20.02.2025 Karanjit Singh State of Punjab v. Pe(cid:15)(cid:15)oner
Case Details
CRM-M-61165-2024 IN THE HIGH COURT OF PUNJAB AND HARYANA AT CHANDIGARH CRM-M-61165-2024 Reserved on: 04.02.2025 Pronounced on: 20.02.2025 Karanjit Singh State of Punjab Versus ...Pe(cid:15)(cid:15)oner …Respondent CORAM: HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE ANOOP CHITKARA Present: Mr. Rishu Mahajan, Advocate for the pe(cid:15)(cid:15)oner. Mr. Akshay Kumar, A.A.G., Punjab. **** ANOOP CHITKARA, J. FIR No. Dated Police Sta/on Sec/ons 122 22.06.2024 Ajnala, Amritsar 21-B/25/27-A/29 of NDPS Act and 25 of Arms Act 1.
Legal Reasoning
The pe(cid:15)(cid:15)oner incarcerated in the FIR cap(cid:15)oned above had come up before this Court under Sec(cid:15)on 483 of Bhara(cid:15)ya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023, [BNSS], seeking regular bail. 2. As per paragraph 16 of the bail applica(cid:15)on, the accused has no criminal antecedents. 3. The facts and allega(cid:15)ons are being taken from the status report filed by the State, which reads as follows: “2. That the brief and relevant facts of the case are that the aforesaid FIR No. 122 dated 22.06.2024 was registered at the Police Sta!on Ajnala, Amritsar (Rural), on the basis of a 'Ruqa' sent by ASI Kanwaljit Singh men!oning therein that Akash Seth alias Raghu, Karanjit Singh (present Pe!!oner) and Sukhdeep Singh were apprehended by him in the area of Ajnala on the basis of secret informa!on received during the patrolling and search of an!-social elements and during the search of the box carried by Akash Seth, 5 pistols of 30 bore along with 10 magazines, one glock 9MM without magazine were recovered. The detailed facts men!oned in the aforesaid Ruqa have been a6ached with the pe!!on as 1 JYOTI 2025.02.20 15:44 I attest to the accuracy and integrity of this order/judgment. CRM-M-61165-2024 Annexure P-1, FIR No. 122/2024 and its translated version, as in the instant case, which may kindly be read as part of the present paragraph as same are not repeated here for the sake of brevity. 3. That a8er the registra!on of the FIR, the inves!ga!on was commenced by ASI Kanwaljit Singh, who prepared a rough site plan and recorded the statement of the witnesses. 4. That during the custodial interroga!on, on 22.06.2024, the co-accused Akash suffered a disclosure statement, disclosing therein that Bholu, who was friend of his cousin brother Sanjam, was involved in procuring heroin from Pakistan also became his friend and Sanjam was involved in illegal business of weapons and drugs. He further disclosed that he used to reside at a PG at Amritsar and used to work for Bholu and ten days back, one unknown accomplice of Bholu had given him 250 grams of heroin. He further disclosed that he had consumed some heroin and sold the remaining to some customers and he has hidden the remaining heroin at his PG room. On the basis of the aforesaid disclosure statement of the co- accused Akash, sec!on 21, 25 and 29 of NDPS Act were added vide GD No.38 dated 22.06.2024.” 4. The Inves(cid:15)gator claims to have complied with all the statutory requirements of the NDPS Act, 1985, and CrPC, 1973. 5. Counsel for the pe(cid:15)(cid:15)oner seeks bail on the grounds of parity with co-accused Sukhdeep Singh @ Bablu, who was granted bail by this Court vide order dated 28.11.2024 passed in CRM-M-47971-2024. The pe(cid:15)(cid:15)oner's counsel prays for bail by imposing any stringent condi(cid:15)ons and contends that further pre-trial incarcera(cid:15)on would cause an irreversible injus(cid:15)ce to the pe(cid:15)(cid:15)oner and his family. 6. 7. The State’s counsel opposes bail and refers to the status report. It would be appropriate to refer to the following por(cid:15)ons of the status report, which read as follows: “5. That 200 grams of heroin was recovered at the instance of the co- accused Akash, which was taken into police possession vide recovery memo dated 22.06.2024 by ASI Harjinder Singh as the inves!ga!ng officer who ini!ally conducted the inves!ga!on was a local rank, who was not competent for inves!ga!on in NDPS cases. 6. That during the custodial interroga!on, the co-accused Akash suffered an another disclosure statement dated 24.06.2024 that Bholu used to give JYOTI 2025.02.20 15:44 I attest to the accuracy and integrity of this order/judgment. 2 CRM-M-61165-2024 him commission for supplying illegal drugs and weapons and about 10/15 days ago, the co-accused Bholu gave him Rs. 5 Lakh, out of which he has made one gold chain and spent some money. A total of Rs. 3,40,300/- was recovered at the instance of the co-accused Akash along with one gold chain, which was taken into police possession vide recovery memo dated 24.06.2024. 7. That during the custodial interroga!on, the present Pe!!oner-Accused suffered a disclosure statement dated 26.06.2024, disclosing therein that he had hidden Rs.47,000 of drug money in his almirah, which was recovered at his instance from his house pursuant to his disclosure statement dated 26.06.2024. Role of the pe(cid:10)(cid:10)oner 8. That the pe!!oner is an ac!ve member of the gang consis!ng of co- accused persons Akash Sharma, Sukhdeep Singh and Sanjam, who is involved in smuggling of heroin and weapons on asking of co-accused Bholu. Evidence against the pe(cid:10)(cid:10)oner 9. That the present Pe!!oner-Accused and other co-accused Sukhdeep Singh and Akash were arrested with the recovery of 5 pistols of 30 bore along with 10 magazines, one glock 9MM without magazine and that Rs.47,000/- drug money was recovered at his instance pursuant to his disclosure statement.” REASONING: 8. The quan(cid:15)ty allegedly involved in this case is commercial. Given this, the rigors of S. 37 of the NDPS Act apply in the present case. The pe(cid:15)(cid:15)oner must sa(cid:15)sfy the twin condi(cid:15)ons put in place by the Legislature under Sec(cid:15)on 37 of the NDPS Act. 9. Ini(cid:15)ally when the police party had nabbed the pe(cid:15)(cid:15)oner along with co-accused Sukhdeep Singh and Akash, they had recovered five pistols of 30 bore, 10 magazines and one glock 9 MM from joint possession of pe(cid:15)(cid:15)oner, co-accused Sukhdeep Singh and Akash Seth @ Raghu. Later on, 200 grams of heroin was recovered at the instance of co- accused Akash. 10. Given above, there is prima facie evidence against the pe(cid:15)(cid:15)oner regarding recovery of weapons but the evidence regarding recovery of heroin was from co-accused Akash Seth @ Raghu and is not associated to pe(cid:15)(cid:15)oner. In addi(cid:15)on, as per paragraph 8 of the bail pe(cid:15)(cid:15)on, the pe(cid:15)(cid:15)oner has been in custody since 22.06.2024. As per the same, the pe(cid:15)(cid:15)oner’s total custody in this FIR is around 7½ months. Given the penal JYOTI 2025.02.20 15:44 I attest to the accuracy and integrity of this order/judgment. 3 CRM-M-61165-2024 provisions invoked viz-a-viz pre-trial custody, coupled with the primafacie analysis of the nature of allega(cid:15)ons, and the other factors peculiar to this case, there would be no jus(cid:15)fiability for further pre-trial incarcera(cid:15)on at this stage. 11. Without commen(cid:15)ng on the case's merits, in the facts and circumstances peculiar to this case, and for the reasons men(cid:15)oned above, the pe(cid:15)(cid:15)oner makes a case for bail. 12. Given above, provided the pe(cid:15)(cid:15)oner is not required in any other case, the pe(cid:15)(cid:15)oner shall be released on bail in the FIR cap(cid:15)oned above subject to furnishing bonds to the sa(cid:15)sfac(cid:15)on of the concerned Court and due to unavailability before any nearest Ilaqa Magistrate/duty Magistrate. Before accep(cid:15)ng the surety, the concerned Court must be sa(cid:15)sfied that if the accused fails to appear, such surety can produce the accused. 13. While furnishing a personal bond, the pe(cid:15)(cid:15)oner shall men(cid:15)on the following personal iden(cid:15)fica(cid:15)on details: 1. AADHAR number 2. Passport number (If available) and when the aHes(cid:15)ng officer/court considers it appropriate or considers the accused a flight risk. 3. Mobile number (If available) E-Mail id (If available) 4. 14.
Legal Reasoning
This order is subject to the pe(cid:15)(cid:15)oner’s complying with the following terms. 15. The pe(cid:15)(cid:15)oner shall abide by all statutory bond condi(cid:15)ons and appear before the concerned Court(s) on all dates. The pe(cid:15)(cid:15)oner shall not tamper with the evidence, influence, browbeat, pressurize, induce, threaten, or promise, directly or indirectly, any witnesses, Police officials, or any other person acquainted with the facts and circumstances of the case or dissuade them from disclosing such facts to the Police or the Court. 16. Given the background of allega(cid:15)ons against the pe(cid:15)(cid:15)oner, it becomes paramount to protect the members of society, detec(cid:15)on staff and incapacita(cid:15)ng the accused would be one of the primary op(cid:15)ons un(cid:15)l the filing of the closure report or discharge, or acquiHal. Consequently, it would be appropriate to restrict the possession of firearms. [This restric(cid:15)on is being imposed based on the preponderance of the evidence of probability and not of evidence of certainty, i.e., beyond a reasonable doubt; and as such, it is not to be construed as an intermediate sanc(cid:15)on]. Given the nature of the allega(cid:15)ons and the other circumstances peculiar to this case, the pe(cid:15)(cid:15)oner shall surrender all weapons, firearms, and ammuni(cid:15)on, if any, along with the arms license to JYOTI 2025.02.20 15:44 I attest to the accuracy and integrity of this order/judgment. 4 CRM-M-61165-2024 the concerned authority within fiNeen days of release from prison and inform the Inves(cid:15)gator of the compliance. However, subject to the Indian Arms Act, 1959, the pe(cid:15)(cid:15)oner shall be en(cid:15)tled to renew and reclaim them in case of acquiHal in this case, provided otherwise permissible under the concerned rules. Restric(cid:15)ng firearms would ins(cid:15)ll confidence in the vic(cid:15)m(s), their families, and society; it would also restrain the accused from influencing the witnesses and repea(cid:15)ng the offense. 17. The condi(cid:15)ons men(cid:15)oned above imposed by this court are to endeavor to reform and ensure the accused does not repeat the offense and also to block the menace of drug abuse. In Mohammed Zubair v. State of NCT of Delhi, 2022:INSC:735 [Para 28], Writ Pe(cid:15)(cid:15)on (Criminal) No 279 of 2022, Para 29, decided on July 20, 2022, A Three-Judge bench of Hon’ble Supreme Court holds that “The bail condi(cid:15)ons imposed by the Court must not only have a nexus to the purpose that they seek to serve but must also be propor(cid:15)onal to the purpose of imposing them. The courts, while imposing bail condi(cid:15)ons must balance the liberty of the accused and the necessity of a fair trial. While doing so, condi(cid:15)ons that would result in the depriva(cid:15)on of rights and liber(cid:15)es must be eschewed.” 18. In Md. Tajiur Rahaman v. The State of West Bengal, decided on 08-Nov-2024, SLP (Crl) 12225-2024, Hon’ble Supreme Court holds in Para 7, “It goes without saying that if the pe(cid:15)(cid:15)oner is found involved in such like offence in future, the concession of bail granted to him today will liable to be withdrawn and the pe(cid:15)(cid:15)oner is bound to face the necessary consequences.” 19. This bail is condi(cid:10)onal, and the founda(cid:10)onal condi(cid:10)on is that if the pe(cid:10)(cid:10)oner indulges in any non-bailable offense, the State shall file an applica(cid:10)on for cancella(cid:10)on of this bail before the Trial Court, which shall be at liberty to cancel this bail. 20. The concerned trial court is authorized to delete, modify, or relax any of the above condi(cid:15)ons and shall be competent to do so in accordance with the law. 21. Any observa(cid:15)on made hereinabove is neither an expression of opinion on the case's merits nor shall the trial Court advert to these comments. 22. A cer(cid:15)fied copy of this order would not be needed for furnishing bonds, and any Advocate for the Pe(cid:15)(cid:15)oner can download this order along with case status from the official web page of this Court and aHest it to be a true copy. If the aHes(cid:15)ng officer wants to verify its authen(cid:15)city, such an officer can also verify its authen(cid:15)city and may download and use the downloaded copy for aHes(cid:15)ng bonds. JYOTI 2025.02.20 15:44 I attest to the accuracy and integrity of this order/judgment. 5 CRM-M-61165-2024 23. Pe//on allowed in terms men(cid:15)oned above. All pending applica(cid:15)ons, if any,
Decision
stand disposed of. 20.02.2025 Jyo(cid:15)-II Whether speaking/reasoned: Whether reportable: Yes No. (ANOOP CHITKARA) JUDGE JYOTI 2025.02.20 15:44 I attest to the accuracy and integrity of this order/judgment. 6