High Court
Case Details
Court No. - 74 Case :- CRIMINAL MISC. BAIL APPLICATION No. - 36415 of 2022 Applicant :- Krishna Kumar Singh Opposite Party :- State of U.P. and Another Counsel for Applicant :- Jamil Ahamad Azmi,Mariyam Azmi,Satya Dheer Singh Jadaun Counsel for Opposite Party :- G.A.,Ashish Pandey Hon'ble Deepak Verma,J. Counter affidavit, filed on behalf of N.C.B., is taken on record. Counsel for the applicant has refused to file reply of the counter affidavit.
Legal Reasoning
Heard counsel for the applicant; Sri Ashish Pandey, counsel for the N.C.B./opposite party; learned A.G.A. on behalf of State and perused the record. The instant bail application has been filed on behalf of the applicant with a prayer to release him on bail in Case Crime No.40 of 2019, under Sections 8 (C) 20 (C), 29 of Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985, P.S. N.C.B., Lucknow, Place of incident Shankarpur Check Post, P.S. Rani Ki Sarai, District Azamgarh, during pendency of trial. Brief facts of the case are that the officers of Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) got information from Special Task Force (S.T.F.), Lucknow, that approximately 1200 kg. Ganja loaded in a truck bearing registration no. MH-43/Y-4376 with coal for trafficking from Visakhapatnam (Andhra Pradesh) to Azamgarh (U.P.). The N.C.B. team with STF and police intercepted the vehicle on the way coming from Varanasi side-Shankarpur Tiraha on 31.10.2019 between 5 am. to 6:30 am. at Shankarpur Tiraha check post. The truck was driven by co-accused Klamuddeen and another co-accused Vaseem Mohd, Khalasi/helper of the truck and upon search truck was found loaded with coal and under the coal 37 white plastic bags were recovered. The weight of all these bags was done by electric weighing machine wherein 17 bags of 40 kg, 16 bags of 30 kg, 03 bags of 24 kg. and 28 bags of 1 kg were found and total weight of contraband was weighted as 1260kg. On the spot intervention, driver (Klamuddeen) and khalasi/helper (Vaseem Mohd) disclosed that contraband articles was loaded with coal on direction of applicant, Krishna Kumar Singh. Counsel for the applicant has submitted that applicant has been falsely implicated in the present case on account of statement of co-accused Klamuddeen and Vaseem and they have been granted bail by Co-ordinate Bench of this Court by order dated 15.07.2021(Annexure Nos. 9-10 of the bail application). Counsel for the applicant next argued that in the present case applicant was arrested by N.C.B./opposite party no.2 on the basis of confessional statement of co-accused and the statement of Co-accused under Section 67 of N.D.P.S. Act has no evidentiary value at this stage and mere statement of co- accused, applicant cannot be sustained in jail unless there is direct evidence against him. Moreover, co-accused had not disclosed correct car number of the applicant but only to fix the complicity of accused, applicant has been implicated in the present case. Prosecution case against the applicant is totally false and concocted. In support of his submission counsel for the applicant has placed reliance upon paragraphs 9-10 of the judgment of Apex Court passed in State By (NCB) Bengaluru Vs. Pallulabid Ahmad Arimutta. He further submits that no substantial material was available with the prosecution at the time of arrest to connect the applicant with the allegations levelled against him for indulging him in drug trafficking. The applicant has no criminal history to his credit. Per contra, counsel for the N.C.B./opposite party has vehemently opposed the bail application of the applicant. In counter affidavit, it has been specifically stated that 1260 kg. Ganja was recovered from the truck in presence of independent witnesses, namely, Mahendra Yadav, Dablu Yadav, Klamuddeen (driver) and Vaseem (Khalasi/helper). Klamuddeen and Vaseem have disclosed the complicity of the applicant in trafficking of recovered Ganja. It has further been argued that Klamuddeen, driver and Vaseem, Khalasi in their statement have clearly stated that on direction of one Guddu Singh, they met applicant, Krishan Kumar Singh. Guddu Singh gave the Desire Car No. U.P.50 4001 of the applicant. The applicant gave key of truck and escorted them from Ramnagar toll but after arrest, he ran away from the spot. It has further been submitted that from the statement of co-accused, it is clear that when vehicle number was checked applicant was found owner of the vehicle. He further submitted that the officer of the N.C.B. intercepted the truck loaded with contraband material and the applicant managed to escape from the place of recovery. The applicant and other co-accused persons were involved in supply of ganja. The applicant along with other associates by different modus operandi procured ganja from other accused persons and transported the same to its counter part. The applicant knowingly and deliberately involved in trafficking of recovered ganja for obtaining pecuniary benefits. The applicant is involved in a crime which is against the society at large and as such, no sympathetical consideration may be given to him and further added that applicant is involved in trafficking of 1260 kg. Ganja, which is more than commercial quantity, therefore, provisions of Section 37 of the N.D.P.S. Act are fully attracted. Applicant's case is entirely different from co-accused, as co- accused has been granted bail on the ground of non compliance of provisions of Section 50 of N.D.P.S. Act. Counsel for the N.C.B. has placed reliance upon various judgment of Apex Court in Union of India Vs. Ram Samujh and Another, reported in ACC 1999 (39) 643; Dehal Sigh Vs. State of Himachal Pradesh A.I.R. 2010 SC 3594 and N.C.B. Vs. Mohit Aggarwal 2022 Live Law (SC) 613 in Para 13, 14 and 18. I have considered the arguments raised by counsel for the applicant; judgment of the Apex Court placed by counsel for the applicant and counsel for the informant and perused the material available on record. Counsel for the applicant has given more impetus that statement of co-accused cannot be read against the applicant in view of the Hon'ble Apex Court judgment as it has been held by the Apex Court that co-accused statement under Section 67 of N.D.P.S. Act would remain inadmissible in the trial of an offence under the N.D.P.S. Act so confessional/voluntary statements of co-accused cannot be a ground for implicating the applicant in present offence. But in the present case, in hand, record reveals that on the statement of co-accused car number of applicant immediately traced out by NCB officers by which applicant escorted the co-accused. The N.C.B. officers and co-accused had no prior enmity with the applicant so it cannot be said that applicant has been implicated in the present case. Moreover, the N.C.B. team also got the address and location of the applicant from the statement of co- accused. At this stage, counsel for the N.C.B. has clearly demonstrated that applicant is connected with the offence as the statement of co-accused driver, Klamuddeen and Vaseem, helper disclosed the applicant's car number which was immediately checked by investigating offiers of N.C.B. and it was found that the said car belongs to the applicant. The chain prepared by N.C.B. Official connecting the applicant in the present case is fully proved and the applicant is found guilty of the offence lodged against him. I do not find it a fit case for bail. The bail application is accordingly rejected. Order Date :- 21.9.2022/Meenu Digitally signed by MEENU SINGH Date: 2022.10.11 13:52:52 IST Reason: Location: High Court of Judicature at Allahabad