CHHOTU LAL Vs. STATE OF H.P.

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Bail petitioner namely, Chhotu Lal, who is behind the bars since 17/12/2023, has approached this Court in the instant proceedings filed under Sec. 483 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, for grant of regular bail in case FIR No. 137 of 2023, dtd. 17/12/2023, under Sec. 20 of the NDPS Act, registered at police Station, Banjar, District Kullu, Himachal Pradesh.

(2.) Respondent-State has filed status report and HC Vipin Kumar has come present with the record. Record perused and returned.

(3.) Close scrutiny of the status report/record reveals that on 17/12/2023, at 11.30 AM, patrolling party headed by SI/SHO Ram Lal after having found one person sitting alone near PWD Rest House, Sojha on Jalori Jot road, stopped its vehicle. Since he got perplexed and made an attempt to flee from the spot, police deemed it necessary to cause his personal search as well as of his belongings. Allegedly, after associating independent witnesses, police recovered 3.01 Kg of charas from the bag being carried by the person, namely Chhotu Lal i.e., present petitioner herein. Since, no plausible explanation ever came to be rendered on record qua possession of aforesaid commercial quantity of contraband, police after having completed necessary codal formalities, lodged the FIR, as detailed hereinabove and since then, bail petitioner is behind the bars. Since charge sheet stands filed in the competent court of law and nothing remains to be recovered from the bail petitioner, he has approached this Court in the instant proceedings for grant of bail on the ground of inordinate delay in conclusion of trial.