The accused, Mr. Kaleem, was arrested in 2019 owing to the presence of 349.25 kilograms of Ganja on the accused; however, the learned counsel for the applicant, Shri Indrajeet Shukla, submitted before Justice Siddharth of the Allahabad High Court that the arrest of the accused was false owing to there being no public witness to the alleged recovery of the Ganja. Shri Indrajeet Shukla submitted that the recovery of Ganja occurred in violation of Section 50 of the Narcotics Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985, wherein the accused was allegedly not taken either to the nearest Gazetted Officer or to the nearest Magistrate for the purpose of searching. The counsel held that the accused must be bailed due to the alleged non-compliance of the mandatory provision under Section 50 of the act. The accused has been imprisoned since January 18, 2019.
Shri Akhilesh Kumar Awasthi, the learned counsel for the N.C.B contended that the accused is involved in supplying drugs; hence, the counsel submitted that the bail application must be rejected by the court. It is worth noting that Section 37, Sub-Section 1, Clause B, Sub-Clause 2 of the act allows a court of law to provide bail to an accused in the face of the Public Prosecutor opposing the said bail if and only if the court is reasonably satisfied that the accused is not guilty of the said offence. The counsel held that there are no reasonable grounds to provide bail to the accused.
The judge released the accused on bail in the light of the accused’s fundamental right to life under Article 21 of the Indian Constitution on the following conditions:
- That the accused furnishes of a personal bond and two reliable sureties.
- That the accused remains present before the trial court on a fixated date, either personally or through a counsel. In situations where the accused fails to appear before the said court without sufficient cause, the trial court can charge the accused under Section 229A of the Indian Penal Code, 1860.
- That the accused does not misuse his liberty whilst on bail. If the trial court proclaims to secure the presence of the accused and if the accused fails to appear before the trial court on a date fixated in the said proclamation, then the trial court can charge the accused under Section 174A of the Indian Penal Code, 1860.
- That the accused must not abuse his liberty whilst on bail; additionally, the accused must be present before the trial court as and when required by the court.
The judge held that the bail of the accused would be cancelled if the accused violates any of the aforementioned conditions.
