High Court
Case Details
Neutral Citation No. - 2025:AHC:79877 Court No. - 66 Case :- CRIMINAL MISC. BAIL APPLICATION No. - 9200 of 2025 Applicant :- Ravi Kumar Opposite Party :- State of U.P. Counsel for Applicant :- Arvind Agrawal Counsel for Opposite Party :- G.A. Hon'ble Sameer Jain,J.
Legal Reasoning
1. Heard Sri Arvind Agrawal, learned counsel for the applicant and Sri Santosh Nigam, learned AGA for the State-respondent. 2. The instant application has been filed seeking release of the applicant on bail in Case Crime No. 712 of 2023, under Sections 8/20/29 NDPS Act, Police Station- Sirsaganj, District- Firozabad, during pendency of the trial in the court below. 3. Learned counsel for the applicant submitted that this is the second bail application filed on behalf of the applicant and his first bail application was dismissed on merit by this Court on 03.05.2024 after considering the fact that he was driving the vehicle and from his vehicle huge commercial quantity of ganja was recovered but he is pressing the instant second bail application on the ground that along with applicant, three others were also apprehended including co-accused Lavkesh Kumar and after rejection of the first bail application of the applicant, bail application of co-accused Lavkesh Kumar has been allowed by co- ordinate Bench of this Court vide order dated 07.04.2025 passed in Criminal Misc. Bail Application No 7431of 2024 on the ground that prima facie, it appears, there is violation of notification dated 23.12.2022. He further submitted that considering the bail granting order passed in case of co-accused Lavkesh Kumar, on the ground of parity, applicant should also be released on bail. He placed reliance upon the judgment of the Apex Court passed in case of Satender Kumar Antil Vs. Central Bureau of Investigation and another (2022) 10 SCC 51. 4. He further submitted that apart from the present case, applicant was, however, also having criminal history of one another case under Sections 323, 504, 506 IPC but in that case, he has been acquitted. 5. He further submitted that applicant is not having any previous criminal history of NDPS Act and in the present matter, he is in jail since 07.11.2023 i.e. for last more than one and half years. 6. Per contra, learned AGA opposed the prayer for bail and submitted that this is the second bail application filed on behalf of the applicant and his first bail application was dismissed after considering the fact that he was driver of the vehicle and from his vehicle more than two quintal ganja was recovered but could not dispute the fact that in the car along with applicant co-accused Lavkesh was also sitting and after rejection of first bail application of the applicant, he has been released on bail by co-ordinate Bench of this Court after considering the fact that there is violation of notification dated 23.12.2022 and considering this fact, case of applicant is at par with him. He further could not dispute the fact that applicant is not having any previous criminal history of NDPS Act and in the present matter, he is in jail since 07.11.2023 i.e. for last more than one and half years. 7. I have heard learned counsel for the parties and perused the record of the case. 8. However, this is the second bail application filed on behalf of the applicant and his first bail application was dismissed on merit by this Court after considering the fact that he was driver of the vehicle and from his vehicle more than two quintal ganja was recovered but it reflects, after rejection of the first bail application of the applicant, bail application of co-accused Lavkesh Kumar has been allowed by co-ordinate Bench of this Court on the ground that there is violation of notification dated 23.12.2022 and co- accused Lavkesh Kumar was also sitting along with the applicant in the same vehicle. 9. The Apex Court in the case of Satender Kumar (supra), on which reliance was placed by learned counsel for the applicant, in paragraph no. 98 has observed that- "Uniformity and certainty in the decisions of the court are the foundations of judicial dispensation. Persons accused with same offence shall never be treated differently either by the same court or by the same or different courts. Such an action though by an exercise of discretion despite being a judicial one would be a grave affront to Articles 14 and 15 of the Constitution of India." 10. Considering the observation made by the Apex Court in case of Satender Kumar (supra), bail application of applicant can be allowed on the ground of parity, considering the provisions of Article 14 and 15 of Constitution of India. 11. Further, applicant is not having any previous criminal history of NDPS Act and in the present matter, he is in jail since 07.11.2023 i.e. for last more than one and half years. 12. Therefore, considering the facts and circumstances of the case discussed above, in my view, applicant is entitled to be released on bail. 13. Accordingly, without expressing any opinion on the merits of the case, the instant bail application is allowed. 14. Let the applicant- Ravi Kumar be released on bail in the aforesaid case on furnishing a personal bond and two sureties each in the like amount to the satisfaction of the court concerned with the following conditions:- (i) The applicant shall appear before the trial court on the dates fixed, unless his personal presence is exempted. (ii) The applicant shall not directly or indirectly, make 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 or any police officer or tamper with the evidence. (iii) The applicant shall not indulge in any criminal and anti-social activity. 15. In case of breach of any of the above condition, the prosecution will be at liberty to move an application before this Court for cancellation of the bail of the applicant. 16. It is clarified that the observations made herein are limited to the facts brought in by the parties pertaining to the disposal of bail application and the said observations shall have no bearing on the merits of the case during trial. Order Date :- 14.5.2025 KK Patel Digitally signed by :- KRISHN KANT PATEL High Court of Judicature at Allahabad