KARANVEER SINGHKARAN Vs. STATE OF PUNJAB

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The Prayer in this petition under Sec. 439 Cr.PC is for the grant of regular bail in case FIR No.15 dtd. 22/1/2021 under Ss. 22(C) of the NDPS Act, 1985 registered at Police Station Sadar, Muktsar, District Sri Muktsar Sahib.

(2.) The brief facts of the case are that while the police party was on patrolling duty two youngsters holding a plastic bag were seen near the bridge. On seeing the police party they tried to flee from the spot after throwing the polythene bag but were nabbed. They disclosed their names as Mukesh Kumar @ Sanju (since granted bail vide order dtd. 17/3/2023 passed in CRM-M-12313-2023) and Karanvir Singh @ Karan (petitioner). A search of the bag revealed 4800 tablets of RLAM-0.5 therein. Based on the said recovery the instant FIR came to be registered.

(3.) The Counsel for the petitioner contends that petitioner has been falsely implicated in the present case. The recovery has been planted upon him. No independent witness has been joined during the course of search and seizure. There was violation of mandatory provisions of the NDPS Act such as Sec. 42 and 50 and as the petitioner was in custody since 22/1/2021 and none of the 15 prosecution witnesses had been examined so far, the Trial of the present case was not likely to be concluded any time soon and therefore the petitioner was entitled to the grant of bail, more so as he was a first time offender and his co-accused Mukesh Kumar @ Sanju had been granted the concession of bail. Reliance is placed upon the judgment of the Hon'ble Supreme Court in Nitish Adhikary @ Bapan Vs. The State of West Bengal SLP (Crl.) Nos.5769/2022 Decided on 1/8/2022 which has been followed by this Court in Balraj Singh Vs. State of Punjab CRM-M-57386-2022 Decided on 14/12/2022.