Orissa High Court
Sami Ullaha Siddiqui vs State Of Odisha .... Opposite Party on 17 November, 2023
Author: S.K. Panigrahi
Bench: S.K. Panigrahi
IN THE HIGH COURT OF ORISSA AT CUTTACK
BLAPL No.8760 of 2023
Sami Ullaha Siddiqui .... Petitioner
Mr. T.N. Murty, Adv.
-versus-
State of Odisha .... Opposite Party
Mr.Gyana Ranjan Mohapatra, ASC
CORAM:
DR.JUSTICE S.K. PANIGRAHI
Order ORDER
No. 17.11.2023
Dated PoliceCase No. Sections
F.I.R.
and Courts'
Station
No.
Name
0222 15.07.2020 Koraput T.R. No.41 Section 20(b)(ii)(C) of the
Town of 2020 N.D.P.S. Act.
pending in
the court of
learned
Addl.
Sessions
Judge-cum-
Special
Judge,
Koraput
02. 1. This matter is taken up through hybrid arrangement.
2. Heard learned counsel for the Petitioner and learned counsel for the State.
Signature Not VerifiedDigitally Signed Signed by: AYASKANTA JENA Designation: Personal Assistant Reason: Authentication Location: High Court of Orissa Date: 17-Nov-2023 19:13:09 Page 1 of 6 // 2 //
3. The Petitioner being in custody in connection with Koraput Towan P.S. Case No.222 corresponding to T.R. No.41/2020 pending in the court of learned Addl. Sessions Judge-cum-Special Judge, Koraput, registered for the alleged commission of offences under Sections 20(b)(ii)(C) of the NDPS Act, has filed this petition for his release on bail.
4. It is alleged in the FIR that on 14.07.2020 while the informant along with other Police staffs were performing patrolling duty near Govt. College, Koraput, they found one Truck bearing Regd. No.OD-18TS-0188 being driven by the Petitioner coming from Pattangi side. On suspicion they detained the said truck. On search they found contraband ganja weighing about 311 Kgs. 400 grams, which had been kept in numbers of bags and the same was recovered. Due to failure on production of authenticated documents with respect to such transportation, it was seized. Thereafter, the contraband article was seized. After observing all formalities, all the accused persons including the petitioner were arrested and forwarded to the court.
5. Learned counsel for the Petitioner submits that all the allegations levelled against the present Petitioner in the F.I.R. are false and frivolous. There is even no concrete Signature Not Verified Digitally Signed material available against the Petitioner to connect him in Signed by: AYASKANTA JENA Designation: Personal Assistant Reason: Authentication Location: High Court of Orissa Date: 17-Nov-2023 19:13:09 Page 2 of 6 // 3 // the aforesaid offences. He further submits that there is also no prima facie case to entangle the Petitioner in the alleged commission of offences. The Petitioner is languishing in custody since 15.07.2020.
6. Learned counsel for the Petitioner further submits that the co-accused person has been released on bail by this Court vide order dated 04.07.2023 passed in BLAPL No.11690 of 2022.
7. Learned counsel for the State vehemently opposes the bail prayer of the Petitioner.
8. The Supreme Court has held that right to have speedy trial is a fundamental right of a citizen. Hence, keeping a person in custody for such a long time without any trial is not justified and violative of his fundamental right. The importance of speedy trial has been emphasized in the case of Hussainara Khatoon & Ors. vs Home Secretary, State of Bihar, wherein the Supreme Court has iterated that:
"Speedy trial is, as held by us in our earlier judgment dated 26th February, 1979, an essential ingredient of 'reasonable, fair and just" procedure guaranteed by Article 21 and it is the constitutional obligation of the State to device such a procedure as would ensure speedy trial to the accused. The State cannot be permitted to deny the constitutional right Signature Not Verified of speedy trial to the accused on the ground that the Digitally Signed Signed by: AYASKANTA JENA Designation: Personal Assistant Reason: Authentication Location: High Court of Orissa Date: 17-Nov-2023 19:13:09 Page 3 of 6 // 4 // State has no adequate financial resources to incur the necessary expenditure needed for improving the administrative and judicial apparatus with a view to ensuring speedy trial."
9. He further argues that the period of long incarceration suffered, which entitle the Petitioner for grant of bail. Right to Speedy trial is a fundamental right of an under trial prisoner and this observations have been resonated, time and again, in several judgments including that of Kadra Pahadiya & Ors. v. State of Bihar1 wherein it has been stated that the obligation of the State or the complainant, as the case may be, to proceed with the case with reasonable promptitude. Particularly, in a country like ours, where the large majority of the accused come from poorer and weaker sections of the society and are not versed with laws and after face the dearth of competent legal advice, the application of the said NDPS Rule is wholly inadvisable. Of course, in a given case, if an accused demands speedy trial and yet he is not given one, may be a relevant factor in his favour. But an accused cannot be disentitled from complaining of infringement of his right to speedy trial on the ground that he did not ask for or insist upon a speedy trial.
Signature Not Verified Digitally Signed 1 Signed by: AYASKANTA JENA 1981)3 SCC 671 Designation: Personal Assistant Reason: Authentication Location: High Court of Orissa Date: 17-Nov-2023 19:13:09 Page 4 of 6 // 5 //
10. The Supreme Court has also held in Mohd. Muslim @ Hussain v. State (NCT of Delhi)2 that incarceration has further deleterious effects where the accused belongs to the weakest economic strata: immediate loss of livelihood, and in several cases, scattering of families as well as loss of family bonds and alienation from society. The courts therefore, have to be sensitive to these aspects (because in the event of an acquittal, the loss to the accused is irreparable), and ensure that trials - especially in cases, where special laws enact stringent provisions, are taken up and concluded speedily.
11. Considering the submissions made by the learned counsel for the parties and the factum of release of the co- accused person on bail, this Court is inclined to release the Petitioner on bail. Accordingly, it is directed that the court in seisin over the matter shall release the Petitioner on bail in the aforesaid case on stringent terms and conditions with further conditions that:
i. he shall appear before the learned trial court on each date of posting of the case; ii. the Petitioner shall not indulge in any criminal activity in future;
iii. the Petitioner shall not tamper the evidence of the prosecution witnesses in any manner;Signature Not Verified Digitally Signed 2
Signed by: AYASKANTA JENA SLP (Crl.) No. 915 of 2023 Designation: Personal Assistant Reason: Authentication Location: High Court of Orissa Date: 17-Nov-2023 19:13:09 Page 5 of 6 // 6 // Violation of any of the above conditions shall entail cancellation of the bail.
12. The BLAPL is, accordingly, disposed of.
(Dr. S.K. Panigrahi) Judge Ayaskanta Signature Not Verified Digitally Signed Signed by: AYASKANTA JENA Designation: Personal Assistant Reason: Authentication Location: High Court of Orissa Date: 17-Nov-2023 19:13:09 Page 6 of 6