Court No. - 66
Case :- CRIMINAL MISC. BAIL APPLICATION No. - 49815 of 2021 Applicant :- Mahendra Opposite Party :- State of U.P. Counsel for Applicant :- Hari Krishna Singh,Dhirendra Kumar Srivastava Counsel for Opposite Party :- G.A.
Hon'ble Ajay Bhanot,J.
Heard Shri Dhirendra Kumar Srivastava, learned counsel for the applicant and Shri Rishi Chaddha, learned AGA for the State.
A first information report was lodged as Case Crime No.1130 of 2021 at Police Station- Highway, District-Mathura under Section 21/22 of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, 1985.
The bail application of the applicant was rejected by learned Special Judge (NDPS Act)/ Additional District and Sessions Judge, Mathura, on 21.10.2021.
The applicant is in jail since 09.10.2021, pursuant to the said F.I.R.
Shri Dhirendra Kumar Srivastava, learned counsel for the applicant contends that the applicant has been falsely implicated in the instant case. 170Gm Alprazolam was planted on the applicant to frame him in the instant case and to show proficiency of police investigators. Commercial quantity of Alprazolam as notified is 100gm. Further, even the said measurement 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. There is no independent witness to the alleged recovery. No forensic science laboratory report has been submitted which confirms that the substance allegedly recovered is prohibited under the NDPS Act. Explaining the criminal history of the applicant it is contended by learned counsel for the applicant 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. Lastly it is contended by the learned counsel for applicants that the applicants shall not abscond and will fully cooperate in the criminal law proceedings. The applicants shall not tamper with the evidence nor influence the witnesses in any manner.
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-Mahendra involved in Case Crime No.1130 of 2021 at Police Station- Highway, District-Mathura under Section 21/22 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