Patna High Court – Orders
Prem Sahani @ Gopal Chaudhary vs The State Of Bihar on 10 April, 2025
Author: Chandra Prakash Singh
Bench: Chandra Prakash Singh
IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT PATNA
CRIMINAL MISCELLANEOUS No.2322 of 2025
Arising Out of PS. Case No.-164 Year-2014 Thana- FATUA District- Patna
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Prem Sahani @ Gopal Chaudhary S/o- Kapil Muni Sahani @ Kapil
Chaudhary @ Kapil Dev Sahani Resident of Kanti Factory Road, Mahatma
Gandhi Nagar, P.S.- Agamkuan, District- Patna
... ... Petitioner/s
Versus
The State of Bihar
... ... Opposite Party/s
======================================================
Appearance :
For the Petitioner/s : Mr. Santosh Kumar, Adv.
For the Opposite Party/s : Mr. Nirmala Kumari, APP
======================================================
CORAM: HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE CHANDRA PRAKASH
SINGH
ORAL ORDER
3 10-04-2025
Heard learned counsel for the petitioner and learned
A.P.P for the State.
2. The petitioner has preferred this application for
grant of regular bail in connection with Fatuha P.S. Case No.
164 of 2014 dated 20.05.2014 registered for the offence
punishable u/ss 399 and 402 of the I.P.C. and Sections 25(1-B)
(a), 26 and 35 of the Arms Act and Section 3/4 of the Explosive
Substance Act and Section 20/22 of the N.D.P.S Act.
3. As per the prosecution case, one country-made
pistol, one kilogram of Charas and two live bomb were
recovered from the possession of the petitioner.
4. Learned counsel for the petitioner has submitted
that the petitioner is innocent and has falsely been implicated in
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this case. No incriminating article has been recovered from the
conscious possession of the petitioner. It is further submitted
that charge was framed against the petitioner on 20.06.2023 but
no prosecution witnesses have been examined till date. The
petitioner has no concern with alleged recovery. The petitioner
has 14 criminal antecedents as stated in para 3 of the bail
petition. The petitioner is in custody since 22.05.2014 to
21.07.2018 and since 06.05.2022 to up till now as stated in para-
4 of the bail petition.
5. Learned A.P.P. for the State has vehemently
opposed the bail petition of the petitioner The petitioner had no
valid authorization for keeping the said contraband. The said
seized contraband is of commercial quantity.
6. As per Section 37 of the N.D.P.S. Act, the two
conditions are that the Court should be satisfied with :-
(i) There are reasonable grounds for believing that the
accused is not guilty of such offence; and
(ii) He is not likely to commit any offence while on
bail.
If either of these two conditions is not satisfied, the
bar operates and the accused cannot be released on bail. The
Court is of the opinion that the parameters of bail available
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under Section 37 of the Act have not satisfied in the facts of the
instant case.
The Hon’ble Supreme Court in the case of Narcotics
Control Bureau v. Mohit Aggarwal 2022 SCC OnLine SC 891
has held that “The length of the period of his custody or the fact
that the charge-sheet has been filed and the trial has
commenced are by themselves not considerations that can be
treated as persuasive grounds for granting relief to the
respondent under Section 37 of the N.D.P.S. Act.”
7. Learned APP for the State has further submitted
that vide order dated 18.07.2018, passed in the present case, the
petitioner was granted provisional bail in connection with
Special Case No. 43 of 2014, arising out of Fatuha P.S. Case
No. 164 of 2014, pending in the court of learned A.D.J.-VI-
cum-Special Judge (NDPS), Patna, for a period of three weeks
from the date of production/receipt of a copy of the order dated
18.07.2018 by the then Co-ordinate Bench of this Court on the
ground that the father of the petitioner has died on 10.07.2018
and the petitioner has to participate in the last rites of his late
father and a slip to that effect has also been filed by the learned
counsel for the petitioner on 13.07.2018 with certain conditions.
The petitioner has to surrender positively on or before expiry of
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the period of provisional bail but he absconded and could not
surrender within the stipulated period for which Agamkuan P.S.
Case No. 532 of 2018 was instituted on 28.07.2018.
8. Vide order dated 29.08.2024, a report regarding the
date of surrender of the petitioner in the learned court below as
well as the present stage of trial in connection with Fatuha P.S.
Case No. 164 of 2014 from the court of learned A.D.J.-VI-cum-
Special Judge (NDPS), Patna, was called for.
9. In compliance of the aforesaid order dated
29.08.2024, a report has been sent by learned Exclusive Special
Court (NDPS) No. 2, Patna, vide its Letter No. 298 dated
10.09.2024, to this Court by which he has reported that the
present case is pending at the stage of prosecution evidence and
the petitioner was taken into judicial custody on 06.05.2022 and
since then he is in judicial custody.
10. From perusal of paragraph no. 6 of the show cause
filed on behalf of the Inspector of Police-cum-Station House
Officer, Agam Kuan, Patna, it revealed that after receiving the
order of the Hon’ble Court and for compliance of the order, a
Sub-Inspector rank Police Officer was deployed for keeping
close watch on the petitioner and consequently on 27.07.2018 at
19.30 hours, the said police officer visited at the house of the
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petitioner where the petitioner was found absconding but his
father, namely, Kapil Muni Sahani, was found to be alive and
his father Kapil Muni Sahani has stated that his wife has died
four years ago and he has no relation with the petitioner for last
eight years.
11. Considering the aforesaid facts and circumstances
of the case as well as the recovery of commercial quantity from
the conscious possession of the petitioner, this Court is not
inclined to grant bail to the petitioner and the same is rejected in
connection with Fatuha P.S. Case No. 164 of 2014 pending in
the court of learned Exclusive Special Court (NDPS) No.2,
Patna.
12. Learned trial court is directed to take steps for the
conclusion of trial as early as possible.
13. A copy of this order be communicated to the
Senior Superintended of Police and Superintend of Police, Patna
with direction to take steps for the production of all the
witnesses of this case in connection with Fatuha P.S. Case No.
164 of 2014 for their depositions.
(Chandra Prakash Singh, J)
shivam/-
U T
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