Himachal Pradesh High Court
____________________________________________________ vs State Of Himachal Pradesh on 21 January, 2025
IN THE HIGH COURT OF HIMACHAL PRADESH, SHIMLA.
Cr.MP(M) No. 2764 of 2024
Decided on: 21.01.2025
____________________________________________________
Bhola Dutt Sharma ……….. petitioner
Versus
State of Himachal Pradesh ……….respondent
____________________________________________________
Coram:
Hon’ble Mr. Justice Bipin Chander Negi, Vacation Judge
Whether approved for reporting? 1For the petitioner : Mr. Naveen K. Bhardwaj,
Advocate.
For the respondent : Mr. Diwakar Dev Sharma and Mr.
Harinder Rawat Additional
Advocates General with Ms. Swati
Draik, Deputy Advocate General
for the respondent/State.
:
ASI Netar Singh, I.O. PS. Bhuntar
District Kullu, present in person.
____________________________________________________
Bipin Chander Negi, Vacation Judge (oral)The present bail petition has been filed under Section
483 of the BNSS for grant of regular bail, in FIR No.187 of 2024,
dated 08.08.2024, registered at Police Station Bhunter District
Kullu, H.P. under Sections 21 and 29 of the Narcotic Drugs and
Psychotropic Substances Act.
2. Status report filed, the same is taken on record. Copy
whereof supplied to learned counsel appearing on behalf of the
petitioner.
3. I have heard learned counsel for the parties. Perused
the record and the status report.
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Whether the reporters of the local papers may be allowed to see the judgment?
2
4. On 08.08.2024, a police party led by ASI Netar Singh
was on patrol duty. At about 2.00 P.M., ASI Netar Singh received
a secret information that one individual named Parvesh belonging
to Ludhiana (Punjab) has brought huge quantity of heroin from
Punjab and is staying in the house of Khem Raj.
5. As per the secret information received, Khem Raj
and the present bail petitioner had come to purchase heroin. In
the aforesaid circumstances as per the secret information
received, if the rented premises of Parvesh was to be raided
immediately, then huge cache of heroin could be recovered.
6. The aforesaid secret information was found to be
well founded. The same was reduced into writing. Copy whereof
was sent to higher officials. Independent witnesses were
associated by the investigating officer. The independent
witnesses were one lady named Sita Devi and an individual
named Abhishek Kumar.
7. Subsequent thereto, the police went to the premises,
wherein Parvesh was residing at Sharabai. The ASI knocked at
the door, one Khem Raj opened the door. Two individuals namely
Parvesh and the bail petitioner were found inside the room.
Investigating Officer gave his personal search to the occupants of
the room and informed them of the secret information received. In
the room on the double bed, an electronic weighing machine was
found with one pebble shaped substance in a plastic pouch. The
pebble weighed 107 grams and was found to be heroin. The
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same was taken into possession and thereafter the bail petitioner
alongwith two other individuals namely Khem Raj and Parvesh
were taken into custody.
8. Investigation in the case at hand is complete.
Challan in the case at hand stands presented before the trial
court. The matter is now listed in the month of February for
consideration of charge. The other accused have been enlarged
on bail. No recovery is to be made from the bail petitioner.
Custodial interrogation of the present bail petitioner is not
required in the case at hand. No fruitful purpose shall be served
by keeping the bail petitioner in custody.
9. The consequences of pre-trial incarceration are
grave. A person presumed innocent is subjected to psychological
and physical deprivations of jail. Guilt of the individual is to be
determined at the trial. Further, a jailed individual is prevented
from contributing to the preparation of his defence. The burden of
his detention falls heavily on the innocent members of his family.
10. Personal liberty is a very precious fundamental right.
The same is to be curtailed only when it becomes imperative,
according to the peculiar facts and circumstances of each case.
The object of bail is to secure the attendance of the accused
person at his trial by reasonable amount of bail. The object of bail
is neither punitive nor preventative.
11. Nothing unfavourable has been stated in the status
report qua the social circumstances of the petitioner whereby it
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can be made out that the petitioner is likely to betray the
confidence, that the Court may place in him to turn out to take
justice at the hands of the Court.
12. Hence, after going through the material available on
record and considering the overall facts and circumstances of the
case, this Court finds that the present is a fit case where judicial
discretion to admit the petitioner on bail is required to be
exercised in his favour. Accordingly, the bail application is
allowed and it is ordered that the petitioner, who has been
arrested by the police, in case FIR No. 187 of 2024, dated
08.08.2024, registered at Police Station Bhunter, District Kullu
H.P. under Sections 21 and 29 of the Narcotic Drugs and
Psychotropic Substances Act, shall be forthwith released on bail,
subject to his furnishing personal bond to the tune of Rs.25,000/-
(twenty five thousand) with one local surety in the like amount, to
the satisfaction of learned trial Court. This bail order is subject,
however, to the following conditions:-
(i). Petitioner shall attend the trial Court on each
and every date of hearing and if prevented by any
reason to do so, seek exemption from appearance
by filing appropriate application;
(ii) Petitioner shall not tamper with the evidence or
hamper the investigation in any manner
whatsoever;
(iii) Petitioner will not leave India without prior
permission of the Court;
(iv) Petitioner shall not make any inducement,
threat or promise, directly or indirectly, to the
victim and Investigating Officer or any person
acquainted with the facts of the case to dissuade
him/her from disclosing such facts to the Court or
any Police Officer;
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(v) Petitioner shall inform the Station House Officer
of the concerned police station about his place of
residence during bail and trial. Any change in the
same shall also be communicated within two weeks
thereafter. Petitioner shall furnish details of his
Aadhar Card, Telephone Number, Email, PAN Card,
Bank Account Number, if any; &
(vi) It is made clear that in case petitioner is
arraigned as an accused, in future, in any FIR, then
his bail is liable to be cancelled. It is open for the
Investigating Agency to move appropriate
application in that regard.
13. Needless to say that the Investigating agency shall
be at liberty to move this Court for cancellation of the bail, if any
of the aforesaid conditions are violated by the petitioner.
14. Be it stated that any expression of opinion given in
this order does not mean an expression of opinion on the merits
of the case and the trial Court will not be influenced by any
observations made therein.
15. The Registry is directed to forward a soft copy of the
bail order to the Superintendent, District Jail Kullu, through email,
with a direction to enter the date of grant of bail in the e-prison
software.
16. In case, the petitioner is not released within a period
of seven days from the date of grant of bail, the Superintendent,
District Jail Kullu, H.P., is directed to inform this fact to the
Secretary, DLSA, Kullu. The Superintendent, Sub Jail Kullu,
District Kullu H.P., is further directed that if the petitioner fails to
furnish the bail bonds, as per the order passed by this Court,
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within a period of one month from today, the said fact be
submitted to this Court.
17. The petition stands accordingly disposed of. A copy
of this order be sent to the Superintendent, District Jail Kullu,
H.P. and the learned trial Court by FASTER.
18. A downloaded copy of this order shall be accepted
by the learned Trial Court while accepting the bail bonds from the
petitioner and in case, said Court intends to ascertain the veracity
of the downloaded copy of the order presented to it, same may be
ascertained from the official website of this Court.
(Bipin Chander Negi)
Vacation Judge
January 21, 2025
tarun
Digitally signed by VANDNA SHARMA
VANDNA
DN: C=IN, O=HIGH COURT OF HIMACHAL
PRADESH, OU=HIGH COURT OF
HIMACHAL PRADESH SHIMLA, Phone=
d3b84f3143a60e693f007f9c5e0fe88152279f1d
9f450a0255823cfc38862034, PostalCode=
SHARM
171001, S=Himachal Pradesh,
SERIALNUMBER=
3a417623218f5838c6af79de7dc1906f7312667
58b23a4f74fad98f0022165e3, CN=VANDNA
SHARMA
A Reason: I am the author of this document
Location:
Date: 2025.01.21 17:11:55+05’30’
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