GURPREET SINGH Vs. STATE OF PUNJAB

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Petitioner-gurpreet Singh @ Gopi has filed the present petition under Section 439 Cr.P.C. for grant of regular bail pending trial in case FIR No. 31 dated 01.03.2019, under Section 22 of NDPS Act, registered at Police Station Kotwali, District Kapurthala.

(2.) Learned counsel for the petitioner has submitted that in the present case false FIR has been registered against him and he was arrested on 01.3.2019. Thereafter, he was admitted on interim bail on 22.4.2019 as the report of the FSL was not received by the police. Thereafter, on receipt of the report of the FSL, the petitioner himself surrendered before the police on 04.9.2019 and since then he is in custody. He has further submitted that the total period of custody of the petitioner comes to 04 months and 20 days as per custody certificate dated 28.09.2019 and as on date he has undergone more than nine months. Learned counsel has further submitted that even as per FIR, the allegation against the petitioner is that the petitioner allegedly threw a bag, which was found by the police, from which the quantity of 115 grams of contraband containing alprazolam was recovered. He has further agued that the quantity of the alleged contraband recovered was marginally above the prescribed commercial quantity, which is 100 grams, therefore, learned counsel has submitted that there can be an error in the measurement of the alleged recovered contraband. He has further argued that since the alleged recovered contraband is marginally above the prescribed commercial quantity, he may be granted bail in this case. Furthermore learned counsel for the petitioner has submitted that the petitioner is not involved in any other case and he is a young boy of 22 years and that this case has been wrongly planted upon him by the police. He has further submitted that even otherwise also the challan in the present case has not been presented and he is in custody since more than nine months and otherwise also he is entitled to default bail.

(3.) Learned State counsel has filed the custody certificate of the petitioner by way of affidavit of Baljit Singh, Deputy Superintendent, Central Jail, Kapurthala. Same is taken on record. On instructions from ASI Kulwinder Singh, he states that so far as the custody period of the petitioner is concerned, there is no dispute with regard to that and it is also not disputed that the challan has not been presented in the Court. He has further submitted that so far as concession of grant of default bail is concerned, the petitioner can be remitted back to the trial Court for that purpose. On instructions, he has further submitted that so far as the present case is concerned, it is correct that the petitioner is not involved in any other case.