Mania Nayak State of Odisha v. Opposite Party Mr. S.S. Mohapatra, ASC CORAM: JUSTICE SAVITRI RATHO Order No. 05
Case Details
IN THE HIGH COURT OF ORISSA AT CUTTACK BLAPL No.6983 of 2024 Mania Nayak State of Odisha … Petitioner Mr.Deepak Ranjan Parida, Advocate vs. ... Opposite Party Mr. S.S. Mohapatra, ASC CORAM: JUSTICE SAVITRI RATHO Order No. 05.
Decision
ORDER 20.09.2024 (Through hybrid mode) 1. This application under Section 439 of Cr.P.C. has been filed by the petitioner in connection with Tamando P.S. Case No. 215 of 2023 corresponding to T.R. Case No. 425 of 2023 pending in the court of the learned 2nd Additional District & Sessions Judge, Khurda at Bhubaneswar registered under Sections 21 (c) /29 of the NDPS Act. 2. This application has been listed before me as BLAPL No. 10335 of 2023 filed by co-accused Ansari Bibi had been disposed of by me on 22.12.2023. 3. The prayer for bail of the petitioner has been rejected on 21.02.2024 by the learned 2nd Addl. Sessions Judge, Bhubaneswar in T.R. Case No. 425 of 2023. Page 1 of 6 4. The prosecution case in brief against the petitioner is that on 15.08.2023 at about 4.00 P.M., on receiving reliable information that co-accused Deepak Kumar Behera was standing near Nilakantheswar Temple, Kalinga Vihar possessing a huge quantity of brown sugar to deliver the same to customers and general public, the informant went to the spot and detained the accused. During search, 280 grams of brown sugar were recovered from his conscious possession. On interrogation, co-accused Deepak Kumar Behera stated that he has engaged the present petitioner- Mania Nayak, co- accused-Ansari Bibi, Papu Nayak @ Alex Papu, Soubhagya Sahoo @ Chakuli, Rabi Nayak, Sulei Nayak, Dillip Kumar Behera @ Jay Nanda, Raja Pattanaik, Bicky Pattanaik, Tofan Nayak, Sonu Pattanaik, Santanu Nayak and Aju @ Ajay Mohanty to sell drugs in Bhubaneswar city. He also confessed that he is financing these people for selling, transporting and distributing brown sugar in the city and that he had kept the brown sugar for selling to general people and different customers and he is in the habit of doing this business and previously he has sold brown sugar along with the other accused persons in Bhubaneswar city. On weighment, the weight of the brown sugar came to 280 grams and after drawing a sample, the Page 2 of 6 brown sugar was seized and the co-accused Deepak Kumar Behera was arrested. 5. Mr. Deepak Ranjan Parida, learned counsel for the petitioner submits that the petitioner is in custody since 18.06.2024. Relying on the order dated 12.02.2024, 13.02.2024 and 21.02.2024 passed in T.R. Case No. 425 of 2023, certified copy of which has been filed by him, he submits that chargesheet dated 12.02.2024 has been filed in this case and cognizance of the offences has been taken against the petitioner and other accused persons on 12.02.2024 for commission of offences punishable under Sections 21 (C)/29 of the NDPS Act and warrant has been issued against the present petitioner-Mania Nayak and co-accused Soubhagya Sahoo @ Chakuli on 21.02.2024 and he stands on the same footing as Soubhagya Sahoo @ Chakuli who has been granted bail by this Court vide order dated 21.05.2024 in BLAPL No. 4004 of 2024. He further submits that except for the confession of the main accused Deepak Kumar Behera from whom 280 grams of brown sugar were seized who stated that he had procured the brown sugar for supply to the petitioner and the other co-accused persons, there is no other material to connect the petitioner with the brown sugar. He further submits that apart from Page 3 of 6 Soubhagya Sahoo @ Chakuli, other accused persons who had been named by the main accused have also been released on bail. He finally submits that the petitioner has one criminal antecedent under Section 21 (b) of the NDPS Act, namely, Chandrasekharpur P.S. Case No. 53 of 2023 and co-accused Tofan Nayak who has been granted bail in BLAPL No. 1233 of 2024 vide order dated 06.05.2024 has a number of criminal antecedents including Chandrasekharpur P.S. Case No. 34 of 2023 under Section 21 (b) of the NDPS Act. 6. Mr. S.S. Mohapatra, learned Additional Standing Counsel opposes the prayer for bail stating that these types of crimes are rising every day. As the main accused has confessed that he was selling brown sugar with the help of the present petitioner and other co-accused and the petitioner has one criminal antecedent, i.e, Chandrasekharpur P.S. Case No. 53 of 2023 he should not be released on bail. 7. Considering that the sole incriminating material against the petitioner in the present case is the confession of the co-accused from whom the brown sugar was seized that he supplies the brown sugar to the petitioner and other co-accused, and nothing Page 4 of 6 incriminating has been recovered from his possession, in view of the decision of the Supreme Court in case of Tofan Singh vs. State of Tamil Nadu reported in AIR 2020 SC 5592: AIRONLINE 2020 SC 798: 80 (2020) OCR SC 641 and as antecedent of the petitioner is under Section 21(b) of the NDPS Act, as I am of the view that Section 37 of the NDPS Act will not be a bar for releasing the petitioner on bail, I am inclined to allow his prayer for bail. 8. The petitioner-Mania Nayak shall be released on bail on such terms and conditions as may be fixed by the learned Court below in seisin over the matter, subject to verification that the petitioner has only one criminal antecedent under the NDPS Act which is Section 21 (b) of the NDPS Act i.e. Chandrasekharpur P.S. Case No. 53 of 2023, including the following other conditions: (i) He will not commit any offence while on bail. (ii) He will not try to influence or threaten the prosecution witnesses. (iii) He will report before the I.I.C., Tamando Police Station once in a week on every Sunday between 10.00 a.m. to 12.00 noon till conclusion of trial. (iv) He will remain present in the trial Court on each date it Page 5 of 6 is fixed for trial unless his appearance is dispensed with by the learned trial Court on that day. 09. Violation of any condition will entail in cancellation of bail/ recall of this order. 10. The BLAPL is accordingly disposed of. 11. Urgent certified copy of this order be granted on proper application. 12. A copy of this order be supplied to Mr. S.S. Mohapatra, learned Additional Standing Counsel for the State for onward transmission to the I.I.C., Tamando Police Station. ………………………... (SAVITRI RATHO) JUDGE puspa Signature Not Verified Digitally Signed Signed by: PUSPANJALI MOHAPATRA Reason: Authentication Location: Orissa High Court Date: 20-Sep-2024 20:36:23 Page 6 of 6