PARMA RAM Vs. STATE OF HIMACHAL PRADESH

JUDGEMENT

(1.) By way of instant petition filed under S. 439 CrPC, prayer has been made on behalf of bail petitioner-Parma Ram, for grant of regular bail in FIR No. 161, dtd. 2/9/2021, under Ss. 20, 25 and 29 of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act (hereinafter, 'Act'), registered at Police Station Sadar, District Bilaspur, Himachal Pradesh.

(2.) Pursuant to orders dtd. 23/12/2021 and 5/1/2022, respondentState has filed status report. ASI Ashok Kumar has come present with record. Record perused and returned.

(3.) In nutshell, case of the prosecution is that on 2/9/2021, at 9.30 am, police after having received a secret information laid Naka at /near HPMC Juice Shop at Sungal, District Bilaspur and stopped a Maruti Alto 800 bearing registration No. HP-01K-7078 being driven by present bail petitioner and another vehicle i.e. Tempo Trax bearing registration No.HP-76-0647 being driven by persons namely Vir Chand and allegedly recovered 4.682 kg of Charas and currency of Rs.4,29,500.00 from the vehicle bearing registration No. HP-76-0647. At the time of recovery of contraband and currency, person namely Devender was also sitting in vehicle bearing registration No. HP-76- 0647, being driven by the person namely Vir Chand. Since occupants of the aforesaid vehicles as detailed herein above, failed to render plausible explanation qua the possession of commercial quantity of contraband and currency of Rs.4,29,500.00, police after completion of formalities lodged FIR as taken note herein above and arrested all the persons i.e. Parma Ram, present bail petitioner, Vir Chand and Devender Kumar. During investigation Devinder Kumar, from whose vehicle commercial quantity of contraband came to be recovered, disclosed to the police that the contraband was to be further delivered/ sold to the person namely, Prakash Chand. Above named person also disclosed to the police that the vehicle bearing registration No. HP-01K- 7078 was being driven by Parma Ram, present bail petitioner, ahead of vehicle bearing registration No. HP-76-0647, so that factum with regard to Naka if any laid by the police could be communicated to him. Since the present bail petitioner was allegedly piloting /escorting vehicle bearing registration No. HP-76-0647 (Tempo Trax), he also came to be named in the FIR and since 2/9/2021, he is behind the bars. Since Challan stands filed in the competent court of law and nothing remains to be recovered from the present bail petitioner, he has approached this court in the instant proceedings praying therein for grant of regular bail.