SANTOSH KUMAR Vs. STATE OF HIMACHAL PRADESH

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Bail petitioner namely Santosh Kumar, who is behind bars since 13/4/2024, has approached this Court in the instant proceedings filed under Sec. 483 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023, for grant of regular bail in case FIR No. 45/2024 dtd. 9/4/2024, under Ss. 21 and 29 of the NDPS Act, registered with PS Sadar, District Shimla, Himachal Pradesh.

(2.) Respondent-State has filed status report and Ms. Ramesh Lata, I/O PS Sadar, Shimla, has come present with record. Record perused and returned.

(3.) Close scrutiny of record/status report reveals that on 9/4/2024, at about 11:50pm, police after having noticed unusual behaviour of boy standing near Lal Pani bus stop, stopped him for checking. Since boy after having seen police threw something in the nearby drain and started moving towards ISBT, Tutikandi, police after having apprehended him conducted his search in the presence of the independent witnesses and allegedly, recovered 7.98 grams of heroin/chitta from the bag thrown by him in the nearby drain. Since no plausible explanation ever came to be rendered on record by the boy, whose name subsequently came to be revealed as Veer Singh qua the possession of aforesaid quantity of contraband, police after having completed all necessary codal formalities, lodged FIR detailed herein above and arrested the above named accused, who stands enlarged on bail granted by trial Court. Allegedly, aforesaid person during investigation disclosed to the police that he had been selling chitta/heroin in various parts of Himachal Pradesh on the askance of the person namely Sahil Chaudhary and present bail petitioner Santosh Kumar, police also arrested both the aforesaid persons. Bail petitioner herein, is behind the bars w.e.f. 13/4/2024, whereas co-accused Veer Singh, from whose conscious possession, intermediate quantity of contraband was recovered, stands enlarged on bail pursuant to order passed by the learned Special Judge, NDPS, prayer made by the co-accused Veer Singh, appears to have been accepted by the learned trial court on the premise that intermediate quantity of contraband was recovered from his possession and in past, no case has been registered against him.