Mumbai, Maharashtra – June 23, 2022 – Amit Kumar Sahansar Pal Singh, accused in a narcotics case, has been granted bail by the Special Court for Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, 1985, at Greater Bombay. Additional Sessions Judge V.G. Raghuwanshi (C.R. 43) allowed Criminal Bail Application No. 1068 of 2022, related to Special L.A.C./C.R. No. 566 of 2022.

Singh was arrested on April 24, 2022, and charged under Section 8(c) read with Sections 21(c), 22(b), and 29 of the NDPS Act, 1985, for allegedly being involved in the possession and trafficking of narcotics.

Case Background:

The prosecution alleged that on April 23, 2022, police officers apprehended Pramod Kalicharan Sharma and Mohd. Ismail Mohd. Nazrul Khan near Surabhi Co-op Housing Society in Malwani. Sharma was found in possession of 5 grams of Mephedrone (MD) and 335 grams of double Tiger Heroin, while Khan had 5 grams of Mephedrone. During the investigation, Sharma and Khan implicated Singh, leading to his arrest.

Arguments and Court’s Reasoning:

Singh’s counsel, Adv. Himanshu Shinde, argued that his client was falsely implicated based on the statement of co-accused, which is inadmissible as evidence. He emphasized that no contraband was recovered from Singh, and his arrest was illegal. He cited a Supreme Court judgment, State vs. Pallulabid Ahmad Arimutta and Anr., which held that a statement recorded under Section 67 of the NDPS Act is inadmissible.

The prosecution, represented by APP P.J. Tarange, argued that Sharma had stated he procured the contraband from Singh. They highlighted the commercial quantity of Heroin seized from Sharma and emphasized that Singh is a police officer from Uttar Pradesh, making his involvement more serious. They also expressed their intention to investigate the source of the contraband and cited judgments from the Bombay High Court and Chhattisgarh High Court to support their arguments.

The court noted that no contraband was recovered from Singh and that his arrest was primarily based on the statement of a co-accused. “There is no dispute that, nothing was seized from this applicant/accused. Ld. Public Prosecutor submits that, prosecution desires to collect evidence against this applicant/accused and search whether other persons are involved in this offence. But enough opportunity was granted to Investigating Officer to interrogate this applicant/accused,” Judge Raghuwanshi stated.

The court referenced the Supreme Court’s ruling in State vs. Pallulabid Ahmad Arimutta and Anr., which emphasized that arrests based solely on statements under Section 67 of the NDPS Act are not valid. “Thus, in view of the fact that, the applicant/accused is arrested only on the basis of statement of another accused, there is no recovery of any contraband from the applicant/accused and there is no other independent evidence suggesting involvement of this applicant/accused in said crime. Hence, this application deserves to be allowed,” Judge Raghuwanshi concluded.

Bail Conditions:

Judge Raghuwanshi granted bail to Amit Kumar Sahansar Pal Singh on the following conditions:

• Execution of a personal bond of ₹25,000 with one or more solvent sureties of the same amount.
• Prohibition from engaging in any activity that could hamper the investigation.
• Regular appearance before the trial court.
• Prohibition from tampering with prosecution evidence.
• Appearance before the investigating officer once a week until the filing of the charge sheet.

The certified copy of the judgment was issued on June 23, 2022. This decision underscores the court’s reliance on the principle that arrests cannot be solely based on inadmissible statements and highlights the importance of direct evidence in NDPS cases.