SUKHMANDER SINGH Vs. STATE OF PUNJAB

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This is the first petition under Sec. 483 of the B.N.S.S., 2023 for grant of regular bail to the petitioner in FIR no. 0068 dtd. 4/6/2022 registered under Sec. 15 of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act , 1985 (hereinafter referred to as 'NDPS Act') (Sec. 25 and 29 of the NDPS Act added later) at Police Station Badhni Kalan, District Moga.

(2.) Learned counsel for the petitioner has submitted that the petitioner has not been named in the FIR and no recovery has been effected from the petitioner and he is sought to be implicated solely on the basis of disclosure statement made by co-accused Mandeep Singh and Satnam Singh and a perusal of challan shows that no disclosure statement has been recorded and only DDR no.42 dtd. 4/6/2022 was recorded by the police. It is submitted that even after the arrest of the petitioner, no recovery was effected from the petitioner and there is no incriminating material against the petitioner connecting the petitioner with the crime. It is further submitted that a perusal of challan would show that there are no phone calls between the co-accused from whom the recovery has been effected and the present petitioner and that the petitioner has been in custody since 25/1/2023 as per the custody certificate and after filing of the supplementary challan against the petitioner on 20/9/2024, even the charges are to be framed and since there are 18 witnesses, the trial is likely to take time. It is stated that the other co-accused of the petitioner have already been granted regular bail vide orders passed by the Coordinate Bench, which are annexed as Annexures P-4 to P-6 with the present petition. It is further submitted that co-accused namely Jaswinder Singh @ Jassi @ Nanna who was also implicated on the basis of disclosure statement has also been granted the concession of bail by this Court vide order dtd. 10/12/2024 passed in CRM-M-54961-2024 and the case of the present petitioner is on better footing than the case of the co-accused namely Jaswinder Singh @ Jassi @ Nanna as the custody of the present petitioner is longer i.e., more than two years.

(3.) Learned State counsel, on the other hand, has opposed the present petition for regular bail and has submitted that the petitioner was named in the present case on the basis of disclosure statement of the co-accused Mandeep Singh and Satnam Singh from whom the recovery has been effected and the DDR no.42 dtd. 4/6/2022 was recorded in the said regard. It is submitted that recovery from the co-accused was of commercial quantity and that the petitioner is involved in other cases including the case under the NDPS Act and thus, deserves no concession of regular bail. However, other facts have not been disputed.