VIVEK SABHARWAL Vs. UNION TERRITORY OF CHANDIGARH

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This Revision is directed against the order passed by the Ld. Additional Sessions Judge, Chandigarh on 24.02.2021 vide which the Petitioner's application for being released by way of default bail in terms of Section 167(2) Cr.P.C. read with Section 36(A)(4) of the NDPS Act was dismissed.

(2.) According to the FIR, on 18.08.2020 at about 8.20 PM in the area of Football Ground, Sector 17 Chandigarh, the Police laid a 'Naka' and apprehended the Petitioner, who was found to be in possession of 25 plastic bottles of Chlorpheniramine Maleate and Codeine Phosphate Syrup 100 ml each and 06 injections of Buprenorphine 02 ml each and Pheniramine Maleate 10 ml each, and he was therefore alleged to have committed the offence punishable under Section 22 of the NDPS Act. The Ld. Court below rejected his initial prayer for being released on bail following his arrest vide its earlier order dated 04.09.2020, after which he approached this Court by filing CRM-M-32833-2020 seeking regular bail, which was later withdrawn on 25.05.2021.

(3.) However, during pendency of the said petition, on 30.10.2020 the Police apparently prepared the Challan/Final Report against the Petitioner, a copy of which is Annexure P-5. The same was, however, actually presented in Court much later on 10.02.2021, as can be seen by the order passed by the Ld. Judge, Special Court, Chandigarh on that date, which is Annexure P-6. At that stage the matter was already pending in the Trial Court for 19.02.2021. But before the scheduled date the Petitioner filed his application on 16.02.2021 (Annexure P-7) seeking his release on default bail under Section 167(2) read with Section 36(A)(4) of the NDPS Act by contending that the period of 180 days following his arrest and custody had already lapsed, and till then no proper Charge Sheet had been filed by the Police, nor any permission sought by the prosecution from the Trial Court for not filing the proper Charge Sheet within the statutory permissible period on account of which he had become entitled to the benefit of statutory bail.