news details |
|
|
| One-third custody does not mean automatic bail in NDPS cases: HC | | | Early Times Report
JAMMU, Mar 23: The High Court of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh has held that completion of one-third of the maximum imprisonment period does not automatically entitle an undertrial to bail in serious offences under the NDPS Act. The Court ruled that Section 479 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS) cannot be interpreted as conferring an indefeasible right to release merely on the basis of length of custody. Justice Shahzad Azeem passed the order while dismissing Bail application filed by Gurjit Singh, who had sought bail in a case registered under Sections 8, 21, 29 and 60 of the NDPS Act. The petitioner argued that he had remained in custody for more than seven years and had therefore become entitled to bail after completing one-third of the maximum sentence prescribed. According to the prosecution, the Narcotics Control Bureau, Jammu, along with police, intercepted a truck at Narwal Bye-Pass on August 6, 2018, and allegedly recovered 52.523 kilograms of heroin concealed in a hidden cavity of the vehicle. The Court noted that the seizure involved a huge commercial quantity of contraband, allegedly valued at over Rs 250 crore.
While rejecting the plea, the High Court observed that in commercial quantity cases under the NDPS Act, the bar contained in Section 37 is stringent and that grant of bail remains an exception. The Court said that long incarceration or delay in trial, by themselves, cannot dilute the rigour of the statutory embargo unless there are strong grounds to believe that the accused is not guilty of the offence. The Court further clarified that the first proviso to Section 479 BNSS only enables an accused to apply for bail after completing one-third of the maximum period of imprisonment, but the second proviso preserves the power of the Court to continue detention after hearing the Public Prosecutor and recording reasons in writing. Finding no exceptional circumstance to satisfy the test for bail under the NDPS Act, the Court dismissed the application. However, considering the long custody of the petitioner, it directed the trial court to record the remaining witnesses in one calendar and conclude the trial within two months positively.
(JNF) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
| |
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
