Facts:
- Asecret information was received in a police station on 28.09.2015, at
about 6:15 pm, that today at 7:30 pm a person named Nitesh, a resident of
Chhattisgarh who supplies in Delhi and NCR, will be coming along with his
accomplices in vehicle having Chhattisgarh registration XUV white colour, to
supply ganja under Barapula Flyover, Ring Road near Gurudwara Bala Sahib
from Ashram Chowk side.
- A raid should be conducted to arrest the same, so A Raiding Party was
constituted and conducted, four accused persons namely Nitesh Ekka, Sanjay
Chauhan, Sharif Khan, and Virender Shakiyavar @ Deepak were allegedly
apprehended with illegal ganja of 180 kg, and thereafter were arrested in
the case.
- During the investigation, 7 (seven) days of police custody remand of
co-accused Nitesh Ekka was obtained, and he was taken to Chhattisgarh to
identify co-accused persons. In the instance of co-accused Nitesh Ekka, the
applicant/ accused Mohd. Muslim was arrested from his village in the
intervening night of 03/04.10.2014 and his two days police custody remand
was obtained.
- On the basis of the disclosure statement of co-accused Nitesh Ekka, the
petitioner herein was arrested. Charges were laid against the appellant and
other co-accused. The district court denied the appellant's request for bail
due to the seriousness of the alleged offences.
- The application for normal bail was denied, and the trial court was
ordered to accelerate and end the matter within six months on the grounds
that there was a prima facie case against him and no basis to rely on the
exceptions of Section 37 of the NDPS Act, the appellant has returned to this
court to request for the granting of standard bail.
Issues:
- On what ground shall the Court determine the phrase 'not guilty' under
Section 37 of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985 when
all the evidence is not before the Court?
- Whether the bail can be granted to the accused, taking into
consideration the rigid conditions in Section 37 of the Narcotic Drugs and
Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985?
Arguments Advanced By The Appellant
Counsel for the appellant argued that because of the prolonged confinement, they
should be granted bail. The trial had made little to no progress since the High
Court's directive to quicken proceedings, and 34 additional witnesses remained
to be examined.
It was also noted that both the main defendant Virender Singh @ Beerey and
co-defendant Nepal Yadav have previously received bail orders from the High
Court. On the basis of parity, urged bail.
Arguments Advanced By The Respondent
In a drug case, the Additional Solicitor General of India objected to the
appellant being granted bail, citing Section 37 of the NDPS Act. According to
the ASG, the appellant actively participated in the crime and had ties to the
principal accused. Concerns about individual liberty were exceeded by the public
interest in preventing the sale and consumption of illegal narcotics, which
supported keeping the appellant in detention. To stop major crimes like drug
peddling, provisions like Section 37 of the NDPS Act are required. The appellant
was allegedly the driving force behind the supply and transportation of drugs,
according to the ASG.
Judgement
When the court is reasonably convinced that the accused is innocent after taking
a prima facie look at the facts in the record (at the time the bail application
is lodged), such specific requirements as those specified under Section 37 can
be taken into account within constitutional bounds. Any other interpretation
would result in a person accused of an offence covered by Section 37 of the NDPS
Act being completely denied bail.
Conclusion
The appellant has been in custody for over 7 years and 4 months, he was arrested
when he was 23 years old and the trial's progress has been really slow. The
additional requirement that the court must be satisfied that the accused-who is
by law presumed innocent-is not guilty must be interpreted reasonably in light
of the general law on bail (Sections 436, 437, and 439, CrPC).
Which classifies offences based on their gravity and instructs that certain
serious crimes must be dealt with differently when considering bail
applications. Because the loss to the accused in the event of an acquittal is
irreparable, the courts must take these factors into consideration and make sure
that trials-especially in situations where special laws implement strict
provisions-are started and finished quickly.
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