MAHESH PRASAD JAISWAL Vs. STATE OF WEST BENGAL

JUDGEMENT

(1.) In praying for bail of the petitioner the learned counsel has drawn the attention of this court to the order passed in CRM (NDPS) 876 of 2024 on 3/7/2024 wherein the concerned accused person was granted bail by this Bench as the Gazetted Officer who witnessed the search and seizure and the arrest, directly supervised the process of search and seizure. The learned counsel claims parity. He has also submitted that requirements under Sec. 50 of NDPS Act, 1985 were not complied with. Furthermore, the contraband articles which were allegedly seized at the time of arrest of the accused were not actually sent to the forensic laboratory for test since the nature and particulars of the representative sample drawn from the contraband do not match with the seized contraband.

(2.) It is further contended that the Hon'ble Supreme Court has laid down the principles of law in this regard in the case of State of Rajasthan Vs. Parmanand and Anr. (2014) 5 SCC 345, but the same was not followed at the time of seizure.

(3.) Learned counsel for the State vehemently opposes the prayer for bail. According to her, the requirements laid down in Sec. 50 of the NDPS Act, 1985 have been duly complied with and further the representative samples were correctly drawn from the seized contraband articles. Whatever submission regarding alleged deficiency in the seizure list has been made by learned counsel of the petitioner relates to the first seizure of the contraband articles and they are not related to the second seizure. There are sufficient incriminating materials against the present petitioner. Learned counsel for the State has also submitted that during hearing of the case being no. CRM (NDPS) 876 of 2024 due compliance under Sec. 50 of NDPS Act, 1985 in connection with the said accused was not brought to the notice of the court and the order dtd. 3/7/2024 in connection with CRM (NDPS) 876 of 2024 was passed without taking into consideration that such requirements were complied with.