Court No. - 66
Case :- CRIMINAL MISC. BAIL APPLICATION No. - 49749 of 2021 Applicant :- Chhote Kashyap Opposite Party :- State of U.P.
Counsel for Applicant :- Rajesh Kumar Pandey Counsel for Opposite Party :- G.A.
Hon'ble Ajay Bhanot,J.
Heard Shri Rajesh Kumar Pandey, learned counsel for the applicant and learned Shri Rishi Chaddha, learned AGA for the State.
A first information report was lodged as Case Crime No.0380 of 2021 at Police Station- Bilaspur District-Rampur under Section 8/20 of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, 1985.
The bail application of the applicant was rejected by learned Incharge Sessions Judge, Rampur, on 26.10.2021.
The applicant is in jail since 24.07.2021, pursuant to the said F.I.R.
Shri Rajesh Kumar Pandey, learned counsel for the applicant contends that the applicant has been falsely implicated in the instant case. 1kg of charas was planted on the person of the applicant to frame him in the instant case to show proficiency of police investigators. The commercial quantity of the said substance is 1Kg. The weight of the recovered substance as stated in the F.I.R. is unreliable as accurate scientific instruments were not used for weighment. The recovery was made in violation of Section 42 read with Section 50 of the NDPS Act. No forensic science laboratory report has been submitted which confirms that the substance allegedly recovered is prohibited under the NDPS Act. There is no independent witness or public witness to the alleged recovery. Learned counsel for the applicant has explained the criminal history of the applicant and further contend that the applicant has become a soft target for the police authorities who repeatedly nominated him in unnamed F.I.Rs. only to burnish their professional credentials. Learned counsel for the applicant contends that the same have no bearing on the instant case.
Learned A.G.A could not satisfactorily dispute the aforesaid submissions from the record. However, he does not contest the criminal history of the applicant as disclosed in the bail application.
Courts have taken notice of the overcrowding of jails during the current pandemic situation (Ref.: Suo Motu Writ Petition (c) No. 1/2020, Contagion of COVID 19 Virus in prisons before the Supreme Court of India).
These circumstances shall also be factored in while considering bail applications on behalf of accused persons.
I see merit in the submissions of the learned counsel for the applicant and hold that the applicant is entitled to be enlarged on bail.
In the light of the preceding discussion and without making any observations on the merits of the case, the bail application is allowed.
Let the applicant-Chhote Kashyap involved in Case Crime No.380 of 2021 at Police Station- Bilaspur District-Rampur under Section 8/20 of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, 1985 be released on bail on furnishing a personal bond and two sureties each in the like amount to the satisfaction of the court concerned subject to following conditions.
1. The applicant will not tamper with the evidence during the trial.
2. The applicant will not influence any witness.
3. The applicant will appear before the trial court on the date fixed, unless personal presence is exempted.
4. The applicant shall not directly or indirectly make any inducement, threat or promise to any person acquainted with the facts of the case so as to dissuade him from disclosing such facts to the Court to any police officer or tamper with the evidence.
In case of breach of any of the above conditions, the prosecution shall be at liberty to move bail cancellation application before this Court.
Order Date :- 23.12.2021 Nadeem