AKSHAT GULERIA Vs. STATE OF HIMACHAL PRADESH

JUDGEMENT

(1.) By way of instant petition, filed under Sec. 439 of the Criminal Procedure Code, the petitioner is seeking bail in case F.I.R. No. 55/2023, dtd. 6/3/2023, registered at Police Station Sunder Nagar, District Mandi, H.P., under Sec. 21 of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act (hereinafter referred to as 'NDPS Act").

(2.) The prosecution story, in brief, is that on 6/3/2022, the police party had laid a nakka at place Pungh Fourlane. At about 6:30 A.M., one HRTC bus bearing registration No. HP33E-2984, which was going towards Manali, was signaled to stop. When the police party entered inside the bus, the person sitting on seat No. 26 got perplexed and threw something under his seat. On suspicion, the police party associated Driver of the bus Hem Raj and Conductor of the bus Bhupinder Kumar as independent witnesses in the proceedings. In presence of the aforesaid witnesses, the person sitting on seat No. 26 of the bus disclosed his name as Akshat Guleria (petitioner herein) and when the packet thrown by him was opened, it was found containing chitta/heroin. On weighment, the recovered heroin was found to be 14.84 grams. Thereafter, the police completed all the codal formalities and FIR as detailed hereinabove was registered against the accused and he was arrested.

(3.) The bail petition has been filed on the ground that the petitioner is innocent and has been falsely implicated in this case. Learned counsel for the petitioner has contended that investigation in this case is complete and nothing remains to be recovered at the instance of the petitioner, as such, the petitioner, who is only 22 years old, deserves to be released on bail.