Paramjit Singh Alias Pamma v. State of Punjab

213 INoTHEoHIGHoCOURToOFoPUNJABo&oHARYANAo AToCHANDIGARH **** CRM-M-5249-2023 Dat o!"oD #$%$!&'o24(0)(2023 ParamjitoSingho@oPamma o.....oPetitioner Versus StateoofoPunjab ooooo.....oRespondent CORAM'oHON*B+EoMR(oJU,TICEoHAR,HoBUNGER Present: Mr.oN.S.oSodhi,oAdvocate forotheopetitioner. Mr.o arjinderoSinghoSidhu,oAA!,oPunjab. """"" HAR,HoBUNGERoJ(

¶1Petitioner (Paramjit Singh @ Pamma) has filed the present petition under Section 439 of the Code of Criminal Procedure seeking grant of regular bail in case FIR No.234 dated 16.09.2022, under Sections 21 and 29 of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, registered at Police Station Guruharsahai, District Ferozepur.

¶2Upon issuance of notice, status report by way of affidavit dated

25.02.2023 of Mr. Yadwinder Singh, P.P.S., Deputy Superintendent of Police, Sub Division Guruharsahai has been filed on behalf of State of Punjab, which is already on record.

¶3Custody certificate dated 17.05.2023 of the petitioner is taken on record, subject to all just exceptions.

¶4#rief$%,otheoaforesaidocaseo&'Rohasobeenoregisteredoonotheobasis oforuqaosentob%oSubo'nspectoro(u$)antoSingh,o*.'.A.oStaff,o)hereinoito)as statedothatoono+,.-../-//,ohe,oa$ongo)ithootherofe$$o)oemp$o%ees,o)asogoing from o &erotiepur o to o Po$ice o Station o 1a2ho2e o #heram, o Po$ice o Station !uruharsahaioareaoono!overnmentovehic$eobearingoregistrationoNo.P#3++/3 &345-/oforopatro$$ingoandochec2ingoofosuspectedopersonsoando)henotheopo$ice part%oreachedonearotheomainogateoofo!overnmento ighoSchoo$,oVi$$age Mohano(eo ithar,oPo$iceoStationo!uruharsahaioono&erotiepur3&atii$2aoRoad,oa secretoinformationo)asoreceivedothatoParamjit Singh @ Pamma (petitioner) and Gurpreet Singh @ Gora, who are jointly in the profession of selling heroin, on that day, were coming from Village Bulla Rai Uttar to Mohan Ke Hithar on a motorcycle (Hero HF Deluxe, black colour), without any registration number, to sell huge quantity of heroin and in case, picket is laid on the Link Road Village Bulla Rai Uttar then they can be apprehended with huge quantity of heroin. Finding the said information to be true and reliable, ruqa was prepared and the same was sent for registration of FIR. As per the status report, pickets were laid on the Link Road, Village Bulla Rai Uttar and after some time, two persons were seen coming on motorcycle from Village Bulla Rai Uttar side, whereupon torch light was shown by Sub Inspector Kulwant Singh and on seeing the pickets, the said persons tried to turn the motorcycle and run away but they slipped and were apprehended by the police. Upon inquiry about their whereabouts, the person riding the motorcycle disclosed his name as Gurpreet Singh @ Gora and the pillion rider told his name as Paramjit Singh @ Pamma (petitioner). Thereafter, Sub Inspector Kulwant Singh, after following the due procedure, gave them notice that there was an apprehension of their being carrying some intoxicant substance and their search was required to be conducted; and they were made aware of their legal rights that they can get their search conducted in the presence of Magistrate or Gazetted Officer, to which they replied that they wanted their search to be conducted in the presence of a Gazetted Officer, whereupon the Deputy Superintendent of Police, Police Sub Division Guruharsahai was called at the spot, who also informed the aforesaid persons that they can get their search conducted by Magistrate or some other Gazetted Officer, however, both the persons gave their consent that they want to get their personal search and of the motorcycle conducted by the aforesaid Deputy Superintendent of Police. Accordingly, the consent memos were prepared and the search was carried out. Upon personal search of Paramjit Singh @ Pamma (petitioner), a heavy transparent polythene was recovered from the right pocket of his lower and on opening the same, heroin was found inside it, which on weighing, was found to be 260 grams, including the weight of polythene. Thereafter, upon personal search of Gurpreet Singh @ Gora, a heavy transparent polythene was recovered from the right pocket of his lower and on opening the same, heroin was found inside it, which on weighing was found to be 10 grams, including the weight of polythene.

¶5As per the status report, Gurpreet Singh @ Gora had suffered a disclosure statement on 19.09.2022 wherein he stated that the heroin recovered from him was bought from one Harbans Singh and accordingly said Harbans Singh was also nominated as an accused in the instant case and Section 29 of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act was added vide DDR No.5 dated 19.09.2022. It is further mentioned in the status report that the Forensic Science Laboratory Report dated 12.10.2022 has been received, wherein it is mentioned as under:- "The contents of parcels 1 and 2 under reference have been analyzed separately by chemical, T.L..C and instrumental analysis.oOnotheobasisoofotheoanalysis,o29.22%oando35.86% Diacetylmorphineo(Heroin)ohasobeenofoundopresentoinothe contentsoofotheoparcelso1oando2orespectively..."

¶6Learnedocounseloforotheopetitionerosubmitsothatotheopetitionerois innocentoandohasobeenofalselyoimplicatedoinotheopresentocaseodueotooaominor altercationothatotookoplaceoamongstotheopoliceoofficialsoandotheopetitioneroand GurpreetoSingho@oGora.oItoisosubmittedothatotheoallegedorecoveryofromothe petitionerohasobeenomanipulatedobyotheopoliceoandonooindependentowitness wasojoinedoatotheotimeoofosaidorecovery.

¶7Learnedocounseloforotheopetitionerohasoreliedouponojudgment dated o 22.02.2021 o passed o by o a o co-ordinate o Bench o of o this o Court o in CRM-M-7407-2021otoocontendothatotheoallegedorecoveryoofo260ogramsoof heroinoeffectedofromotheopetitioneroinotheoinstantocaseoisomarginallyoaboveothe commercialoquantity,ohenceotheopetitioneroisoentitledotoobailoasoinothe aforesaidoreferredocaseoasowell,otheorecoveryoofo260ogramsoofoheroinowas effectedoandobailowasograntedotootheopetitionerotherein.oFurther,orelianceohas beenoplacedouponojudgmentodatedo18.08.2021opassedobyoaoco-ordinateoBench ofothisoCourtoinoCRM-M-22407-2021,owherebyobailowasograntedotoothe petitionerotherein,ofromowhomorecoveryoofo260ogramsoofoheroinowasoeffected. Anotherorelianceohasobeenoplacedouponojudgmentodatedo20.11.2019opassedoby thisoCourtoinoCRM-M-48462-2019,owherein otheopetitionerowasogranted regularobailoinotheocase,owhereo270ogramsoofointoxicantopowderowas recovered.

¶8Learnedocounseloforotheopetitionerosubmitsothatotheopetitionerois inocustodyosinceo16.09.2022;oinvestigationoinotheocaseoisocompleteoand challanostandsopresented,othusotrialoinotheocaseoisolikelyotootakeosomeotimeoto concludeoandonoousefulopurposeowouldobeoservedobyokeepingotheopetitioner APURVA behindobarsoforoindefiniteoperiod.oLearnedocounseloforotheopetitionerosubmits thatotheopetitioneroisoreadyotooabideobyoallotheoconditionsoasomayobeoimposed byothisoCourtoorobyotheotrialoCourt,oaccordinglyoprayeroforograntooforegular bailoisomade.

¶9Per o contra, o learned o State o counsel o opposes o the o prayer o of petitioneroforograntooforegularobailoonotheogroundoofoseriousnessoandogravity ofotheooffence.oItoisosubmittedothato260ogramsoofoheroinowasorecoveredofrom theopetitioner,owhichofallsounderotheocategoryoofo'commercialoquantity'oand thus, o rigors o of o Section o 37 o of o the o Narcotic o Drugs o and o Psychotropic SubstancesoActoareoattractedoinothisocase.oAsoregardsotheosubmissionoof learnedocounseloforotheopetitionerothatorecoveryohasobeenomanipulatedobyothe police,olearnedoStateocounselohasoreferredotooparagraphoNo.12oofotheostatus report,owhereinoitoisostatedothatoeveryodocumentoattachedowithotheopoliceofile inocaseoFIRoNo.234odatedo16.09.2022,oi.e.otheoRecoveryoMemo,oForm No.29-M,oComplianceoofoSectiono52oofotheoNarcoticoDrugsoandoPsychotropic SubstancesoActobeforeotheolearnedoMagistrateoandoallotheootherodocuments, reflectsotheoquantityooforecovered oheroino toobeo260ogramsofromoParamjit Singho@oPammao(petitioner).oLearnedoStateocounselosubmitsothatothe petitionerodoesonotohaveoclearoantecedentsoasoheoisoalsooinvolvedoinotwoomore caseso(FIRoNo.66odatedo01.06.2020oandoFIRoNo.63odatedo26.05.2020)ounder theoNarcoticoDrugsoandoPsychotropicoSubstancesoAct,ohowever,oitoisofairly statedothatoheoisoonobailoinobothoofothoseocases.oLearnedoStateocounselosubmits thatoinocaseotheopetitioneroisoreleasedoonobailothenoheomightoinfluenceothe witnessesoandoalsooabscondoandodelayotheotrial.oAccordingly,oprayerofor dismissaloofotheopresentopetitionohasobeenomade.

¶10Learnedocounseloforotheopetitioner,oinorebuttal,ohasoreliedoupon theojudgmentoofoHon'bleoSupremeoCourtoinoMaulanaoMohd.oAmiroRashadi v.oStateoofoU.P.oandoanother,o2012(2)oSCCo382otoocontendothatotheofactsoand CRM-M-5249-2023 --- circumstances of the present case are to be seen while deciding a bail application and the bail application of the petitioner cannot be rejected solely on the ground that the petitioner is involved in other cases. The relevant portion of the said judgment is reproduced herein below :- @As observed by the High Court, merely on the basis of criminal antecedents, the claim of the second respondent cannot be rejected. In other words, it is the duty of the Court to find out the role of the accused in the case in which he has been charged and other circumstances such as possibility of fleeing away from the jurisdiction of the Court etc." ++. 'ohaveoheardo$earnedocounse$oforotheopartiesoandoperusedothe paperoboo2oaso)e$$oasotheostatusoreportoandocustod%ocertificateoofothe petitioner. +/. 'notheoinstantocase,otheoa$$egedorecover%oeffectedofromothe petitioneroisoofo/4-ogramsoof oheroino )hichofa$$sounderotheocategor%oof ;commercia$o7uantit%;oandothusorigorsoofoSectiono<5oofotheoNarcotico=rugs andoPs%chotropicoSubstancesoActoareoattractedoinothisocase.oSectiono<5oibid readsoasounder:3 S.37 "Offences to be cognizable and non-bailable.—(1) Notwithstanding anything contained in the Code of Criminal Procedure 1973 (2 of 1974),—

(a) every offence punishable under this Act shall be cognizable;

(b) no person accused of an offence punishable for [offences under section 19 or section 24 or section 27A and also for offences involving commercial quantity] shall be released on bail or on his own bond unless—

(i) the Public Prosecutor has been given an opportunity to oppose the application for such release, and

(ii) where the Public Prosecutor opposes the application, the court is satisfied that there are reasonable grounds for believing that he is not guilty of such offence and that he is not likelyotoocommitoanyooffenceowhileoonobail.

(2)oTheolimitationsoonograntingoofobailospecifiedoinoclauseo(b)oof sub-sectiono(1)oareoinoadditionotootheolimitationsounderotheoCode ofoCriminaloProcedure,o1973o(2oofo1974)ooroanyootherolawofor theotimeobeingoinoforceoonograntingoofobail."

¶13TheoApexoCourtoin o"UnionoofoIndiaovs.oRattanoMalliko@ Habul",o2009o(1)oR.C.R.o(Criminal)o938,ohadoobservedothatowhenoan accusedoisoarrestedoinoaocaseounderoNarcoticoDrugsoandoPsychotropic SubstancesoAct,ograntoofobailotoosuchoaccusedoisonotoonlyosubjectoto limitationsoimposedounderoSection o439o ofotheoCriminaloProcedureoCode, 1973,oitoisoalsoosubjectotootheorestrictionsoplacedobyosub-clauseo(b)oofosub-sectiono(1)oofoSectiono37oofotheoNarcoticoDrugsoandoPsychotropicoSubstances ActoandotheoaccusedowillobeograntedobailoonlyoifotheoCourtoisosatisfiedothat thereoisoreasonableogroundoforobelievingothatoaccusedowasonotoguiltyoof offenceoandoheowasonotolikelyotoocommitoanooffenceounderoNarcoticoDrugs andoPsychotropicoSubstancesoActowhileoonobail.oInothatoway,obailocouldobe granted,oifomandatoryoprovisionsoofoSection o37o ofoNarcoticoDrugsoand PsychotropicoSubstancesoActoareosatisfied.

¶14In o"StateoofoKeralaoetc.ovs.oRajeshoetc.",o2020(1)oR.C.R. (Criminal)o818,oHon'bleotheoApexoCourtohadoobservedoasounder:

19.oThisoCourtohasolaidodownobroadoparametersotoobeofollowed whileoconsideringotheoapplicationoforobailomovedobyothe accusedoinvolvedoinooffencesounderoNDPSoAct.oInoUnionoof Indiaov.oRamoSamujhoandoOrs.o1999(4)oRCRo(Criminal)o93o: 1999(9)oSCCo429,oitohasobeenoelaboratedoasounder:-o "7.oItoisotoobeoborneoinomindothatotheoaforesaidolegislative mandateoisorequiredotoobeoadheredotooandofollowed.oIt shouldobeoborneoinomindothatoinoaomurderocase,othe accusedocommitsomurderoofooneoorotwoopersons,owhile thoseopersonsowhooareodealingoinonarcoticodrugsoare instrumentaloinocausingodeathooroinoinflictingodeath-blow to o a o number o of o innocent o young o victims, o who o are vulnerable;oitocausesodeleteriousoeffectsoandoaodeadly impactoonotheosociety;otheyoareoaohazardotootheosociety; evenoifotheyoareoreleasedotemporarily,oinoalloprobability, they o would o continue o their o nefarious o activities o of traffickingoand/orodealingoinointoxicantsoclandestinely. Reasonomayobeolargeostakeoandoillegaloprofitoinvolved. ThisoCourt,odealingowithotheocontentionowithoregardoto punishmentounderotheoNDPSoAct,ohasosuccinctlyoobserved aboutotheoadverseoeffectoofosuchoactivitiesoin oDurand Didierov.oChiefoSecy.,oUnionoTerritoryoofoGoao[1989(2) RCRo(Criminal)o505o:o(1990)o1oSCCo95)]oasounder:

¶24o With o deep o concern, o we o may o point o out o thato the organisedoactivitiesoofotheounderworldoandotheoclandestine smugglingoofonarcoticodrugsoandopsychotropicosubstances intoothisocountryoandoillegalotraffickingoinosuchodrugsoand substancesohaveoledotoodrugoaddictionoamongoaosizeable sectionoofotheopublic,oparticularlyotheoadolescentsoand studentsoofobothosexesoandotheomenaceohasoassumed seriousoandoalarmingoproportionsoinotheorecentoyears. Therefore,oinoorderotooeffectivelyocontroloandoeradicate this o proliferating o and o booming o devastating o menace, causingodeleteriousoeffectsoandodeadlyoimpactoonothe societyoasoaowhole,oParliamentoinoitsowisdom,ohasomade effectiveoprovisionsobyointroducingothisoActo81oofo1985 specifyingomandatoryominimumoimprisonmentoandofine.

8.oToocheckotheomenaceoofodangerousodrugsofloodingothe market,oParliamentohasoprovidedothatotheopersonoaccused ofooffencesounderotheoNDPSoActoshouldonotobeoreleasedoon bail o during o trial o unless o the o mandatory o conditions providedoinoSectiono37,onamely,

(i)othereoareoreasonableogroundsoforobelievingothatothe accusedoisonotoguiltyoofosuchooffence;oand

(ii)othatoheoisonotolikelyotoocommitoanyooffenceowhileoon bailoareosatisfied.oTheoHighoCourtohasonotogivenoanyAPURVA justifiable o reason o for o not o abiding o by o the o aforesaid mandateowhileoorderingotheoreleaseoofotheorespondent-accusedoonobail.oInsteadoofoattemptingotootakeoaoholistic viewoofotheoharmfulosocio-economicoconsequencesoand health o hazards o which o would o accompany o trafficking illegallyoinodangerousodrugs,otheocourtoshouldoimplement theolawoinotheospiritowithowhichoParliament,oafterodue deliberation,ohasoamended."

20.oTheoschemeoofoSectiono37orevealsothatotheoexerciseoof powerotoograntobailoisonotoonlyosubjectotootheolimitations containedounderoSectiono439oofotheoCrPC,obutoisoalsoosubject tootheolimitationoplacedobyoSectiono37owhichocommencesowith non-obstanteoclause.oTheooperativeopartoofotheosaidosectionois inotheonegativeoformoprescribingotheoenlargementoofobailotooany personoaccusedoofocommissionoofoanooffenceounderotheoAct, unlessotwinoconditionsoareosatisfied.oTheofirstoconditionoisothat theoprosecutionomustobeogivenoanoopportunityotooopposeothe application;oandotheosecond,oisothatotheoCourtomustobeosatisfied thatothereoareoreasonableogroundsoforobelievingothatoheoisonot guiltyoofosuchooffence.oIfoeitheroofotheseotwooconditionsoisonot satisfied,otheobanoforograntingobailooperates.

¶15Inotheoinstantocase,othereoisonothingoonorecordotooenableothis Courtotoorecordoprimaofacieosatisfactionoforobelievingothatopetitioneroisonot guiltyoofotheooffenceoorothatoheowillonotocommitoanyooffenceowhileoonobail, especiallyowhenotheopetitioneroisostatedotoobeoinvolvedoinotwoomoreocases underotheoNarcoticoDrugsoandoPsychotropicoSubstancesoAct,oi.e.oFIRoNo.66 datedo01.06.2020,ounderoSectiono21oofootheoNarcoticoDrugsoandoPsychotropic SubstancesoAct,oregisteredoatoPoliceoStationoS.T.F.,oPhase-4,oMohalioandoFIR No.63odatedo26.05.2020,ounderoSectionso21/29oofootheoNarcoticoDrugsoand PsychotropicoSubstancesoAct,oregisteredoatoPoliceoStationoS.T.F.,oPhase-4, Mohali.oAlthough,otheoinvestigationoinotheocaseoisocompleteoandoevenocharges haveobeenoframed,ohowever,omaterialowitnessesoareoyetotoobeoexamined.

¶16Asoregardsotheoargumentoofolearnedocounseloforotheopetitioner thatotheoweightoofocontrabandowithopolytheneowaso260ogms.oandoifothe polytheneoand oheroino areoweighedoseparatelyothenorecoveredocontraband wouldocomeooutotoobeolessothano250ogms.,ofallingounderocategoryoof non-commercialoquantity,ohoweveroIoamonotoconvincedowithothisocontention. Itohasonotobeenoexplainedoasotoohowoafterodeductingoweightoofotheopolythene, theoweightoofotheorecoveredoheroinowouldobeolessothano250ogms.oandofrom whereoitowouldobeoinferredothatotheoweightoofotheopolytheneowaso10ogms.oor more.oNormally,otheopolytheneousedoforowrappingodoesonotohaveothatomuch weight.oMerelyoonotheobasisoofopresumptionsoandosuppositions,oweightoof polytheneocannotobeotakenotoobeoso,oinoorderotoobringotheorecoveryounderothe categoryoofonon-commercialoquantityoandotoofurtherosayothatoevenoifothe weight o of o polythene o is o taken, o the o recovery o is o marginally o more o than commercialoquantity.oBaroofoSectiono37oofotheotheoNarcoticoDrugsoand PsychotropicoSubstancesoActocannotobeoavoidedoinosuchoaomanner.oThe legislature o had o enacted o the oAct o with o the o purpose o of o controlling o and minimizingodrugopeddling.oTheoprovisionoofoSectiono37oibidowasointroduced asoaodeterrentotootheodrugopeddlers.

¶17Asoregardsotheorelianceoplacedouponojudgmentodatedo22.02.2021 passedoinoCRM-M-7407-2021obyolearnedocounseloforotheopetitioner,otheosaid judgmentoisoofonoouseotootheopetitioneroasotheopetitionerothereinowasostatedoto beonotoinvolvedoinoanyootherocriminalocase,omucholessotheoNarcoticoDrugsoand PsychotropicoSubstancesoActoandorecoveryowasoalsooeffectedofromoaobag, whichowasolyingoinotheovehicle,owhereasoinotheoinstantocase,otheoalleged recoveryoisoeffectedofromotheopocketoofopetitioner.oWithoregardotooanother judgmentodatedo18.08.2021opassedoinoCRM-M-22407-2021,owhichoisosought toobeoreliedouponobyolearnedocounseloforotheopetitioner,oitoappearsothatothe saidojudgmentowasopassedoconsideringotheocustodyoperiodoofopetitioner thereinoandotheothenoprevailingosituationoofoCovid-19opandemic.oRegarding theootherojudgmentodatedo20.11.2019opassedoinoCRM-M-48462-2019,oitois noticedothatoinotheosaidocase,otheopetitionerothereinowasoinocustodyosince

05.08.2017oandoheowasoalsoonotoinvolvedoinoanyootherocase,omucholessothe NarcoticoDrugsoandoPsychotropicoSubstancesoActoandoanotheroaccused thereinohadoalsoobeenograntedobail.

¶18Furtheroinomyoconsideredoopinion,owhenotheoaccusedoisofacing serious o charges, o he o may o develop o temptation o to o jump o the o bail. o The apprehensionoexpressedobyotheoStateocounselothatoiforeleasedoonobail,othereois everyolikelihoodoofotheopetitionerotryingotootamperowithotheoprosecution evidenceobyogivingothreatsoandoinducementotootheoprosecutionowitnessesoand abscondingoevenotooprolongotheotrial,ocannotobeobrushedoasideolightly.

¶19Henceokeepingoinoviewotheoaforementionedocircumstancesoand alsootheoseriousnessoandogravityoofooffence,oIodoonotodeemoitofitotooextendothe concessionooforegularobailotootheopetitioner.oAccordingly,otheopresentopetition isodismissed.

¶20Nothingoexpressedohereinaboveoshallobeoconstruedotoobeoan observationoonomeritsoofotheocaseoandotheofactsoandocircumstancesorecorded aboveoareoonlyoforoconsiderationoofotheoprayeroforobailoatothisostage.o

¶21Allopendingoapplication(s),oifoany,oshalloalsoostandoclosed.

24.07.2023o o(HARSHoBUNGER) Apurva oooooooooooJUDGE

1.oWhetherospeaking/reasoned : Yes/No

2.oWhetheroreportable : Yes/No