Chamandeep Singh v. State of Haryana

INoTHEoHIGHoCOURToOFoPUNJABo&oHARYANAo AToCHANDIGARH **** CRM-M-29408-2023 DateoofoDecision:o31.08.2023 ChamandeepoSingh o.....oPetitioner Versus StateoofoHaryana ooooo.....oRespondent CORAM:oHON'BLEoMR.oJUSTICEoHARSHoBUNGER Present: Mr.oVishaloSharda,oAdvocate forotheopetitioner. Mr.oPraveenoChanderoGoyal,oAddl.oA.G.,oHaryana. ***** HARSHoBUNGERoJ.

¶1Petitionero(ChamandeepoSingh)ohasofiledothisosecondopetition underoSectiono439oofotheoCodeoofoCriminaloProcedureoseekingograntoof regularobailoinocaseobearingoFIRoNo.458odatedo25.12.2021o(AnnexureoP-1), underoSectiono15oofotheoNarcoticoDrugsoandoPsychotropicoSubstancesoAct, registeredoatoPoliceoStationoDabwalioSadar,oDistrictoSirsa.

¶2TheofirstopetitionofiledounderoSectiono439oofotheoCodeoof CriminaloProcedureo(CRM-M-13256-2022)obyopetitionerowasowithdrawnoat thatostageovideoorderodatedo14.02.2023.

¶3Uponoissuanceoofonotice,ostatusoreportobyowayoofoaffidavitoof Mr.oGurdialoSingh,oH.P.S.,oDeputyoSuperintendentoofoPolice,oKalanwali, DistrictoSirsaohasobeenofiledoonobehalfoofoStateoofoHaryana,owhichoisoalready onorecord.

¶4Custodyocertificateodated o23.08.2023oofotheopetitioneroand additionaloaffidavitodatedo29.08.2023oofoMr.oRajenderoSingh,oH.P.S.,oDeputy SuperintendentoofoPolice,oDabwali,oDistrictoSirsa,ofiledobyolearnedoState counseloinoCourtotodayoareotakenoonorecord,osubjectotooallojustoexceptions.

¶5Briefly,otheocaseoofoprosecutionoisothatoono25.12.2021,otheopolice partyoheadedobyoSuboInspectoroDattaoRamowasopatrollingowithoregardotoothe preventionoofoanti-socialoelementsoandowhenotheyowereostandingoinofrontoof SrioAnnapurnaoDharamkanta,oVillageoSaktaoKheraothenooneowhite-red colouredotruck-trollao[makeoTATA-4018o(18otyres)]obearingoregistration No.PB-03-Y-7983owasoseenocomingofromotheosideoofoVillageoChautalaoandoit wasosignalledotoostop,owhereuponotheodriveroimmediatelyostoppedothe truck-trollaoandoheotriedotoorunoaway.oThereupon,oonotheobasisoofosuspicion, SuboInspectoroDattaoRamoalongowithotheopoliceopartyoapprehendedotheosaid driver, o who o upon o inquiry, o revealed o his o name o as o Chamandeep o Singh (petitioner)os/ooGurcharanoSingh.oUponocheckingotheotruck-trolla,oitowasoseen that o the o same o was o covered o with o the o blue o coloured o plastic o tarpaulin. Thereafterofollowingotheodueoprocedure,otheodriveroofotruck-trollaowasomade awareoofohisolegalorightsoregardingohisosearchoasowelloasotheosearchoof truck-trollaotoobeoconducted,owhereuponotheodriverostatedothatoheowantedoto getotheosearchotoobeoconductedobyosomeoGazettedoOfficer.oThereafter,oBhoop Singh,oSuboDivisionaloOfficer,oH.S.A.M.B.,oDabwali,oappointedobyothe DeputyoCommissioner,oSirsaowasocalledoatotheospotoandoheowasomadeoaware ofotheocircumstancesoandotheosearchoofoChamandeepoSingho(petitioner)oas welloasotheotruck-trollaowasocarriedoout.oFromotheosearchoofotruck-trolla,ototal 860 o bags o of o Ground o Nut o D'Oil o Cake o Material o No.-41082601 o Batch No.08321JCI,oweighingo33970okgs.,orateoperokg.-Rs.60.50o(totaloamounting tooRs.20,55,185/-)owereorecovered,oandoapartofromothis,ofiveoplasticobagsoof whiteocolourowereoalsoofoundokeptoseparatelyonearotheodalaoofotruck,owhich uponoopening,owereofoundotoobeocontainingopoppyohusk,oandoonoweighingothe same,ototalo80okgs.oof opoppyohusko alongowithotheoplasticobago(eachobag containingo16okgs.)owasorecovered.oThereafter,otheorecoveredocontrabandowas takenointoopoliceopossessionoasoperotheoprocedure.oAccordingly,otheopetitioner wasoarrestedoinotheoinstantocase.

¶6Asoperostatusoreport,ouponoregistrationoofoFIR,otheoinvestigation wasoconductedoandotheopetitioneroisostatedotoohaveomadeoaodisclosure statementoadmittingohisoguilt.oTheosamplesofromotheorecoveredointoxicant substanceowereodrawnoasoperotheoinstructionsoofoCourtoandotheosameowere sentotootheoRegionaloForensicoScienceoLaboratory,oHisar,oforoexamination, whereuponoreportodatedo27.04.2022o(AnnexureoR-2)owasoreceivedostating thatotheosampleso1,o2,o3,o4oando5owereoidentifiedoasopoppyostrawo(choorapost) ofoPapaveroSomniferum-L.oItoisofurtheromentionedoinotheostatusoreportothatoon

27.12.2021, o the o petitioner o is o stated o to o have o made o another o disclosure statementosayingothatoRanjitoSingh,oRawalo@oRaju,oJasrajoandoFaujio@oAvtar Singh,oloadedotheoaforesaidobagsoof opoppyohusko inotheotruck-trollaoof petitioneroandotheyogaveoanoamountoofoRs.16,000/-oasocommissionotoohim. Further,otheopetitionerowasodirectedotoomakeoaoWhatsAppocalloatomobile No.8690669787,ouponoreachingoPunjab,oandoitowasosaidotootheopetitionerothat theobalanceoamountoshallobeodepositedoinohisobankoaccount.oOnotheobasisoof saidodisclosureostatement,oco-accusedoJasrajowasoarrestedoono27.12.2021oand thereafter,oheoalsoomadeoaodisclosureostatement ointeroaliao statingothatohe alongowithohisobrothersoRanjitoSingh,oRawalo@oRajuoandoFaujio@oAvtar SinghohadodirectedoChamandeepoSingho(petitioner)othatoifoheotakesotheopoppy huskotooPunjabothenotheyowillopayohimocommissionoo@oRs.400/-operokg.oItois also o stated o in o the o status o report o that o investigation oquao petitioner o and co-accusedoJasrajoinothisocaseoisocompleteoandochallanostandsopresented.

¶7Learnedocounseloforotheopetitionerosubmitsothatotheopetitionerois innocentoandoheohasobeenofalselyoimplicatedoinotheoinstantocaseoFIR (AnnexureoP-1).oItoisosubmittedothatotheocontrabandoallegedlyorecoveredofrom theopetitioneroisoaoplantedoone.oMoreoso,olearnedocounseloforotheopetitioner submitsothatotheoallegedooccurrenceoisostatedotoohaveotakenoplaceoon

25.12.2021oato2:00oP.M.,ohoweverofromotheocontentsoofoFIR,oitoisoevidentothat theocompetentoauthorityowasocalledoato10:49oP.M.oandotheosameoisostatedoto haveoarrivedoatotheospotoato11:30oP.M.oLearnedocounseloforotheopetitioner furtherosubmitsothatonooindependentowitnessowasojoinedoduringotheoalleged searchoofotruck-trollaoinoquestion.

¶8Learnedocounseloforotheopetitionerostatesothatoco-accusedoJasraj hasoalreadyobeenograntedoregularobailobyoaoco-ordinateoBenchoofothisoCourt videoorderodatedo29.03.2022opassedoinoCRM-M-9723-2022oandooneoRawal RamohasobeenoextendedotheoconcessionoofoanticipatoryobailobyothisoCourt videoorderodatedo13.03.2023opassedoinoCRM-M-31768-2022.oCopiesoofothe ordersothereofohaveobeenohandedooverobyolearnedocounseloforotheopetitioneroin Courtotoday,owhichoareotakenoonorecord,osubjectotooallojustoexceptions.

¶9Learnedocounseloforotheopetitionerocontendsothatotheopetitionerois inocustodyosinceo25.12.2021oinothisocaseoandonoootherocaseoisopendingoagainst him.oItoisostatedothatoinvestigationoquaotheopetitioneroisocompleteoandochallan standsopresentedoono17.06.2022,othusotrialoinotheocaseoisolikelyotootakeolong timeotooconcludeoandonoousefulopurposeowouldobeoservedowithofurther incarcerationoofotheopetitioner.oLearnedocounseloforotheopetitionerosubmits thatotheopetitioneroisoreadyotooabideobyoallotheoconditionsoasomayobeoimposed byothisoCourtoorobyotheotrialoCourt.oLearnedocounselofurtherosubmitsothatothe petitioneroisoalsoowillingotoofurnishosecurityoinotheoformoofoFixedoDeposit Receipto(F.D.R.)obeforeotheoconcernedoCourt,osooasotooensureohisopresence beforeotheoCourtoonoeachoandoeveryodateoofohearing.oAccordingly,oprayerofor grantooforegularobailoisomade.

¶10Perocontra,olearnedoStateocounseloopposesotheopleaoofopetitioner forograntooforegularobailoonotheogroundoofoseriousnessoandogravityoofothe offenceoasotheorecoveryoeffectedofromopetitionerofallsoinotheocategoryoof 'commercialoquantity',othusobarounderoSectiono37oofotheoNarcoticoDrugsoand PsychotropicoSubstancesoActoisoattracted.oHowever,olearnedoStateocounsel whileoreferringotootheocustodyocertificateohasosubmittedothatothereoisonooother caseopendingoagainstotheopetitioneroandoheohasoundergoneoactualocustodyoin thisocaseoforoaoperiodoofooneoyear,osevenomonthsoandotwentyosixodays (asoono23.08.2023).oItoisoalsooconcededobyolearnedoStateocounselothat investigationoquaopetitioneroisocompleteoandochallanoalsoostandsopresented.

¶11Iohaveoheardolearnedocounseloforotheopartiesoandoperusedothe paperobookoasowelloasotheostatusoreportoandocustodyocertificateoofothe petitioner.

¶12Sinceotheopetitioneroseeksograntoofobailomainlyoonoaccountoof longocustody,onoocriminaloantecedentsoandotrialonotolikelyotooconcludeoinonear future,oaccordinglyoitoisoappositeotooreferotooaofewojudgmentsorenderedobyothe Hon'bleoSupremeoCourt.

¶13TheoHon'bleoSupremeoCourtoin oChittaoBiswaso@oSubhasov. StateoofoWestoBengalo(CriminaloAppealoNo.o245oof2020odatedo07.02.2020) observedoasounder:- "oxxx Theoinstantomatteroarisesooutoofoapplicationopreferredoby CRM-M-29408-2023 -.- the appellant under Section 439 Cr.P.C. seeking bail in connection with Criminal Case No.146 of 2018 registered with Taherpur Police Station for offence punishable under Section 21-C of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985. According to the prosecution, the appellant was found to be in possession of narcotic substance i.e. 46 bottles of phensydryl cough syrup containing codeine mixture above commercial quantity. The appellant was arrested on 21.07.2018 and continues to be in custody. It appears that out of 10 witnesses cited to be examined in support of the case of prosecution four witnesses have already been examined in the trial. Without expressing any opinion on the merits or demerits of the rival submissions and considering the facts and circumstances on record, in our view, case for bail is made out. We therefore, allow this appeal and direct as under:

(a) Subject to furnishing bail bond in the sum of Rs.2 lakhs with two like sureties to the satisfaction of the Judge, Special Court, NDPS Act, Nadia at Krishnagar, the appellant shall be released on bail.

(b) The Special Court may impose such other conditions as it deems appropriate to ensure the presence and participation of the appellant in the pending trial. With the aforesaid directions, the appeal stands allowed."

¶14The Hon'ble Supreme Court in Nitish Adhikary @ Bapan v. State of West Bengal (Special Leave(Crl.) no. 5769 of 2022) held as under:- Hoxxxx The petitioner seeks enlargement on bail in F.I.R. No. 612 of 2020 dated 17.10.2020 filed under Section 21(c) and 37 of the NDPS 2 Act, registered at Police Station Bongaon, West Bengal. During the course of the hearing, we are informed that the petitioner has undergone custody for a period of 01 year and 07 months as on 09.06.2022. The trial is at a preliminary stage, as only one witness has been examined. The petitioner does not have any criminal antecedents. Taking into consideration the period of sentence undergone by the petitioner and all the attending circumstances but without expressing any views in the merits of the case, we are inclined to grant bail to the petitioner. The petitioner is accordingly, directed to be released on bail subject to him furnishing bail bonds to the satisfaction of the Trial Court. The Special Leave Petition is disposed of on the aforestated terms. Pending application(s), if any, shall stand disposed of."

¶15In Shariful Islam @ Sarif v. State of West Bengal (Special Leave to Appeal (Crl) 4173 of 2022 dated 04.08.2022), the Hon'ble Supreme Court held that:- H o1. Heard learned counsel appearing for the petitioner, learned counsel appearing for the State of West Bengal and carefully perused the material available on record.

¶2Taking into consideration the fact that the petitioner is reported to be in custody since

27.12.2021 and has suffered incarceration for over 1 year 6 months and there being no likelihood of completion of trial in the near future, which fact cannot be controverted by the learned counsel appearing for the State, we are inclined to grant him bail.

¶3The petitioner is, therefore, directed to be released on bail, subject to such terms and conditions which the concerned Trial Court may deem fit and find appropriate to impose upon him.

¶4The Special Leave Petition stands disposed of on the above terms. o 5. Pending application filed in the matter also stands disposed of."

¶16In Karnail Singh v. State of Odisha (Criminal Appeal no. 2027 of 2022 dated 22.11.2022), Hon'ble Supreme Court held as under:- HThe appellant in the present case was only a Khalasi of the vehicle who did not run away while the others ran away and have still not been apprehended. He has been in custody from 21.03.2021 i.e. more than a year and a half. In view of the aforesaid facts and circumstances, we grant bail to the appellant on terms and conditions to the satisfaction of the trial Court."o />. 5heoHonC(leoSupremeoCourtoinoKarim Adaldar v. State of West Bengal (Special Leave to Appeal (Crl.) No. 8653 of 2022) held that:- HHaving heard learned counsel appearing for the parties and keeping in view the period of custody already undergone by the petitioner, and there being no likelihood of completion of trial in the near future, but without expressing any views on the merits of the case, the petitioner is ordered to be released on bail, subject to his furnishing bail bonds to the satisfaction of learned Additional Sessions Judge, 6th Court, Barasat, District – North 24 Parganas, West Bengal."

¶18Further, HonI(leoSupremeoCourtovideo9udgmentodatedo.,./..0.% arisingooutoofoSLPoNo.6690oofo2022,otitledoaso"DheerajoKumaroShuklaoVs. GURPREET KAURStateoofoUttaroPradesh"o hasograntedo(ailoinoaocaseoregisteredounderothe Narcotico Drugs o and o Psychotropic o Substances o Act, o where o the o accused alongwithoco-accusedowasofoundoinopossessionoofo'commercial'oquantityoof 'Ganja'oandohadobeenobehindobarsosinceotheolastotwooandoaohalfoyearsowhile observingothatoinotheoabsenceoofoanyocriminaloantecedents,otheoconditionsoof Sectiono37oofotheoNarcoticoDrugsoandoPsychotropicoSubstancesoActocouldobe dispensedowithoatothatostage,oparticularlyowhenothereowasodelayoinoconclusion ofotrial.

¶19Recently,oHon'bleoSupremeoCourtoinojudgmentodatedo04.05.2023 passed oino Special o Leaveo Appeal o (Crl.) o No(s).3221 o ofo 2023o titled oas "HasanujjamanoandoothersoVs.oTheoStateoofoWestoBengal",oheldoasounder:- "1. There o are o three o petitioners o in o this o Special o Leave Petition,owhoowereoaccusedoofocommittingoanooffenceounder Sectionso21(c)/29oofotheoNarcoticoDrugsoandoPsychotropic Substances o Act, o 1985 o (for o short, o 'NDPS o Act') o in o FIR No.18/2022odatedo09.01.2022,oregisteredoatoPoliceoStation Islampur,oDistrictoMurshidabad,oWestoBengal.

¶2The o allegations o are o that o when o the o police o party interceptedotheopetitionersoalongowithoanotheropersonoriding onotwoomotorcycles,otheyowereofoundoinopossessionoofocodeine phosphateoinoaoconsignmentoofophensedylobottlesoloadedoinotwo nylonobags.oDuringotheosearch,o115obottleso(100oml.oeach)oof phensedylowereorecoveredofromotheojointopossessionoofothe petitioners.oTheyowereoarrestedoonotheospotoandohaveobeenoin custodyoforomoreothanooneoyearoandofouromonths.

¶3Weohaveoheardolearnedocounseloforotheopartiesoand carefullyoperusedotheorecord.

¶4Theoinvestigationoisocomplete;ochargesheetohasobeen filed,othoughotheochargesoareoyetotoobeoframed.oTheoconclusion ofotrialowill,othus,otakeosomeoreasonableotime,oregardlessoofothe directionoissuedobyotheoHighoCourtotooconcludeotheosame withinooneoyearofromotheodateoofoframingoofocharges.oThe petitionersodoonotohaveoanyocriminaloantecedents.oThereois, thus,osubstantialocomplianceoofoSectiono37oofotheoNDPSoAct.

¶5Inosuchocircumstances,obutowithoutoexpressingoanyoviews onotheomeritsoofotheocase,oweodeemoitoappropriateotooreleaseothe petitionersoonobailosubjectotootheotermsoandoconditionsoasomay beoimposedobyotheoTrialoCourt. - x - x - "

¶20Concededly,otheoallegedorecoveryoinothisocaseofallsounderothe categoryoofocommercialoquantityoandobaroofoSectiono37oofotheoNarcoticoDrugs andoPsychotropicoSubstancesoActoisoattracted,ohowever,owhileodealingowith Sectiono37oibid,otheoCourtoisonotocalledouponotoorecordoaofindingoofo"not guilty"oandoitoisoonlyorequiredotoosayothatothereoareoreasonableogroundsoto believeothatotheoaccusedoisonotoguiltyoofotheooffence.

¶21Theopetitioneroisoinocustody oforoaoperiodoofooneoyear,oseven monthsoandotwentyosixodayso(asoono23.08.2023).oInvestigationoquaopetitioner inotheocaseoisocompleteoandochallanostandsopresentedoono17.06.2022.oThe petitionerodoesonotohaveoanyocriminaloantecedentsoandotrialoinotheocaseois likelyotootakeosomeotimeotooconclude.oFurther,oco-accusedoJasrajohasobeen grantedoregularobailobyoaoco-ordinateoBenchoofothisoCourtovideoorderodated

29.03.2022opassedoinoCRM-M-9723-2022oandooneoRawaloRamohasobeen grantedoanticipatoryobailobyothisoCourtovideoorderodatedo13.03.2023opassedoin CRM-M-31768-2022.

¶22Inotheofactsoandocircumstancesoofotheopresentocaseoandoonoan assessmentoofomaterialoonorecordoespecially,otheofactothatotheopetitioneroisonot involvedoinoanyootherocaseounderotheoNarcoticoDrugsoandoPsychotropic SubstancesoAct,oIoamoofotheoprimeofacieoviewoatothisostageothatotheopetitioner mayonotohaveocommittedotheoallegedooffenceoandoheoisounlikelyotoocommitoan offenceounderotheooNarcoticoDrugsoandoPsychotropicoSubstancesoAct,owhile

¶23Inoviewoofotheoaboveodiscussion,opresentopetitionoisoallowedoand theopetitioneroisoorderedotoobeoreleasedoonoregularobailosubjectotoohis furnishingobail/suretyobondsotootheosatisfactionoofotheotrialoCourt/Illaqa Magistrate/DutyoMagistrateoconcerned.oHowever,otheoconcernedoStation HouseoOfficeroshallobeoinformedoaboutotheoreleaseoofopetitioneroandothe petitioneroshalloinformotheoconcernedoStationoHouseoOfficeroaboutohis addressoatowhichoheointendsotooresideoduringotheopendencyoofocase/trialoand anyochangeoinotheoaddressoshallobeocommunicatedotootheoconcernedoStation HouseoOfficer,oforthwith.oTheopetitionerowouldoalsoofurnishohisotelephone numberotootheoconcernedoStationoHouseoOfficer.oHeowouldoalsoofurnishohis undertakingotootheoeffectothatoheowillonotoindulgeoinoanyoillegaloactivity.oThe petitioneroshall oalsooappearobeforeotheoconcernedoPoliceoStation/Station HouseoOfficeroonoeveryoalternateoMondayotillotheoconclusionoofotrial.

¶24Inoaddition,otheopetitionero(oroanyoneoonohisobehalf)oshall prepareoaoFixedoDepositoReceipto(F.D.R.)oinotheosumoofoRs.2,00,000/-oand submitotheosameowithotheotrialoCourt.oTheosameowouldobeoliableotoobe forfeitedoasoperolaw,oinocaseotheopetitioneroremainsoabsentofromotrialowithout anyosufficientocause.

¶25Nothingoexpressedohereinaboveoshallobeoconstruedotoobeoan observationoonomeritsoofotheocaseoandotheofactsoandocircumstancesorecorded aboveoareoonlyoforoconsiderationoofotheoprayeroforobailoatothisostage.o

¶26Theopetitionoisoaccordinglyodisposedoof.

¶27Allopendingoapplication(s),oifoany,oshalloalsoostandoclosed.

31.08.2023o o(HARSHoBUNGER) Apurva oooooooooooJUDGE

1.oWhetherospeaking/reasoned : Yes/No

2.oWhetheroreportable : Yes/No