Calcutta High Court (Appellete Side)
21.07.2018 Under Sections 21(C)/29 Of ... vs In Re: Arafat Ali Mondal & Anr on 28 November, 2018
1 28.11.18
Sl. No.98 akd [ALLOWED] C. R. M. 9506 of 2018 In Re: An application for bail under Section 439 of the Code of Criminal Procedure filed on 26.10.2018 in connection with Bangaon Police Station Case No. 511 of 2018 dated 21.07.2018 under Sections 21(c)/29 of the NDPS Act. (Case No. N-134 of 2018) And In Re: Arafat Ali Mondal & Anr.
... ... Petitioners Mr. Sandip Chakraborty .. Advocate ... ... for the petitioners Mr. Neguive Ahmed .. Ld. Addl. Public Prosecutor Md. Anwar Hossain .. Advocate ... ... for the State The petitioners are seeking bail in connection with a case relating to offences punishable under Sections 21(c)/29 of the NDPS Act.
It is submitted on behalf of the petitioners that they are in custody for about 132 days and that the alleged seizure of narcotic substance was from a public place which was not in the custody and control of the petitioners.
Learned Counsel for the State opposes the prayer for bail and submits that on the leading statement of the petitioners the alleged seizure was effected. He further submits that as the seizure was effected at midnight, no independent witnesses could be procured.
We have considered the materials on record. We find that the seizure of narcotic substance i.e. 6 ltrs. of codeine mixture above commercial quantity was made from a public place which is neither in the control nor in the custody of the petitioners. No explanation is forthcoming as to why independent witnesses were not joined in the search 2 when it is claimed that the Investigating Agency had gone out to effect search pursuant to the leading statement of the petitioners. Under such circumstances, we are of the opinion that the petitioners have been able to rebut the statutory restrictions under Section 37 of the NDPS Act. In view of the aforesaid fact and keeping in mind the period of detention suffered by the petitioners, we are of the opinion that further detention of the accused/petitioners is not necessary.
Therefore, the accused/petitioners, namely (1) Arafat Ali Mondal & (2) Amritlal Majumdar, be released on bail upon furnishing a bond of Rs.10,000/- (Rupees Ten thousand only) each, with two sureties of like amount each, one of whom must be local, to the satisfaction of the learned Judge, Special Court under the NDPS Act, 1985, Barasat, North 24-Parganas subject to condition that the said petitioners shall appear before the trial court on every date of hearing until further orders and shall not intimidate witnesses or tamper with evidence in any manner whatsoever or commit similar offences in future.
In the event they fail to appear before the trial court without justifiable cause, the trial court shall be at liberty to cancel their bail automatically without reference to this court.
The application for bail, thus, stands allowed.
(Rajarshi Bharadwaj, J.) (Joymalya Bagchi, J.)