21/22/29 of the NDPS ACT, 1985, as amended and his involvement in the illegal trade of NDPS materials, the detention of the petitioner since 16.11.2019 cannot be considered for his bail in the said case.
Accordingly, this bail application of the petitioner, named above, in said DRI Case No. 15/CL/IMP/NDPS/METH/DRI/GZU/2019-20 stands rejected.
JUDGE Comparing Assistant