Suraj Alias Suraj Singh v. State of Punjab

INoTHEoHIGHoCOURToOFoPUNJABo&oHARYANAo AToCHANDIGARH **** CRM-M-50008-2022 DateoofoDecision:o12.07.2023 Surajo@oSurajoSingh o.....oPetitioner Versus StateoofoPunjab ooooo.....oRespondent CORAM:oHON'BLEoMR.oJUSTICEoHARSHoBUNGER Present: Mr.oArshdeepoSinghoBrar,oAdvocate forotheopetitioner. Mr.oHarjinderoSinghoSidhu,oAAG,oPunjab. ***** HARSHoBUNGERoJ.

¶1Petitionero(Surajo@oSurajoSingh)ohasofiledotheopresentopetition underoSectiono439oofotheoCodeoofoCriminaloProcedureoseekingograntoof regularobailoinocaseobearingoFIRoNo.116odatedo25.06.2020o(AnnexureoP-1), underoSectiono22oofotheoNarcoticoDrugsoandoPsychotropicoSubstancesoAct, registeredoatoPoliceoStationoCityoMoga,oDistrictoMoga.

¶2Uponoissuanceoofonotice,ostatusoreportobyowayoofoaffidavitodated

01.03.2023oofoMr.oGursharanjitoSingh,oP.P.S.,oDeputyoSuperintendentoof Policeo(City),oMoga,oDistrictoMoga,ohasobeenofiledoonobehalfoofoStateoof Punjab,owhichoisoalreadyoonorecord.

¶3Custodyocertificateodatedo24.05.2023oofotheopetitioneroisofiledoby learnedoStateocounseloinoCourtotoday,owhichoisotakenoonorecord,osubjectotooall justoexceptions.

¶4Briefly,otheoaforesaidocaseoFIRowasoregisteredoonotheocomplaint ofoTarsemoSingh,oC.I.A.oStaff,oDharamkot,owhoohadostatedothatowhileohe, alongowithotheopoliceoparty,owasopresentoatotheotemporaryopassageoZira-AmritsaroRoad,oMogaoinoconnectionowithopatrollingoandosearchoofobad elementsothenoaosecretoinformationowasoreceivedothatoSurajoSingho(petitioner) s/ooRoshanoSinghoandoJaswinderoSinghos/ooManjinderoSingh,owhooare habitualoofosellingointoxicantotablets,oono25.06.2020,owereogoingotooVillage Landoke,oDosanjhoforosellingotheointoxicantotabletsoonotheiromotorcycle bearingoregistrationoNo.PB-29-J-4279o(HerooHondaoGlamour,oredoandoblack inocolour)oandoifobarricadingoisodoneoonotheowayothenohugeoquantityoof intoxicantotabletsocanobeorecoveredofromothem.oFindingotheoinformationotoobe trueoandoreliable, oruqao wasopreparedoandosentotootheoPoliceoStationofor registrationoofotheocase.

¶5Asoperotheostatusoreport,oAssistantoSuboInspectoroTarsemoSingh (complainant)ocontactedoInspectoroKikkaroSingh,oIncharge,oC.I.A.oStaff, Dharamkotoandorequestedohimotoosendoanotheroinvestigatingoofficeroatothe spot.oThereafter,oSuboInspectoroLakhwinderoSinghoalongowithotheopolice partyoreachedoatotheospotoandoconductedotheobarricading.oAfterosomeotime, oneomotorcycleocameoatotheospot,owhereonotwooSikhopersonsowereoridingoand oneoblueocolouredobagowasolyingoinobetweenothem.oWhenotheoSuboInspector LakhwinderoSinghogaveosignalotoostopotheomotorcycleothenotheosaidopersons triedotootakeoaoU-turn,ohowever,otheyowereoapprehendedobyotheopoliceoparty. Uponoinquiry,otheyodisclosedotheironamesoasoSurajoSingho(petitioner)oand JaswinderooSingho(pillionorider).oAfterofollowingotheodueoprocedure,oofferofor searchounderoSectiono50oofotheoNarcoticoDrugsoandoPsychotropicoSubstances Actowasomadeotoothem,owhereuponobothotheoaforesaidopersonsorepliedothat theyowantotheirosearchotoobeoconductedoinotheopresenceoofogazettedoofficer, accordinglyotwooseparateomemosowereopreparedoandoJanjitoSingh,oDeputy SuperintendentoofoPoliceo(D),oMogaowasorequestedotooreachoatotheospot. Thereafter,oduringosearch,o2250ostripsoofoClovidol-100oSRotablets,oeachostrip containingo10otablets,ototalo22500otablets,owereorecoveredofromotheoblueobag, beingoheldobyotheoaforesaidopersons.oAccordingotoootheostatusoreport,oasoper theoreportoofochemicaloexaminer,oTramadolosaltowasofoundoinotheorecovered tablets.

¶6Learnedocounseloforotheopetitionerosubmitsothatotheopetitionerois innocentoandoheohasobeenofalselyoimplicatedoinotheoaforesaidocaseoFIR No.o116odatedo25.06.2020.oItoisofurtherosubmittedothatotheoallegedorecovery hasobeenofoistedouponotheopetitioneroandotheotimeoofooccurrenceohasoalsoobeen wronglyoshownoinotheoinstantocaseoasotheopetitioneroandoco-accusedowere pickedoupobyotheopoliceopartyoduringotheodayotime.oLearnedocounselostates thatotheopetitioneroisoinocustodyosinceo30.06.2020,oi.e.oalmostotwooyearsoand elevenomonthso(asoono24.05.2023).oItoisofurtherostatedothatoco-accused JaswinderoSinghohasoalreadyobeenograntedoregularobailobyoaoco-ordinate Bench o of o this o Court o vide o order o dated o 20.09.2022 o passed o in CRM-M-1895-2022.

¶7LearnedocounseloforotheopetitionerocontendsothatooneoJangjit Singh,oDeputyoSuperintendentoofoPolice,owasocalledouponoatotheospotoinothe instantocase,owhereasohisoroleocameoupoforoconsiderationobeforeothisoCourtoin CRM-M-9434-2022oandoCRM-M-5428-2022,owhereinoaoreportowasocalled for, o from o the o concerned o Senior o Superintendent o of o Police, o who o after conductingotheoinquiry,ohadocameotootheoconclusionothatotheoplaceoof occurrenceohadobeenochangedobyotheopoliceopartyoandothereowasoaoprocedural lapseoonotheopartoofopoliceoparty,oandoaccordingly,odepartmentaloinquiryowas orderedoagainstotheosaidoJangjitoSingh,oDeputyoSuperintendentoofoPoliceoand otheroofficers.oWhileoreferringotootheoorderopassedoinoCRM-M-1895-2022 (AnnexureoP-2),olearnedocounseloforotheopetitionerohasosubmittedothat co-accusedoJaswinderoSinghohasobeenograntedotheoconcessionooforegularobail afteroconsideringotheofactothatoonceotheoDeputyoSuperintendentoofoPolice, whooisostatedotoobeocalledoatotheospotoinotheoinstantocase,oisounderoscanneroand disciplinary o proceedings o have o been o initiated o against o him, o accordingly allegation o of o false o implication o of o the o petitioner o cannot o be o ignored. Accordingly,oitoisosubmittedothatoonceotheoaforesaidofactoregardingoconductoof JangjitoSingh,oDeputyoSuperintendentoofoPoliceohasobeenoconsideredobyoa co-ordinateoBenchoofothisoCourtoinothisoveryoFIRowhereinopetitionerois seekingobailoandoco-accusedohasobeenograntedobail,oaccordingly,opetitioner wouldoalsoobeoentitledotoobail.

¶8Learnedocounseloforotheopetitionerocontendsothatonoootherocaseois pendingoagainstotheopetitioner;oinvestigationoinotheocaseoisocomplete,ochallan standsopresentedoono03.11.2020oandoevenochargesohaveobeenoframedoon

06.08.2021.oItoisosubmittedothatothereoareofifteenoprosecutionowitnessesoinothis caseoandoonlyosixowitnessesohaveobeenoexaminedosoofar,ohenceotrialoinothe caseoisolikelyotootakeolongotimeotooconcludeoandonoousefulopurposeowouldobe servedowithofurtheroincarcerationoofotheopetitioner.oLearnedocounseloforothe petitionerosubmitsothatotheopetitioneroisoreadyotooabideobyoallotheoconditionsoas mayobeoimposedobyothisoCourtoorobyotheotrialoCourt,oaccordinglyoprayerofor grantooforegularobailoisomade.

¶9Perocontra,olearnedoStateocounseloopposesotheopleaoofopetitioner forograntooforegularobailoonotheogroundoofoseriousnessoandogravityoofothe offence.oItoisosubmittedothatorecoveryoinotheoinstantocaseofallsounderothe categoryoofocommercialoquantityoandothusorigorsoofoSectiono37oofothe NarcoticoDrugsoandoPsychotropicoSubstancesoActoareoattracted.oAsoregards theoavermentoinorespectoofoJangjitoSingh,oDeputyoSuperintendentoofoPolice,oit isostatedothatoalthoughodepartmentaloproceedingsohaveobeenoinitiatedoagainst him,ohowever,otheosameohasonooconcernooroconnectionowithotheoinstantocase. However,olearnedoStateocounselowhileoreferringotootheocustodyocertificateohas submittedothatothereoisonoootherocaseopendingoagainstotheopetitioneroandohe hasoundergoneoactualocustodyoinothisocaseoforoaoperiodoofotwooyears,oten monthsoandotwentyoeightodayso(asoono24.05.2023).oItoisoalsooconcededoby learnedoStateocounselothatoconcessionooforegularobailohasoalreadyobeen grantedotooco-accusedoJaswinderoSinghobyoaoco-ordinateoBenchoofothisoCourt, videoorderodatedoo20.09.2022opassedoinoCRM-M-1895-2022.

¶10Iohaveoheardolearnedocounseloforotheopartiesoandoperusedothe paperobookoasowelloasotheostatusoreportoandocustodyocertificateoofothe petitioner.

¶11Inothisocase,otheopetitioneroisoinocustodyoforoaoperiodoofotwo years,otenomonthsoandotwentyoeightodayso(asoono24.05.2023).oInvestigationoin theocaseoisocomplete,ochallanostandsopresentedoono03.11.2020oandoeven chargesohaveobeenoframedoono06.08.2021.oAsoperostatusoreport,ooutoofototal fifteenoprosecutionowitnesses,oonlyosixowitnessesohaveobeenohaveobeen examined,obyonow.oTheopetitionerodoesonotohaveoanyocriminaloantecedents andotrialoinotheocaseoisolikelyotootakeosomeotimeotooconclude.

¶12Theoissueowhetherotheopetitionerohasobeenofalselyoimplicatedoin theoinstantocaseoasoJangjitoSingh,oDeputyoSuperintendentoofoPolice,owhoowas calledoatotheospot,oisohimselfostatedotoobeounderoscanneroandodepartmental proceedingsohavingobeenoinitiatedoagainstohimoinoanotherocase,otheosameAPURVA CRM-M-50008-2022 --- would be a debatable issue during the course of trial. Be that as it may, the conduct of said Deputy Superintendent of Police has been considered by a co-ordinate Bench of this Court in (RM4M4.C'140200, while granting the concession of regular bail to co-accused Jaswinder Singh.

¶13Sinceotheopetitionerosee*sograntoofobai$o)ain$6oonoaccountoof $ongocustod6,onoocri)ina$oantecedentsoandotria$onoto$i*e$6otooconc$udeoinonear future,oaccording$6oitoisoappositeotooreferotootheojudg)entsorenderedob6 HonEb$eoSupre)eo(ourt. .%. The Hon'ble Supreme Court in Chitta Biswas @ Subhas v. State of West Bengal (Criminal Appeal No. 245 of2020 dated 07.02.2020) observed as under:-Foxxx The instant matter arises out of application preferred by 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: CRM-M-50008-2022 -'-

(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."

¶15The Hon'ble Supreme Court in Nitish Adhikary @ Bapan v. State of West Bengal (Special Leave(Crl.) no. 5769 of 2022) held as under:- Foxxxx 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."

¶16In 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:- F 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."

¶17In Karnail Singh v. State of Odisha (Criminal Appeal no. 2027 of 2022 dated 22.11.2022), Hon'ble Supreme Court held as under:- FThe 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

¶18TheoHon'bleoSupremeoCourtoinoKarimoAdaldarov.oStateoofoWest Bengalo(SpecialoLeaveotooAppealo(Crl.)oNo.o8653oofo2022)oheldothat:- "Havingoheardolearnedocounseloappearingoforothe partiesoandokeepingoinoviewotheoperiodoofocustody alreadyoundergoneobyotheopetitioner,oandothereobeingono likelihoodoofocompletionoofotrialoinotheonearofuture,obut withoutoexpressingoanyoviewsoonotheomeritsoofotheocase, theopetitioneroisoorderedotoobeoreleasedoonobail,osubject to o his o furnishingo bailo bondso to o theo satisfactiono of learnedoAdditionaloSessionsoJudge,o6thoCourt,oBarasat, Districto–oNortho24oParganas,oWestoBengal."

¶19Further,oHon'bleoSupremeoCourtovideojudgmentodatedo25.1.2023 arisingooutoofoSLPoNo.6690oofo2022,otitledoaso"DheerajoKumaroShuklaoVs. StateoofoUttaroPradesh"o hasograntedobailoinoaocaseoregisteredounderothe 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.

¶20Inotheoinstantocase,otheoallegedorecoveryofallsounderotheocategory ofocommercialoquantityoandobaroofoSectiono37oofotheoNarcoticoDrugsoand PsychotropicoSubstancesoActoisoattracted,ohowever,owhileodealingowith Sectiono37oofotheoNarcoticoDrugsoandoPsychotropicoSubstancesoAct,othe Courtoisonotocalledouponotoorecordoaofindingoofo"notoguilty"oandoitoisoonly requiredotoosayothatothereoareoreasonableogroundsotoobelieveothatotheoaccused isonotoguiltyoofotheooffence.oInotheofactsoofotheopresentocaseoandoonoan assessmentoofomaterialoonorecord,oIoamoofotheoprimaofacieoviewoatothisostage thatotheopetitioneromayonotohaveocommittedotheoallegedooffence.oFurther, consideringotheofactothatotheopetitioneroisonotoinvolvedoinoanyootherocase underotheoNarcoticoDrugsoandoPsychotropicoSubstancesoAct,othereoisonothing onorecordotoosuggestothatoheoisolikelyotoocommitoanooffenceounderothe NarcoticoDrugsoandoPsychotropicoSubstancesoAct,owhileoonobail.

¶21Keepingoinoviewotheoaforementionedocircumstancesoandothe legalopositionoasoindicatedoabove,opresentopetitionoisoallowedoandothe petitioneroisoorderedotoobeoreleasedoonoregularobailosubjectotoohisofurnishing bail/suretyobondsotootheosatisfactionoofotheotrialoCourt/IllaqaoMagistrate/Duty Magistrateoconcerned.oHowever,otheoconcernedoStationoHouseoOfficeroshall beoinformedoaboutotheoreleaseoofopetitioneroandotheopetitioneroshalloinformothe concernedoStationoHouseoOfficeroaboutohisoaddressoatowhichoheointendsoto resideoduringotheopendencyoofocase/trialoandoanyochangeoinotheoaddressoshall beocommunicatedotootheoconcernedoStationoHouseoOfficer,oforthwith.oThe petitionerowouldoalsoofurnishohisotelephoneonumberotootheoconcernedoStation HouseoOfficer.oHeowouldoalsoofurnishohisoundertakingotootheoeffectothatohe willonotoindulgeoinoanyoillegaloactivity.oTheopetitioneroshall oalsooappear beforeotheoconcernedoPoliceoStation/StationoHouseoOfficeroonofirstoMonday ofoeveryomonthotillotheoconclusionoofotrial.

¶22Inoaddition,otheopetitionero(oroanyoneoonohisobehalf)oshall prepareoaoFixedoDepositoReceipto(F.D.R.)oinotheosumoofoRs.1,00,000/-oand submitotheosameowithotheotrialoCourt.oTheosameowouldobeoliableotoobe forfeitedoasoperolaw,oinocaseotheopetitioneroremainsoabsentofromotrialowithout anyosufficientocause.

¶23Nothingoexpressedohereinaboveoshallobeoconstruedotoobeoan observationoonomeritsoofotheocaseoandotheofactsoandocircumstancesorecorded aboveoareoonlyoforoconsiderationoofotheoprayeroforobailoatothisostage.o

¶24Theopetitionoisoaccordinglyodisposedoof.

¶25Allopendingoapplication(s),oifoany,oshalloalsoostandoclosed.

12.07.2023o o(HARSHoBUNGER) Apurva oooooooooooJUDGE

1.oWhetherospeaking/reasoned : Yes/No

2.oWhetheroreportable : Yes/No