SUMAN KUMAR Vs. STATE OF J&K

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The applicant filed an application for the grant of bail in his favour in the FIR bearing No. 44 of 2018, for the commission of offences punishable under Sections 8/15 NDPS Act, before the learned Additional Sessions Judge, Kulgam, which came to be rejected by an order dated 06.07.2018.

(2.) Aggrieved by this order the applicant has filed the instant application for the grant of bail in his favour before this Court inter-alia, on the grounds that poppy straw weighing 12 Kgs recovered from his possession does not fall with the scales of commercial quantity. Therefore, the general law of bails shall apply in the present case. It is further contended that as per Section 497 Cr. PC, a person who has committed an offence punishable with death or imprisonment for life cannot be granted bail, if there are reasonable grounds to believe that he has committed such an offence. In the present case, the applicant has been found to be in the possession of Narcotic substance, which is slightly more than a small quantity and the punishment provided for such an offence is imprisonment upto 10 years and a fine of Rs. 1.00 lac. It is further stated that the main ground for rejecting the application for the grant of bail is that the applicant may hamper or tamper with the prosecution witnesses when as a matter of fact, the applicant is a non-local and the main witnesses in the case are the police officials. Therefore, he cannot tamper with the prosecution witnesses or influence them. It is further stated that one of the alleged accused in the aforesaid FIR namely Kamaljeet Kour, being a woman has already been enlarged on bail. He has been falsely implicated in the case. The mandatory provision of the NDPS Act have been violated in the case with impunity and, therefore, the detention of the applicant is illegal and unjustified. It has also been averred that the rigor of Section 37 of the NDPS Act, does not apply to the case on hand and he has been in the custody for so many months by now. His continued detention has hampered him from proving his innocence. A small quantity of Narcotics has been recovered from his possession. He will not tamper with the prosecution evidence and will abide by the conditions whatsoever are imposed on him, in case he is admitted to bail. In the premises, the applicant has urged that he be admitted to bail for the commission of the aforesaid offences.

(3.) The respondent, despite availing opportunities, has failed to file the objections.