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Petitioner was granted bail, who was charged under Section 67 of NDPS Act under certain condition held by High Court of  Delhi through the learned HON’BLE MS. JUSTICE MUKTA GUPTA in the case of NAMAN SHARMA vs STATE THROUGH NARCOTICS CONTROL BUREAU in case no. (BAIL APPLN. 3673/2021) on March 04, 2022.

Facts of the case are that  counsel for the petitioner contends that as per the statement recorded under Section 67 of the NDPS Act which is inadmissible in evidence, the best case of the respondent is that the petitioner used to consume Ganja in the year 2017 and the payments thereof were made in the year 2021. According to  the investigation, the group was created by Mohd. Aslam and Parichay Arora and merely because the petitioner was also made an admin of the group, the liability of the entire group cannot be fastened on the petitioner. Even from the transactions of payments made to Mohd. Aslam and Neil Singhvi by the petitioner at best four or five transactions have been shown wherein amounts transferred are ₹11,000, ₹5700, ₹1000, ₹2000 etc. The petitioner is not a drug trafficker. Though not admitting, even if at some stage the petitioner consumed the drugs, the same would not amount to dealing in a drug trafficking racket. He further states that the similarly placed co-accused namely Devesh Vasa and Aashray Pandey has been granted bail by the learned Special Court and hence, on parity  the petitioner should also be granted bail. The complaint has been filed and the petitioner is no more required for investigation as he was working after completing his studies at Kolkata when he was picked up by the officers of the respondent and implicated in this case.

Learned counsel for the respondent states that in view of the embargo under Section 37 of the NDPS Act, no case for grant of bail to the petitioner is made out as there is every possibility that on being released on bail, the petitioner will again indulge in same kind of activities and the petitioner being a part of the larger drug network, his role cannot be segregated from the other accused. On this the learned counsel for petitioner states that on the basis of an information, Guhan Sarvothaman was intercepted at the IGI Airport on 4th August 2021. On his search, 30 gms. of ganja and 0.45 gms. of Ecstasy were recovered. In the interrogation, he disclosed about Rahul Mishra and Aashray Pandey thenafter they were intercepted and found with drugs and cash, and they linked to a Telegram App named Orient  Express Group in which the petitioner was one of the admin of said social media group. As per the prosecution, no recovery of contraband was made from the petitioner and the only evidence against him is that he was one of the admin of Orient express group which was created by Mohd. Aslam and Parichay Arora and that the petitioner had transferred certain sums of money.

As complaint has already been filed by the respondent; the petitioner is in judicial custody since 4th September 2021 and is no more required for investigation. Consequently, the Court deems it fit to grant bail to the petitioner. It is therefore directed that the petitioner be released on bail on his furnishing a personal bond in the sum of ₹1 lakh with two surety bonds of the like amount each, and petitioner will not leave country without prior permission and will appear before the NCB office in Kolkata on the first Monday of every month at 6:00 PM.

Click here to read the Judgment

Judgment reviewed by – Amit Singh.